I finished The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard. I've seen complaints that MC is a bit too perfect, and I can see why that could be said. But... holy cow was it nice to read about someone competent not making stupidly bad choices. The relationships between the characters were so enjoyable. I would have liked having many of them as friends.
Slow paced with a lot of dialogue, I'm almost surprised I enjoyed this book as much as I did. Politics and deep friendships carry it well
@Konghammer
I played with one other friend, and we really enjoyed it, though I did eventually regret that I made a custom character instead of tweaking one of the premade characters.
I should be working more on the next part of this fanfic, but instead I've posted the second part (not really a clear Part 2, because I veer off into a flashback that serves as a really good standalone story) on my Neocities site! I still need to make an actual index page for these...
@trixter
Heya, I'm not really into Transformers (which just means I don't have context for your setting), but your setup seems really interesting thus far, and I'm looking forward to reading part two (and seeing how you tie in that flashback)!
Thanks for sharing it here. 😃
Back into language learning, day 48 of my current Duolingo streak! Making small progress by doing one or two lessons every night but it's progress! Today, during a Japanese lesson, I paused and appreciated the fact that I can read and understand simple Japanese sentences and how happy this makes me. I used to believe that Japanese would be nearly impossible to learn but it's not and I'm doing it :blobfoxbox:
@starsandinfinity
Congratulations! I tried to start Japanese and I tapped out to work on Spanish (which I started a few years ago and then stopped), but I fully intend to come back to it. You're doing great! Would you be willing to share your Duolingo name?
I've been thinking about trying to learn Braille for a while now (my mother was legally blind years before she died and I can't remember a time I didn't love reading), so last night I finally made a start using Hadley and UEB Online. Great free resources. But it's all visual.
I'd love to eventually be able to get tactile practice in (after I progress further than just the basic uncontracted alphabet, I suppose). Anyone here happen to have any suggestions?
@Konghammer That sounds like the wisest strategy. Since you inspired me to pick Duolingo back up, I erased my progress and am starting over, so it's all review/refresher so far and I'm tearing through it. I'm sure the excitement will wear off any minute (probably before I reach my previous stopping point) and I'll calm the hell down (but hopefully not quit again).
@mdta
I'm so sorry for your loss. My mother passed away a few months ago and it's been a struggle. Try to take care of yourself. Wishing you healing and happiness in the future.
