Vaginal Fantasy Book Club discussion

Thread Note: Please try to keep this discussion limited to chapters 28-32 Later chapters can be discussed in their own thread, but if you have to mention something about a later chapter please be sure to mark it as a spoiler!

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The Story Thus Far: Chaz and co get safely onto Maker Shipyard. In their travels they come across Tessa who is newly married and happy. They confirm the presence of the Jukor and uncover their saboteur - Berri. This spurs them into action to hasten their attack on the lab, they get cornered and Sully flies them to safety.

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I knew it was Berri! As soon as Chaz make note of her and that it wasn't Ilsa, Berri was my next choice. Being borderline fanatical, it just made sense that she would want the jukor to be able to take out the Ragkiril.

Another surprise from Sully - he sure knows how to keep a girl on her toes, huh? While I'm irritated at him for hiding things (with good reason, I feel), I'm also irritated with Chaz for reacting the way she did. This whole time she's been learning that there's more to Ragkiril than meets the eye, she's seen Sully bring Ren back to life, she's fought for Ren's re-acceptance on the Karn, that the Empire and the Stoloroth were perpetuating this idea to feed fear - but now she can't handle this? This makes him somehow completely evil?

I also knew it was Berri!! Although I always tend to assume it is the prideful religious fanatic.

I'm more disappointed in Sully. I understand the first couple of times he kept things from Chaz, but, even though she initially reacted poorly, she has continued to accept him. He should have trusted her. I see it as a huge insult to her that Sully doesn't lay out all his cards. At this point I feel as if Chaz is more hurt by being continuously surprised than by what those surprises are.

I don't feel like Sully was maliciously hiding things from Chaz, which I guess is why I'm more on his side.

Sully is terrified of what he is, he hates mirrors because he doesn't want to see himself and his resonance. He's been living and coping with it for decades, but he's never fully accepted himself. How can he hope that someone else will accept what he is when he hasn't come to terms with it himself?

Add that to the fact that he is everything (and more) that anyone in the Empire has been taught to fear. Not only does he have to prove his human loyalties to Chaz (since she thinks she's just the next girl on his "list") but he also has the added challenge of making her overcome her own fears in order to accept what he is - and she's doesn't making it easy.

I don't think she ever stepped back to consider how difficult it really is for Sully to admit that he's Ragkiril - especially to her. She knows he loves her, she know he's afraid to lose her to the truth, and I don't feel like she ever really gave him the benefit of the doubt. He's proved her loyalty to her time and again, proved she has nothing to fear and I feel like she almost owes it to him to trust that he'll reveal his secrets when he's good and ready.

I would agree with your assessment of Sully--I certainly don't feel anything was malicious. In fact, the way he handled everything is very realistic. But it is still frustrating to me. He is constantly asking her to trust him, but he doesn't seem able to trust her. Several times he comments how he was hoping that a specific topic about him wouldn't come up for years or decades. Did he think it would be easier for Chaz after she finds out he has kept this from her for that long?

I do agree that Chaz never seemed to focus on Sully's dilemma and emotional turmoil that came with being forced to reveal so much that he had kept secret for so long. She seemed to always focus on her own problems. But I feel that she eventually made it up to Sully again and again. Every time she proved her own acceptance, and perhaps even love, by always overcoming her own prejudices to stand by his stand against everyone.

I do feel that both characters were written very realistically and enjoyed reading this relationship even though it was so frustrating!

Lisa wrote: "I also knew it was Berri!! Although I always tend to assume it is the prideful religious fanatic.

Ha! This was me as well! I never trust the 'religious nuts'. They can hide easily what they're truly doing with their pray and the like.

Saw this coming a mile away though....

Vicky wrote: "I don't think she ever stepped back to consider how difficult it really is for Sully to admit that he's Ragkiril - especially to her. She knows he loves her, she know he's afraid to lose her to the truth, and I don't feel like she ever really gave him the benefit of the doubt. He's proved her loyalty to her time and again, proved she has nothing to fear and I feel like she almost owes it to him to trust that he'll reveal his secrets when he's good and ready."

I agree with your assessment of Sully, but I think Chaz could have handled it much better. After a certain point, she clearly didn't care what he actually was, and just wanted answers. However, she was too afraid to hurt Sully to show him and tell him that she trusted him no matter what, and I think that probably hurt him more than had she confronted him and asked him about himself.

I also think that Sully wasn't very realistic about who Chaz was, if he thought that she wouldn't care that he had secrets that he wanted to keep from her for years and years. I understand the desire to take your sweet time revealing certain things about yourself to someone else, but when you're asking that person to trust you with your life? It seems a little unreasonable on Sully's part.

Basically, I was frustrated that they didn't seem to understand each other very well, even though they were clearly supposed to.

I think maybe Trust Issues sums up this part. In so many ways!

Lindsay wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I also knew it was Berri!! Although I always tend to assume it is the prideful religious fanatic.

Ha! This was me as well! I never trust the 'religious nuts'. They can hide easily ..."

Ditto

I get that Sully has trust issues and doesn't want to reveal himself too fast. But if it comes to a life or death situation, you just got to suck it up. Chaz has been trusting him on faith, never knowing what he can do. When something happens, trust isn't instant, I am sure she will come around eventually but she is a little preoccupied with not dying.