Subplots and Storylines - April 2017

Hello hello, adventurous questers! My apologies for being late again. Hopefully once college is over in a few weeks I'll get back to being a prompt blogger again.

Life Adventures

How was your April? Mine went quite well. It started with spring break, which ended up being not very break-ish and rather full of work and social things. But I did manage to get my flight to Realm Makers booked! I've never booked a flight before, and since things just weren't working out properly on my end, I got the help of a travel agent. Maybe it was overkill, but I wanted to get it right. But my goodness, why is it so expensive to hop on a plane and travel a few inches across a map? (Yes, I am a new adult clinging to her delusions as to how money and the world should work, why do you ask?) But regardless of the price, I'm very happy to have that in place!


What else happened, let me think . . .


Some college classmates and I were filmed for a year-end video. #bittersweet


I took an exam, which I think I passed.


Easter happened, and it was lovely.


But the highlight of the month was my class's trip to Calgary, Alberta! On our first full day in Alberta, we visited Banff and hiked Johnston Canyon. Those mountains are food for my soul, I tell you. The trail was gorgeous, although mostly covered in ice and snow that made navigating inclines rather . . . challenging, especially for those of us wearing fashionable shoes with zero tread. Thankfully my runners (or sneakers, as you Americans call them) had some grip, but I still went slip-sliding all over the place. By the time I reached the bottom of the trail again, I could feel every muscle in my legs. But it was so much fun!

a glimpse of the Rockies on the cloudy drive to Banff

Johnston Canyon

me at Johnston Canyon

more of the canyon

a frozen waterfall in the canyon

 

me and my bro

Banff in all its quaintness

walking through Banff with college friends

One of the main reasons we were in Calgary was to visit a church, so on the second day we got to help out a church picnic. I enjoyed meeting lots of people and making this outreach event possible. Calgary is a city of constant change, and the average person doesn't live there longer than a couple years. Folks commonly have trouble making friends, so it's awesome to see relationships forming in a church setting.


After the picnic, some friends and I went to a movie. Because half my group didn't have money for the c-train, we ended up walking forty minutes in the rain to our hotel afterwards.


On the Sunday we were there, we served in church, which was an amazing experience. I was placed in an area where I had little experience. Even though I made frequent mistakes, I was able to laugh at myself, learn on the fly, and move on--something I wouldn't have done at the beginning of the school year!


Overall, I had a blast, and I'm sad to see the college year coming to a rapid close.

Screen Adventures

Once Upon a Time, portions of seasons 1, 2, and 5
Again, not much new to report here, except that season 5 is . . . *sniffle* . . . very feelsy. You have been warned.


The Flash, part of season 2
I think the episodes I watched this month are some of the best in the entire show so far! The reasons why are very spoilery, so if you haven't watched The Flash--DO IT.




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The Lego Batman Movie
Although I didn't like it as much as The Lego Movie (which had more heart and creativity to it, in my opinion), this was still an entertaining ride. The jokes fly at you a hundred miles an hour, Batman and Robin's opposite personalities often providing the bulk of them. Plus, the movie was very self-aware and poked plenty of jokes at itself.




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Mulan
Confession: I had never seen this one until now. Never quoted Mushu. Never sang along to "I'll Make a Man Out of You." But I fixed that problem this month! . . . By watching it in probably illegal five-minute video segments on YouTube. Hush, don't tell anyone. While I wouldn't say it's my favorite Disney movie, Mulan herself was an awesome character, Mushu was hilarious, and I can finally see why "I'll Make a Man Out of You" is so sing-along-able!

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First three episodes of The Musketeers
I watched these on the bus ride with one of my college friends. Love the period costumes, the swords, the horses, and D'Artagnan, but I could do without the bits of sexual content, please.

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Beauty and the Beast (2017)
There's been a great big hullaballoo over it, yes, and while I was admittedly disappointed in LeFou's supposed "gay" moments, I loved the movie overall. It was magical! Beautifully filmed and skillfully acted. I wasn't sure I'd like Emma Watson as Belle, but she grew on me. I love, love, loved the Beast. The wolf scenes were terrifically intense. Maurice was even more lovable than he was in the animated movie. And I was pleased at how closely this film followed the original, while still throwing in some lovely changes.


But since one of those changes was the aforementioned great big hullaballoo, I feel I need to articulate myself on that topic. Am I 100% sure what I think? No. But I can tell you that:


a) I'm disappointed that Disney felt the need to go that direction,
b) even so, it doesn't seem to be a step in homosexuality's favor by making the stupidest character in the movie gay,
and c) most of LeFou's comments weren't particularly overt, so I'm not sure if I would've missed some of them if I hadn't been on high alert.


That being said, CAN WE STOP FOR A MOMENT AND APPRECIATE THE LIBRARY SCENE? Oh my heart. Honestly, I think this movie made me cry three or four times.

Book Adventures

Storm Siren // Mary Weber

This one's been on my TBR for a while, thanks to the enthusiasm of its readers! It took me a little while to get into it, but once I did it was enjoyable. Nym was a snarky bundle of pain, and I loved her character arc. Her elemental powers were awesome, too. I also grew to like Eogan quite a bit. I wish their relationship had had a deeper substance to it, something beyond oh bolcranes, he's handsome and the calming effect he has on her out-of-control powers. But maybe that will come later in the trilogy.


Sadly, I didn't connect to most of the cast, even the people I was supposed to like. Not until a certain character death did I really begin to care for that person. Oops?


But I do have to congratulate Mary Weber on a unique combination of premise, storyworld, and theme. I LOVED the themes of this book! I won't even name any of them, because you'll just have to take Nym's journey for yourself.

Outriders and Trackers // Kathryn Mackel


I needed books for the bus ride, so I grabbed these two off my shelf. The first one I read and enjoyed several years ago, but the second I'd never gotten around to. So what did I think this time around? Well, Outriders was both better and worse than I remembered, if that's possible. I appreciated the characters more now, but the writing and backstory felt weaker at some points. I also would've liked to connect with characters a little sooner and a little deeper.


But. The premise was very unique, involving a futuristic world ravaged by toxins and radiation from the Endless Wars. The last of Christianity (though it's never referred to as such) has taken refuge on an Ark beneath the arctic ice. We never see the Ark, since the story follows the birthrighters, teens and young adults sent out from the Ark to build camps and begin the work of restoring the earth to its God-given birthright. Meanwhile, the baddies mistake DNA manipulation for sorcery, and use it to "transmogrify" creatures into armies of giants and grotesque creatures.


Brady and Niki are my favorite characters, although Ajoba, who annoyed me in the first book, grew on me a lot in the second. I just wish there was a third book, because there were several loose ends that the author never tied up.


(One caution, however. I'd recommend these books for roughly 17 or 18 and up, due to references to rape and the villainous Baron Alrod's penchant for "lollies," or concubines.)

The DNA of Relationships // Dr. Gary Smalley


Another college read, and perhaps one of my favorites so far! It was easy to read and offered super practical and insightful advice on how to better all my relationships. One thing I learned was the concept of the Fear Dance, describing the vicious cycle of hurt and reactions between people in a relationship conflict. It opened my eyes to the underlying problems I sometimes have with people I know, what my core fears are, and what I can do to change me. While the book focused more on marriage, I'd recommend it to singles and marrieds alike because the principles are so amazing!

Writing Adventures

I did some more Snowflake Method outlining for The Brightest Thread before deciding that the process had helped me as much as it was going to help (for this story, anyways), and called it quits early. Which means I got to start actually writing again on April 9th!


Alas, I had very little time to write this month, so I was able to work through only the first two chapters, adding about 1200 words to the story. For those of you who don't know, TBT started out as a novella retelling of Sleeping Beauty, which I'm now expanding into a full novel!

Whew, that was a long post. What sort of April adventures did you undertake? Any thoughts on the books and movies I consumed? Ever been to the Rockies?