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Check out my blog at www.firstsightsecondthoughts.net

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Paladins of Tortall: Heroines and Their Oaths

Paladins of Tortall: Heroines and Their Oaths

I’m sorry I’m on so much of a paladin kick lately – white knight, templar, knight in shining armor, whatever you want to call them. This is just what’s occupying my headspace lately, so it seemed natural to bring this train of thought to the other thing that occupies most of my brainpower most of the time – the Tortall books by Tamora Pierce. When I was trying to think of paladin-like characters…

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What I'm Working On: Explorations of Goodness

What I’m Working On: Explorations of Goodness

Today on Twitter, I went on a bit of a tirade about a couple of my favorite topics – but then I remembered, “Hey wait, this is what I have a blog for!” Specifically, I wanted to talk about exploring some of my favorite themes and doing so in tabletop RPGs. Lately I’ve become kind of obsessed with the idea of what it is to be good, and how the facets of justice and mercy and kindness tie into…

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Emotionally Heavy Games, X-Cards, and Comfort at the Convention Table

Emotionally Heavy Games, X-Cards, and Comfort at the Convention Table

I recently attended Breakout Con in Toronto for the first time; it’s a close enough drive to be almost local and I had quite a few friends who were making the trip as well. It was an amazing convention, and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who could possibly make it to Toronto. But I did something unusual at this convention that I don’t normally do – I played some really emotionally heavy…

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Rose and Thorn: Session Catch-up!

Hi guys – I’m super behind on Rose and Thorn posts, and you may have noticed! I fell behind quite a bit when I was working on some other projects and the blog kind of slipped down the priority list. We missed a few sessions over the holidays, I got behind on posts, and here we are. So this week’s post is kind of a high-level recap of about five sessions. From this point on, we’re back on track…

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Tortall by Chapter // In the Hand of the Goddess - Chapter 7: Winter Lessons

Tortall by Chapter // In the Hand of the Goddess – Chapter 7: Winter Lessons

This is, as I remembered, one of the best chapters not only in this book but in this whole series. I’ve been looking forward to this chapter since I started this series, I won’t lie. But… it’s interesting to look back with the perspective of an adult. There’s one line that I think I tried to deny when I was younger, but can’t now. This is the chapter where the shipping war between Jon and George…

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Tortall by Chapter // In the Hand of the Goddess - Chapter 6: Captured!

Tortall by Chapter // In the Hand of the Goddess – Chapter 6: Captured!

So, after Alanna’s melodramatic overextension of her magic abilities and inevitable passing out in the last chapter, this chapter picks up with her waking up again… three entire days later. Do you ever wish you could just sleep for three whole days? I sure do, and I’m not even particularly sleep-deprived. But then again, in an army encampment during the middle of a war is maybe not the best time…

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Tortall by Chapter // In the Hand of the Goddess - Chapter 5: By the River Drell

Tortall by Chapter // In the Hand of the Goddess – Chapter 5: By the River Drell

War… is bad. This is pretty common knowledge, and a widely agreed upon opinion unless you’re a war profiteer or something. But a pretty common trope for warriors in fantasy (or sci fi, or really any genre that might include war) is to have the POV character become disillusioned by war. They start off knowing, of course, that war is bad, but they have to see for themselves that there’s very rarely…

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Tortall by Chapter // In the Hand of the Goddess - Chapter 4: A Cry of War

Tortall by Chapter // In the Hand of the Goddess – Chapter 4: A Cry of War

This is a fairly brief chapter, and mainly centers on one thing: a declaration of war and the preparations that follow. However there are also some great moments with George, ones that always stick out in my memory of this book. Looking at them now, though, as an adult, I do wish they’d been written a little differently at points (there’s even some things I found questionable at age 12, which is…

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2017 Year in Review

…What a weird year, right? I know it wasn’t just me; I’ve seen others talking about it as well, in their year-end retrospectives. I don’t even know what happened there. Another common theme I’m seeing is the juxtaposition of it being a great year personally and an absolute disaster of a year for the world at large. I would definitely say it’s the same for me – a lot of wonderful things happened…

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Tortall by Chapter // In the Hand of the Goddess - Chapter 3: The Prince's Squire

Tortall by Chapter // In the Hand of the Goddess – Chapter 3: The Prince’s Squire

So, I ended up loving this chapter a whole lot. Despite including a war on the horizon, a wild boar attack, and a nearly-lethal duel, it’s still primarily about Alanna’s relationships with her friends. That’s romantic fantasy for you! The potential war with a neighboring country is given pretty much equal importance to the main character’s growing feelings for her best friend. Stories about…

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Tortall by Chapter // In the Hand of the Goddess - Chapter 2: Duke Roger of Conte

Tortall by Chapter // In the Hand of the Goddess – Chapter 2: Duke Roger of Conte

Well, the title of this chapter is kind of misleading in retrospect. It seems like it would mostly be about… Duke Roger of Conte. In point of fact, it’s mostly about the rising tensions between Tortall and their neighboring nation, Tusaine. This chapter isn’t quite “war were declared” but it’s pretty clear that we’re getting there. But then again, the last section of this chapter isn’t just about…

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Tortall by Chapter // In the Hand of the Goddess - Chapter 1: The Lady in the Forest

Tortall by Chapter // In the Hand of the Goddess – Chapter 1: The Lady in the Forest

Woo, the first chapter of book two! The stakes get higher, the friendships get deeper, the going gets tougher. This chapter establishes the new status quo for Alanna since the events of the last book – a few months have passed since Alanna and Jon’s experience at the Black City. He’s passed his Ordeal of Knighthood, she’s his squire, her fifteenth birthday comes and goes. Oh, and she also meets…

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Patreon!

I’m so thrilled to be able to announce that I’ve launched on Patreon! If you’re a fan of this blog, consider throwing a dollar or two in the proverbial tip jar each month – it goes a long way towards helping me make this blog a better place, to bring you the content we love! If you’re so inclined, join my community here. Thank you so much for all your support!

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Tortall by Chapter // Alanna: The First Adventure - Chapter 7: The Black City

Tortall by Chapter // Alanna: The First Adventure – Chapter 7: The Black City

Here it is, the last chapter of the book! The climactic action, what it’s all been building to (except for the stuff that’s building to other books). Alanna and the squires travel with their teachers to the Great Southern Desert, to make a diplomatic visit to the Bazhir and to learn desert survival tactics (and also to rid the world of a very nasty, child-abducting family of demons, but they…

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Tortall by Chapter // Alanna: The First Adventure - Chapter 6: Womanhood

Tortall by Chapter // Alanna: The First Adventure – Chapter 6: Womanhood

Well, I bet you can guess from the title of this chapter what it’s about. That’s right: periods. I mean, it’s a thing that happens in this chapter. It’s the longest chapter in the book, and a lot happens in it (like, for real, I probably would have split it into two chapters, were I writing this book myself). But the first section is all about periods and you would not believe how much I…

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Tortall by Chapter // Alanna: The First Adventure - Chapter 5: The Second Year

Tortall by Chapter // Alanna: The First Adventure – Chapter 5: The Second Year

The major theme of this chapter… is friendship. And also magic. But not friendship as magic, which disappoints only slightly. But really, the four main parts of this chapter show the development of Alanna’s friendships, specifically with Raoul, with Gary, with George, and with Coram. I love all of these characters and I love their actions in this chapter and how they all positively influence…

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Tortall by Chapter // Alanna: The First Adventure - Chapter 4: Death in the Palace

Tortall by Chapter // Alanna: The First Adventure – Chapter 4: Death in the Palace

This chapter serves as a big turning point for Alanna in this book. Dire circumstances rock her world and force her to accept a part of herself that she’d previously rejected. It’s a pretty classic escalation, and this one introduces several elements that play key roles both later in this book and later in the series. It’s really only in this read-through that I’m beginning to appreciate how much…

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