YEAH lmao they got drunk and had a pirate wedding with their girlfriend when they were 16. a pirate wedding is when you hold hands and jump from one ship to another and it's really only legally recognized in the main pirate city. she came looking for z'ress for a divorce lmao.
Managed to post the penultimate episode from the ongoing 'Arrah' chapter on www.littlebylittle.online. Durga Pooja was not as intense a festival as Chhatth Pooja, but it was around for ten days and that meant the festivities and rituals surrounded our everyday routine like a dew drop rolling on a leaf. Our home would smell of dhoop, agarnbatti and postadana halwa. To this day, participating in the aarti feels slightly heavy because of how religiously my father participated in the ceremonies. The thing I really looked forward to was visiting the pandals early in the morning on Dashmi. The handiwork of different craftsmen trying to outdo each other with their effort on stitching the corners of the pandal's cloth or how beautifully rendered the stage backdrop was a marvel for a six-year-old. I have always felt that from the onset of Durga Pooja, the wind took a different turn, slowly opening the doors to the nippy winter, and the festivals would just pour in from that ajar door one by one, leaving you no choice but to be soaked in it.
Read the episode here.
Little by Little is a graphic novel by Somesh Kumar about growing up in different parts of Bihar while coming to terms with his fatherās dri
Arrah ||Ā A fierce defender of justice, Arrah is willing to make the hard choices to get the job done. When thereās an obstacle in her way, she powers through with courage and determination. But donāt mistake her kindness for weakness. She isnāt afraid to get down and dirty to accomplish her goals. Sheās a loyal friend whoāll have your back and values honesty above all else.
Rudjek || An expert swordsman with a heart of gold, Rudjek isnāt afraid to take charge. Heās a natural leader who people can always trust to get the job done. Heās confident, swift, and decisive. That doesnāt mean he always gets things right, but he earns an A for effort. Heās not too proud to admit when heās wrong either. Rudjek isnāt a stranger to having fun, and he values friendship and responsibility.
Essnai || Quiet and contemplative, Essnai isnāt one to act before thinking. Sheās always the most rational one among her friends and considers all angles of a situation. Sometimes she may come off as detached due to her tendency to internalize her feelings. Although she values trust and logic, sheās also a hopeless romantic.
Sukar || Quick-witted and sharp-tongued, Sukar is known for dropping ill-timed jokes at the worst possible moment. But as much as his friends bemoan his humor, heās the spark of light on a dark day and brings a sense of hope to those around him. Sukar loves fine arts and competitive sports equally, which complements his dynamic personality. He values tenacity above all.
Efiya ||Ā Extremely self-assured, Efiya isnāt one to be discouraged from pursuing her goals. She has a clear vision for what she wants in life and can be single-minded in her approach. But Efiya isnāt all work and no fun. She loves the thrill of taking risks, and she never plays it safe. She values strength and winning over everything else.
Demon King || Determined and unrelenting, the Demon King gets a bad rap because of his insatiable thirst for souls. But thereās more to him than that. He is deeply loyal, protective of his people, and believes that the end justifies the means. He can be vengeful and petty at times but only if heās pushed to extreme measures. Most of all, he values love, peace, and rest.
realized i never posted my ocs,,, from left to right we have arrah, abel, giggles, and tafarak,,, please ask me about these babies,,,, (since itās happened before,,, please dont ship arrah and abel,, they are siblings)
Summary:Ā After so many years yearning for the gift of magic, Arrah has the one thing sheās always wantedāat a terrible price. Now the last surviving witchdoctor, sheās been left to pick up the shattered pieces of a family that betrayed her, a kingdom in shambles, and long-buried secrets about who she is.Ā
Desperate not to repeat her motherās mistakes, Arrah must return to the tribal lands to search for help from the remnants of her parentsā people. But the Demon Kingās shadow looms closer than she thinks. And as Arrah struggles to unravel her connection to him, defeating him begins to seem more and more impossibleāif itās something she can bring herself to do at all.
Set in a richly imagined world inspired by spine-tingling tales of voodoo and folk magic, Kingdom of Souls was lauded as āmasterfulā by the School Library Journal in a starred review. This explosively epic sequel will have readers racing to the canāt-miss conclusion. (Taken from Goodreads)
Our Ratings:Ā Ā
Ā ā Geena: Ā āļøāļøāļøāļøš
Ā ā Kae: āļøāļøāļøāļøāļø
Overall: A messy sequel to an amazing series, we get to see the after effects of the fall out of Arrah vs. Efiya from KOS⦠and when we tell you it is MESS!!!
~Spoiler-Full Review Below~
The Good:Ā
ā Arrah and Dimma
Geena: One of my favourite things about Reaper was the sprinkle of Dimmaās POVs throughout the story. We got an insight into Dimmaās life before she was Arrah, and how her relationship with the other Orisha and Daho developed. It also really helped build up the suspense near the end and set up plot twists that clocked us near the end. Dimma aside, letās talk about Arrah. Rena Barron said brooding boys are out, brooding girls are IN! And you know what, we love to read it. The story starts off with Arrah trying to save Sukkar after she snapped all his bones while trying to save him, and she does save him :) Or so she thinks but thatās besides the point. Over the length of the book we follow Arrahās inner turmoil of suddenly having the power of 10 tribal chieftains and being insecure about whether or not she even deserves it.
I loved Arrah, even when she was holding herself up to a terribly high bar and beating herself up about everything she did. Arrah helped bring her Auntie back from the dead and was like āDamn I suck :/ā and thought shattering a girlās glass (who was flirting with Rudjek) put her on the same level as her mom and Efiya. I was sitting there like NO GIRL YOUāRE PERFECT, YOU, YOUR MISSING TOOTH AND YOUR PETTY NATURE!!Ā
Kae: YAAAAAAAAAS! Geena summed Arrah and Dimma up perfectly.Ā
But I would like to add how much I love Arrah and how selfless she is. Sheās always thinking about her friends and their safety, the safety of the tribal people, and of course the kingdom. Sheās a worry woman, but for all the right reasons. And she also cares about herself; so much even that like Geena said, she beats herself up for the smallest of things. Sheās so worried about being evil like her mother and her sister, that she calculates every single move that she makes, debating if itās really worth it to use strong magic or not.Ā
As for Dimma, I loved her POVāS. She is a complex character who has been demonized since book 1. We were taught to believe, through the POV of some of the Gods, that Dimma was a horrible Goddess who wrought nothing but chaos. They erased her name from history, LITERALLY. And Dimma became known as the Unnamed Orisha. While reading her POV, we learn that Dimma was quite selfless, much like Arrah (since they are technically the same person). Dimma was full of love and loved even harder. She went out of her way to give Daho immortality as well as his people, because she loved them so much. She defied the rules of the universe for her love, and it only came to bite her in the ass in the end. Like her siblings told her, āA Godās love is a dangerous thing.ā And it was, but not exactly for the reasons one might think.
Geena:Ā Kaeās summary of Dimma and Arrah is AMAZING, you know my ability to connect dots when reading is kinda shit so reading Kaeās summary gave me realizationā¦Ā Arrah tries so hard to separate herself from Dimma, because she refuses to believe that a part of her is in love with Daho because she herself is in love with Rudjek⦠but itās like girl⦠you have travelled to the ends of the earth to fight and bring back the people you love (the tribespeople) just like Dimma searched the ends of the universe for immortality to give to Daho. Itād be much easier to reconcile your feelings if you just accepted that āOkay, I may have been Dimma but now I am Arrahā
Also another thing I love about Arrah is how she hadā¦. For a time⦠three dudes in love with her⦠or at least what she thought was three dudes. Real hot girl shit.Ā
ā Rudjek and Daho
Geena: You know the character archetype thatās like a snarky boy who knows heās hot shit and acts accordingly, but when it comes to the person heās in love with heās just a bowl of mush. Thatās Rudjek, and only Rudjek can pull it off. In KOS, he was slated to be the next vizier because of his father, in Reaper heās known as a prince because his dad snaked his way into becoming the monarch. So, now heās the snarky princeā¦. And the only snarky prince with rights! His POVs were actually so fun to read, like following the politics of the Kingdom and him dealing with his new craven powersā¦. Which also had him being able to smell pheromones when people were doing the dirty around him š
I really liked that Rena gave him a POV, because now we get to see how he develops given the fact that him and Arrah are dangerous to one another, because he saps her magic with a single touch and could kill her. The whole time Arrah is stressing like āDamn, what if he doesnāt like me anymore because we canāt touchā meanwhile Rudjek is like āIāll fight the Gods if I have to, to keep her by my sideā and itās like š„ŗAlso, who let a teenager be in control of a whole army⦠I thought the vizier was a sly and smart man but I digress⦠Another thing I liked about Rudjek in this book was that he didnāt shy away from uncomfortable conversations with Arrah, regarding the fact that he confused Efiya for Arrah when they did the unspeakable in the clearing in KOS. Like, that was very mature of them and Iām glad they could deal with that misunderstanding⦠But⦠hands down⦠my favourite scene⦠During the climax of the book Rudjek gets a demon soul shoved down his body, and immediately assumes itās the demon kingā¦. And his only command to his friends is to not let him near Arrahššš I was like PEAK ROMANCE, SOFTEST SHIT, SACRIFICIAL LOVER!!!!!Ā
Kae: SO GEENA SUMMED UP RUDJEK SO DAMN WELL. LIKE DUDE OMG? Correct. He is perfect. I really donāt have much to add but I just genuinely loved him as a character. He is caring for both Arrah and his friends. He is also one of the few male characters Iāve read that actively tries to go against their father. Most dudes in books are like āFine puhpa, I shall do your evil bidding.ā But Rudjek is like āSike bitch, Iāll let you think that but Iām doing what I WAAAANT!āĀ
But okay, letās talk about Daho. So first off, I love him??? Am I a villain sympathizer now? Tbh, I donāt really see him as a villain. Manās didnāt commit a genocide or try to scheme Arrah out of her pants. AND HE VERY MUCH HAD THE CHANCE TO and he was like ānah.ā And I appreciate that. Because there are a few certain villainous men who I shanāt name, that be on that scant shit. And Daho is just like⦠genuinely trying to avenge his wifeās death (Dimma) and try to get Arrah to remember that she is Dimma.Ā
YES, I know he got Arti to bring him back. BUUUUUT, he didnāt tell her to kill a bunch of kids and shit to do it. Arti did all that evil shit on her own and Daho was like ālook, i donāt condone that shit. But itās over and Iām sorry it happened but I canāt change it.ā And Iām like⦠okay, mood. I get it. Daho is sweet and caring. He looked out for Arrah in *redactedās* body because we didnāt know *redacted* was dead the whole time. And even then, Daho was still like āMy bad⦠But he wasnāt using his body??? So I took it???ā Why let it go to waste, amiright?Ā
Geena: STOOOOP FOR REAL HE WAS LIKE āIt was empty, I didnāt think youād mindāĀ
Kae: LMAOOO OKAY BUT DEADASS. And like, idk man. He just seriously isnāt a bad person. He was trapped because after the Godās killed Dimma, he was like āBET IMMA JUST KILL THEMā and they lowkey were shook so they trapped his ass in a box for a millenia or whatever. He wasnāt even out to kill all humanity or anything. The Godās were just being some haters and now heās suddenly the bad guy. Anyway, we stan Daho in this house.Ā
Geena: Daho is how you write a sympathetic villain. He owns up to his own mistakes even while his demons run free terrorizing people. Kae said it best that he just wants justice for his wife and unfortunately history is written by the victors so the Orisha painted him out to be a bad guy⦠My dude was just chugging that respecting my wife juice and they killed her⦠and he also thinks they killed his son⦠Guess me and Kae are just villain sympathizers nowĀ
The Bad:Ā Ā Ā
ā The EndingĀ
Kae: Okay, letās get it. And I also just want to clarify that when we say āthe badā, we donāt mean we hate it. This is just something that was like āoh fuck, this is BAAAAD! THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GO DOOOWN.āĀ
But like, good Lord. The ending? That shit was crazy. First of all, we find out that *redacted* aka, SUKKAR. OUR SWEET, PLAYFUL, SARCASTIC SUKKAR. IS DEAD. HE HAS BEEN DEAD THIS WHOLE TIME!? Excuse me while I *SCREEEEEEEEEEEAM*. Like, what an unforeseen twist. This mf kicked the bucket back in KOS when Arrah tried to save him. Turns out⦠She maybe⦠Totally⦠possibly⦠Absolutely killed my guy on accident. He dead-dead. And this is how we find out that Daho took over his body, once Sukkarās spirit ascended. It was a really sad reveal and my heart kind of hurt reading it. I straight up wasnāt expecting that to happen. THEEEEEN. GOTDAMN EFIYA. IS BROUGHT BACK.Ā
Geena: No joke, the ending of Reaper was just one sucker punch followed by another⦠At first you think Tyrek (the prince from KOS who joins Arrah and her crew on a journey to save the tribespeople) is the demon king, then you think itās Rudjek because heās getting possessed, and then you learn itās Sukkar⦠The final punch to the gut was Daho bringing back Efiya because his close general asked for her⦠because sheās his daughter. We were like, DAHO ARE YOU SERIOUS YOU SAW THE DAMAGE SHE DID TO THE HUMANS!!! Like Efiya may have grown quickly in a few months but her brain isnāt fully developed, like that girl is UNHINGED!!! I thought we were done with the Efiya chapter but here we are, and Iām scared to see what role sheāll play in the final instalment of the series. I guess this is the case of bringing back an old villain that can work out really wellā¦Ā I trusted Rena with the messy Arrah/Daho/Rudjek love triangle, so I trust her with this tooĀ
The Ugly:Ā Ā
ā TyrekĀ
Geena: Remember how I said Rudjek is the only valid snarky prince⦠Yea, Tyrek can CHOKE!! In KOS he sides with Efiya and she wreaks havoc in the Kingdom, and in Reaper heās brought to his knees. Rudjekās dad wants to execute him for his crimes, but Arrah sympathizes with him because she knows how Efiyaās mind control worked. As you read, you get a sense of āOkay, maybe he isnāt bad, heās helping Arrah and themā but then you get to the climax and youāre like okay nvm this boy was insane⦠Imagine travelling to a whole other dimension and making deals with demons, because youāre in a fucked up sort of romance with a half-demon girl. He managed to lie to Arrah that he was being controlled by Efiyah, when he was really with Efiya the whole wayā¦. Even when she told him to murder his whole family⦠this man was vile!! Heās also one of our first fake outs, when he pretends to be the demon king I was kinda disappointed⦠I was like no this ruins the messy love triangle Iāve been waiting for! But it was just a fake out, Tyrek was just trying to scare Arrah into freeing Efiya, whose soul was in the demon dagger that Arrah used to kill her in KOS. Overall, 1/10 for this man⦠the 1 point is for when he figured out āSukkarā had a crush on Arrah before Arrah even knew.Ā Ā
ConclusionĀ
Kae: So, I don't have much to add to Tyrekās snake ass. He really was ugly in the end. Iām glad heās dead.Ā
But to conclude, this was such an amazing, refreshing read. Reaper of Souls was a wonderful sequel to Kingdom of Souls. Rena writes so beautifully and she didnāt hesitate to have us readers shaking in our boots. Getting more background information on Dimma, the Gods, and their old ass war, was really fun and insightful! IT added to the story in a way I hadnāt even thought about until I was consuming it all!Ā
Arrah and Rudjek are perfect angels and I canāt wait to see where book three leads them. I also want to give a shout out to Essnai and Majka for being such good friends to Arrah and Rudjek. Same to Kira and the Cravens. This is a really close knit group of friends who will go to the ends of the Earth (and literally new dimensions) for each other. THATāS LOVE, BITCH. And we LOVE to see it.Ā
Geena: For real! Rena Barron set up such an amazing cast of characters, and she really emphasizes the power of friendship in her series and itās one of my favourite things to read. With Reaper, from the very start, she sets up the story in such a way youāre literally screaming by the end⦠I think it requires a special kind of skill to be able to set up a story so well that while you do make predictions about whatās going to happen, it still shocks you when you realize youāre right. Cannot wait to see the absolute mess that will be the final book, with Rudjek/Arrah vs. Daho⦠and the drama it will bring now that the Orishas realize that Arrah is Dimmaās reincarnation.Ā Ā