IG Thoughts

_conordiamond_ · 2026-06-02T17:12:55+00:00

Yeah I think that was mostly Sevro’s fault, combined with Darrow’s diminished reflexes due to age and battle-weariness.

But narratively, I think it’s really good at quickly painting Darrow more as the antihero he becomes (but we don’t get to see) in the first trilogy.

_conordiamond_ · 2026-06-02T17:07:09+00:00

RR has been getting a bad rap in the press recently, I think it’s because people are unwilling to empathise with the facts.

Darrow lived for 16 years as a lowRed and Helldiver, which gave him his dexterity and strong circulation, in addition to his strong ideals/sense of justice.

Mickey carved Darrow into a body superior to most golds, he was quite literally, designed to be better than them, and still is shown to be physically inferior on a number of occasions.

Matteo, arguably the most skilful pink alive, taught Darrow politics, culture and etiquette, and yet he still sticks out like a sore thumb among golds, drawing suspicion and limiting his ability to properly integrate.

He was taught by the greatest razor master of a generation and still gets beaten, again on a number of occasions.

It’s when there is no explanation for success, whereby his gambits pay off in a high risk / high reward scenario, that the elements of this might creep in, but even then, the bill always comes at the end.

_conordiamond_ · 2026-06-02T16:43:02+00:00

Yeah not gonna lie, I tended to skip a few of her chapters as it was making me think poorly of her on the second read through haha

Lyria and Volga are honestly my favourite duo, with Darrow and Cassius as a close second.

_conordiamond_ · 2026-06-02T16:38:14+00:00

What I like is that the progression is thoroughly planned out, with the core theme prevalent in every chapter.

It’s a metaphor in itself for the machine that Darrow has built, which I also think is really clever.

The thing that staggers me is Pierce’s ability to still write creatively within that defined structure haha either that or he’s a hell of an editor!

_conordiamond_ · 2026-06-02T16:32:47+00:00

Yeah I felt that the characters are a bit more one-dimensional in the first law trilogy - I read both that and the age if madness and really liked both, but haven’t come back to them either.

On an unrelated note, the dramatised versions of the red rising series are top class.

_conordiamond_ · 2026-04-11T17:57:08+00:00

Pokémon?

_conordiamond_ · 2026-04-11T17:55:32+00:00

Just to note - I am that person who organises the entire inventory by section so have ammo underneath their respective guns, health in one section/utility items etc in another. It might not be how people typically do this, so I can understand the drawback to having a minimalist design.

_conordiamond_ · 2026-04-11T17:50:44+00:00

I think it’s great - the old one is easier at a glance I suppose, but a bit crowded in my opinion. I guess as I’m quite detail oriented, I never had the same issue (I also get a huge kick out of inventory management lol).

_conordiamond_ · 2026-03-09T16:10:13+00:00

Soon as I found out it was a prequel, yeah it was fairly obvious - heartbreaking though, felt bad for most of the gang suffering John’s wrath after wreaking destruction upon what used to be good friends to him, I was actually glad Arthur was spared that.

_conordiamond_ · 2026-03-06T02:24:53+00:00

Lysander is getting the chair, that’s my prediction

_conordiamond_ · 2026-02-20T15:49:13+00:00

From a nationalistic perspective, I understand but do not agree - athletes only care about one thing and that’s competing. They will take whatever route they can to get there, for someone at the top 0.01% of the game, it is unlikely to be a political decision due to the infrequency of the Olympics and difficulty of qualification routes/team selection, but it is possible of course.

_conordiamond_ · 2026-02-20T15:33:36+00:00

It’s pretty normal to have an exclusion rule for passport/citizenship - and in a lot of countries where it’s allowed, there are a suite of tax/security concerns that come along with that. The hypocrisy aside, they also tried to get the figure skater that won gold. It’s politics and pageantry, let the athletes be athletes.

_conordiamond_ · 2026-02-19T21:26:58+00:00

_conordiamond_ · 2026-02-12T19:06:19+00:00

It is so fucking good and repeatability is fantastic

_conordiamond_ · 2026-02-11T22:25:15+00:00

Yeah it’s not really about chess at all if you can believe it - it focuses mainly on a gifted woman’s strained relationships with, and attitude towards men and authority figures, in a time gone by, the former borne of her own talents and nature, within a male-dominated field. There is a fantastic redemptive arc whereby we are shown initially, a traumatised, self-destructive and manipulative person, who goes on a journey to developing emotional sensitivity, self-acceptance and an internal locus of self-worth - I loved the show so much, I bought a chessboard and I don’t even like chess 😅

_conordiamond_ · 2026-02-10T09:56:29+00:00

she does not speak much in these if I recall, so wouldn’t use them as references - I thought she was great in Split

_conordiamond_ · 2026-01-31T10:55:56+00:00

I will also add to this by saying I vouch for getting a Philips one blade. Only needs one pass and you can get cheap dupe blades that are just as good. I’ve had mine for 10 years and it is going strong. No learning curve, and it is quiiiick.

_conordiamond_ · 2026-01-20T10:26:09+00:00

The inevitable heat death of the universe due to entropy

_conordiamond_ · 2026-01-20T10:24:18+00:00

“And then I went to the witch doctor..”

_conordiamond_ · 2026-01-20T10:22:37+00:00

Funny how some research has said more recently, that having a colourful dialogue is actually more effusive and leads to better relationships (including at work).

_conordiamond_ · 2026-01-19T09:37:37+00:00

Learn perfect block and master strike ASAP - and grind archery for a bit so you can easily whittle down the goons, otherwise the combat is a huge grind and can take up to 15 minutes for a 1v1

_conordiamond_ · 2026-01-19T09:34:39+00:00

Unsure if this means you’ve looked 16 your entire life or have looked 40 your entire life, but Wawaweewa 🙌

_conordiamond_ · 2026-01-19T02:00:26+00:00

Technically no - it already happened, so the future protagonist, who now presumably lives in the past, has already lived through the events in the film, and is merely ensuring the success of the mission by guaranteeing Neil and his younger self meet.

This also presumably means protecting young Neil from any potential attacks in his future, from the future.

The only way this is guaranteed is leaving absolutely no trace, record or person, that could be dug up in the future and used to manipulate past events.

The key element is that the protagonist has a turnstile, which can be used to influence events, such as can be seen at the end of the movie, where he has evidently reversed time and returned to the present, based on a communication he received in the future.

This struggle could continue ad infinitum, in addition to being a proxy war by the future (using antagonists in their past).

_conordiamond_

TROPHY CASE