#Dairine is actually god
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9 people you'd like to get to know better
I got tagged by @capricule and @alouvrr! thanks both of you :)
Three ships: Obligated to say chargestep (and chargeflystep) i am always thinking about Fallen Hero. In the process of rewatching Leverage so the CLASSIC hardison-parker-eliot trio has been on my mind. I'm brain-blanking on like. a third romantic ship I'm currently unwell about, because I'm More Unwell about various Deeply Involved Friendships* currently (Anathema & Arsinoe, Chen & Arsinoe, my various codependent basically-additional-ocs situations, etc.) And also other people's sidesteps' relationships by proxy. Thats super fun to watch.
First ship: Oh god who even knows. We're gonna go with Formative and say Nita and Kit from Young Wizards by Diane Duane, which I know predated middle school. Shout out to Dairine and Roshaun from the same series for being my first "haha i understand this is intended to read as romantic and is probably headed in that direction... but What If..." (formless blob of emotion unable to be placed in a neat box)
Last song: As It Was, Hozier. Playing my Ars playlist quietly in the background.
Currently reading: The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison. Rereading it, but I am Once Again laying on the floor about Kindness and the Decision To Be Kind and respect the personhood of the people you interact with being the most important thing.
Currently craving: apple pancake... which I may have the ingredients for but I do not have the inclination to actually make right now so. Maybe at some point.
And I have NOT been paying attention to tumblr this week so apologies if any of you have already been poked with this, but I'm going to @ @dogueteeth, @rangerdoubt, @cigarettesandinevitablebetrayal, @thenightdayblogger ? if any of y'all are interested :)
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Behind the scenes of this livetext: Mycroft gets a new phone and identifies Iago via haiku; Iago sees Hamilton; "Pride and Prejudice but in Starfleet" becomes a thing; Iago quits their job; SO MANY PUNS; and it turns out that Mycroft has never finished Avatar: the Last Airbender. A year in the making (I'm not even fucking kidding), I present you with: Iago Reads Wizards At War (lightly edited for ease of reading)
Mycroft: Better start bracing yourself for book 8 now
Iago: Oh sweet Jesus
Mycroft: There, no you can't say I didn't warn you
Iago: But you /know/ it's funnier when I get to threaten you with gruesome death!
Iago: Are you ready for this?
Iago: ...one of the chapter titles is "Acceptable Losses". /I/ am not ready for this.
Iago: Nita needs a vacation from her vacation. Nita sweetie...
Iago: "Neets, is it true he destroyed a whole alien culture in just ten days?" Carmela Rodriguez is my Patronus
Mycroft: Right?
Mycroft: She just keeps getting better
Iago: Roll call at the Callahan home: "three humans, one humanoid, one tree, and one giant bug" and I'm quietly cackling in public
Iago: "The centipede pointed a couple spare eyes at the Christmas tree." Taken out of context, I think that may be the most bizarre sentence I've ever read. In context, it makes perfect sense. I don't know which amuses me more.
Mycroft: Yesssss
Iago: "But her mom had loved those lilacs, and wouldn't be seeing them again." OKAY OW
Iago: Oh sweet minty Jesus
Iago: You weren't wrong.
Iago: And I wasn't prepared.
Mycroft: So not prepared
Mycroft: What's that in response to specifically?
Iago: Basically the entire series of events leading to Kit and Nita becoming Seniors
Mycroft: BASICALLY
Mycroft: IT'S ALL GONE TO SHIT
Iago: Descriptions of wizardries in action never fail to be beautiful
Iago: "The changes in the structure of space then start affecting the thought processes and reactions of all living beings in the area. Their behavior will start to become less and less rational...less committed to Life."
SHE WROTE THIS BOOK OVER A DECADE AGO HOW IS IT SO RELEVANT RIGHT NOW
Mycroft: Oh you have no idea
Iago: God help my soul
Mycroft: So yes, welcome to Tom's Wizardly PowerPoint of universal doom
Iago: I should just go see Moana again. It's far less depressing
Iago: "Uh-oh". Now Nita's getting in on it
Mycroft: Indeed
Iago: Looks like Nita's playing "fake it 'til you make it"
Iago: I don't know if that's good or bad, to be honest
Mycroft: Fairly characteristic tho
Iago: True
Iago: "...yet another lollipop sticking out of his face." That is the greatest description of someone with a sucker in their mouth that I've ever witnessed
Mycroft: Roshaun and his lollipop addiction
Mycroft: The real OTP
Iago: *chokes* oh my gOD
Iago: Sker'ret just called Nita "Senior". I think both Nita and I had a quick internal freak-out
Iago: THEY STILL HAVE BETTY CALLAHAN'S NUMBER IN THEIR HOME PHONE I'M GOING TO GO CRY IN A CORNER
Mycroft: ;__;
Iago: "The universe has started expanding too fast, and we have to stop it before it tears itself apart."
"Um. Okay, I see why you might need a few extra days off for that."
*slightly hysterical laughter*
Mycroft: Same
Iago: "Two weeks to save the universe". Sounds like an album title
Mycroft: I'd listen to it
Iago: "What /is/ grenfelzing, exactly?"
"It's kind of like emmfozing, but with chocolate."
Have I ever mentioned that I both hate and love your ability to quote these goddamn books at me when I ask questions?
Mycroft: I can't recall, but I'm glad to hear it
Mycroft: Also I mean that's the only canon explanation so really, what else could I say
Iago: But you quoted it /word for word/
Mycroft: Admittedly, that was at least partially For The Meme
Iago: I'll allow it
Iago: "...a brief, profound case of amnesia. They'd instantly forgotten why they were there" sounds like my life
Iago: Oh my god what is Spot doing with the TV
Iago: *whispers* How bad is it that my mind is currently in the gutter
Mycroft: Dataaaaaa
Iago: AM I JUST A PERVERT OR DOES THAT SOUND INCREDIBLY DIRTY
Mycroft: It's certainly something
Iago: "But most of the aliens are here for the cocoa plants." Well, I can't exactly blame them...
Iago: Carmela Rodriguez remains a gift
Iago: Oh god Ronan's back
Mycroft: Yessssss Carmela and Ronan
Mycroft: A dangerous combination
Iago: Ronan keeps the Spear in a pen
Iago: *checks date published*
Iago: Feels a bit Percy Jackson to me
Iago: Carmela has the insta-hots for Ronan. This is gonna be fun
Iago: "The fucking heir of an almighty something or other" is still a really good description for Roshaun. In case you were wondering if I had warmed up to him any more
Iago: WHALE
Iago: WHALE ON THE MOON
Iago: Whale On The Moon is the name of my new techno jazz band
Mycroft: Can I join?
Mycroft: I'll learn any new instrument you need
Iago: ...having thought about it, I'm legitimately not certain what instruments would be /played/ in a techno jazz band. So, I mean, if you want to learn the synthesizer...
Iago: Young Wizards book 8 alternate title: Wizards' Reunion
Iago: Lots of air quotes going on right now
Iago: ....I want Darryl's manual
Iago: "Where's your adjunct talent?"
"Playing with rocks, as usual."
Okay now I really want a puppy
Iago: "Twychild". Have I mentioned lately that the worldbuilding in these books gives me a case of the warm fuzzies?
Mycroft: Yesssss Tuyet and Nguyet
Iago: *whispers* Why is there a thought-voice talking in second-person in Kit's head
Iago: The description of Roshaun's living space send help
Iago: "A three-way collision between an antique furniture warehouse, a jewelry story, and a Gothic cathedral carved and decorated by the artistically insane."
Iago: So my brain has given Roshaun's father the voice of Mark Hamill.
Iago: There's a decent chance I'm going to just call him the Phoenix King
Iago: "Speaking truth to power is never 'out'." DAIRINE REMAINS GOD
Iago: (Also if I ever go to a protest I'm putting that on my sign.)
Mycroft: Yessss do it
Mycroft: And which kind of Mark Hamill are we talking here: Skywalker, Firelord or Joker?
Iago: Firelord. Thus the Phoenix King comment
Iago: Oh my god Dairine in the face of implications that she and Roshaun are ~involved~
Mycroft: Blessss
Iago: "You tell those people that they are completely nuts!"
Iago: Did...did Roshaun just /whine/ at his mother?
Mycroft: Yes
Mycroft: Not so dignified now
Iago: *falls off the table in laughter*
Iago: Oh god is Roshaun developing a Thing for Dairine
Mycroft: WELCOME TO THE MADDENING AMBIGUITY
Iago: MADDENING AMBIGUITY IS THE NAME OF MY NEW POLITICAL PUNK BAND
Mycroft: Bless
Iago: This is my favorite game
Mycroft: I know a fair few YW fans who have a particular talent for it
Iago: I have a list. I use them in my stories for bands my characters like
Mycroft: Most excellent
Iago: Ponch wants blue food
Mycroft: As do we all
Iago: I /could/ go for some blue Jolly Ranchers
Iago: Ponch, to Ronan: "You two just talk among yourselves."
Dog sass is best sass
Iago: "It's math, Kit, but not as we know it."
SHE. SHE JUST. SHE FUCKING DID THAT ON PURPOSE
Iago: I'm going to go curl up in a corner and cry with laughter now
Mycroft: Yup
Mycroft: What a nerd, right
Iago: Pot, kettle
Iago: Oh shit Sker'ret is having a fight with his parent
Iago: ...I currently have a desire to cuddle what amounts to a giant centipede. What have you done to me
Mycroft: The magic of Young Wizards
Iago: That was terrible
Iago: But, then again, I love terrible
Iago: Okay so the description of dark matter
Mycroft: Yes?
Iago: I feel like I have something crawling around under my skin
Mycroft: It's unsettling, isn't it
Mycroft: That gets worse
Iago: Oh god
Iago: "Nita for the first time actually saw someone else look out of Ronan's eyes. The expression was one of recognition coupled with a very controlled anger. The one who looked out had seen something like this before."
Oh. Shit. Oh /shit/.
Mycroft: Yessssss
Mycroft: Shit just got real
Iago: I am not prepared for this
Mycroft: Correct
Iago: GIGO
Mycroft: :D
Iago: "For transits like this, we temporarily rewrite the kernel that manages local gravity and mass in our solar system. It's no big deal."
oh my gOD
Iago: They are actually Dairine's children
Mycroft: They've been busy since we last saw them
Mycroft: And it's awesome
Iago: "A world of true computer wizards" get the fuck out
Iago: They're actually calling her Mother s e n d h e l p
Mycroft: RIGHT
Iago: I'm not crying you're crying
Mycroft: I'm not crying I'm eating a quaesadilla
Mycroft: The crying one must be you
Iago: Well I can't see to tell you so who knows
Iago: "Guys," [Dairine] said after a moment, "you make me proud."
"That is our other purpose," Beanpole said. "Our first one."
Iago: I A M D E A D
Mycroft: I knowwww
Iago: "Life's all the time sending /me/ messages I can't read." [Dairine] flicked just a second's glance at Roshaun, who she was starting to think was yet another of those messages.
Iago: Oh lordy
Iago: Oh god above send help
Iago: Spot's becoming less of a machine, more alive. I don't know if I'm in support of this change
Mycroft: Everyone needs upgrades now and then :P
Iago: I don't like change
Iago: I kind of adore the mobiles all bowing to Dairine
Iago: Roshaun raised his eyebrows and produced another lollipop, which he held out to her.
"How many of those things do you have?" Dairine said.
"Not nearly enough," Roshaun said.
Iago: Please excuse me while I go laugh myself sick
Mycroft: Roshaun has his priorities in order
Mycroft: There was always a jar of lollipops on hand at CrossingsCon in his honor
Iago: Perfect
Iago: "I'll give you a dysfunction where you'll have trouble finding it again."
Totally stealing that don't even care
Mycroft: Excellent
Iago: "I may be a mother, but you are /mine/."
Maybe I didn't take enough time to recover after finishing The Slow Regard of Silent Things I'm going to go collapse in an emotional heap
Mycroft: So many Dairine feels, I knowww
Iago: "Enthusiasmic incorporation of the Hesper--"
What? What?! What does it say? What does it mean? I NEED TO KNOW
Mycroft: [rubs hands together; evil laughter] I'M SAYING NOTHING
Iago: Oh god is time moving faster on Metemne
Mycroft: MAYBE
Iago: Oh fuck it's relativity isn't it. Because they're near the source of the dark matter, they're moving faster than the rest of the Universe
Mycroft: Very possible
Iago: Oh no. Introduction of Della Cantrell and MY EMOTIONS CAN'T TAKE THIS HALP
Mycroft: Oh boy
Iago: Nita's phone call to her dad. Direct hit to the feels.
Mycroft: Harry Callahan is such a good dad
Iago: That is part of why it hurts so much
Iago: "Nita, could you please get off me before we accidentally become more than just good friends?"
*cackles maniacally*
Mycroft: BEST
Iago: Holy fucking sHIT ALMOND SPIDERS WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK
Mycroft: Wait what
Mycroft: Remind me of the context for that
Iago: On Rashah. The creatures destroying the trees are almond-shaped and have eight legs. Almond spiders
Mycroft: Oh ok that's what I figured
Mycroft: HELLO TO OUR TERRIFYING NEW ALIEN FRIENDS
Iago: ALMOND SPIDERS. WHY.
Mycroft: WHY NOT
Iago: "They've been fighting each other, on and off, for /millions/ of years?"
"They must be really enjoying it, to keep the war going so long."
Sker'ret is so great
Mycroft: Rashah is not exactly a great vacation destination, that's for sure
Iago: Oh sweet minty Jesus the almond spiders are a remnant after an atomic holocaust I need a drink
Iago: And...they're all avatars...of the Lone Wanker. Better make that two drinks.
Mycroft: WELCOME TO RADIOACTIVE POSSESSED WAR-MONGERING GIANT SPIDER CULT WORLD
Mycroft: ENJOY YOUR STAY
Iago: Where is Nita's dad
Iago: I am Concerned
Iago: Also
Iago: I will never get tired of the "check your spelling" joke
Mycroft: Same
Iago: "Words had just failed Dairine." Gods above have mercy on us all
Mycroft: I appreciate that the narration pauses to note how unthinkable that is
Iago: Also, a "bright" version of the Lone Power
Iago: What does that mean
Iago: Why is bright in quotes
Mycroft: To indicate it's kind of a rough description of a more complex subject, mostly
Iago: But does it mean that we're getting a version of the Lone Power that's more on the good side or a version that's worse than usual
Mycroft: There's more explanation later, but basically picture the LP's non-evil twin
Mycroft: Like its opposite, basically
Iago: I thought /you/ were refusing to give spoilers
Mycroft: Meh, I saw that as more clarification on what you already read, ymmv
Mycroft: But stay tuned
Iago: Well obviously
Iago: Nita doesn't like shooting people who are shooting at her
Mycroft: Krakens don't count but I don't think they were as sentient
Iago: "I'm a wizard, not an engineer" goddammit /again/?!
Mycroft: Yesss
Iago: I shall take myself off to the laughing corner
Iago: Oh god self-destruct at the Crossings
Mycroft: Kind of a terrifying prospect
Iago: Nita just blew up a giant gun
Mycroft: Yesss
Iago: "High-fiving a giant centipede can take a while."
Up next on Winning Understatements....
Mycroft: That is so fun to picture
Iago: I know!
Iago: "I don't wear socks."
"Just as well. You'd bankrupt yourself."
That is /also/ fun to picture
Mycroft: As an antidote to the tense battle scene, have a bunch of centipede leg jokes
Iago: Pretty much
Iago: Wait
Iago: /Carmela/?!
Mycroft: Hahahaha yesss
Mycroft: THE GLORIOUS RETURN
Iago: What
Iago: WHAT
Iago: Okay, Sker'ret just /swallowed/ the self-destruct panel
Mycroft: He's got a talent for that kind of thing
Iago: Which, I mean, okay, great way to not lose it
Iago: But
Iago: Can't he digest, like, /everything/?
Iago: And the self-destruct sequence is still going?
Iago: What happens if he takes too long to get the panel back out?
Mycroft: Rirhait stomach work in mysterious ways
Iago: ...is that the canon explanation or your way of saying "don't think about it too hard"
Mycroft: Yes
Iago: Why did I let you talk me into this
Mycroft: Because it's awesome, come on
Iago: Ugh
Iago: *quiet noises of agreement*
Iago: "So I took steps." CARMELA
Iago: (Carmela is the reason I let you talk me into this.)
Mycroft: That's the best answer
Mycroft: This book is Peak Carmela honestly
Iago: *whispers emphatically* Juanita Louise
Mycroft: Yessssss
Iago: Carmela just referred to Filif as "my favorite Christmas tree" and Carmela is all of us in that moment
Mycroft: So true
Mycroft: Filif is tree-mendous
Iago: I fucking hate you so much right now. :b
Mycroft: :D
Iago: "We are on errantry, and we greet you."
"Not that you particularly /merit/ greeting." Nita pls
Mycroft: She's earned the right to some snark, I'd say
Iago: Clearly
Iago: "You get more honey with flies. Wait a minute, that's not how it goes." CARMELA PLS
Mycroft: Oh my god
Mycroft: Get ready for another legendary Carmela moment
Iago: IS SHE BRIBING THE TAWALF WITH CHOCOLATE
Iago: FUCKING SHIT YES SHE IS
Mycroft: YEAH
Mycroft: And now you know why this book made Carmela everyone's favorite
Iago: I'M SO PLEASED WITH THIS
Iago: I mean Dairine is always going to be my eternal favorite but yeah Carmela's a close second
Mycroft: Relatable
Iago: Oh my god now she's threatening to /eat/ the chocolate right in front of them I'm crying
Mycroft: I KNOW RIGHT
Iago: Ponch the almond spider is trying to catch his non-existent tail
Mycroft: Omfg I forgot about that
Iago: It's a hilarious picture
Iago: I think I just witnessed a cult gathering
Iago: "You let me worry about this planet, and I'll let you worry about all the others." HARRY CALLAHAN IS BEST DAD
Mycroft: THE VERY BEST
Iago: NO
Iago: NONONONONO
Iago: TOM AND CARL HAVE FORGOTTEN THEIR WIZARDRY
Mycroft: AH YOU'VE GOTTEN TO THAT PART
Mycroft: WELCOME TO HEARTBREAK CITY, POPULATION YOU
Mycroft: And also Nita
Iago: S E N D H E L P
Iago: Wait are Rirhait mostly purple
Iago: Because if yes than they are my new favorites
Mycroft: They also come in blue, green, and pink, but yeah
Mycroft: I'm pretty sure Sker'ret in particular is purple
Iago: Well I saw that but the book makes a point to say that there are a /lot/ of shades of purple and I fucking love purple
Mycroft: You're in luck, then
Iago: "I would never lose my balance. I am a paragon of grace and stability."
"Oh, yeah. Who said /that/?"
"Roshaun."
Someone help me
Iago: I cannot
Mycroft: Pffft
Mycroft: Classic Roshaun
Iago: Kit is hiding his eyes from "sex stuff" and I'm laughing
Iago: "My dog brings home strays." Kit your dog is a fucking gift
Iago: A ducking gift who knows how to work a situation to get dog treats
Iago: And...and then he gave the treat to the Yaldiv that he brought home.
Iago: Ponch is a good dog.
Mycroft: Ponch is a good dog
Iago: "What is it with these Callahan women that they're always after yelling at you and giving you grief?"
"Not always. Just when it's going to get most on your nerves."
Kit just be glad Nita isn't here because she'd sock you
Iago: Oh
Iago: Oh shit
Iago: Just head the story of the dogs' Choice
Iago: And
Iago: everything is fine
Iago: EVERYTHING IS FINE MYCROFT
Mycroft: E V E R Y T H I N G I S F I N E
Iago: "Even when people mean to do good things, bad things happen in the world."
"They're happening already. Pretending they're not won't help."
Memeki the almond spider is speaking to my soul I'm gonna go start a revolution now
Mycroft: Yes please do
Iago: ALMOND SPIDER ATTACK OH GOD
Mycroft: I'm greatly enjoying your dedication to calling the Yaldiv almond spiders
Iago: NITA AND CARMELA TO THE RESCUE FUCK YEAH
Iago: WAIT WAS THE "THING" NITA WAS SUPPOSED TO GO BACK AND GET ACTUALLY /CARMELA/?!
Iago: BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE THE FUCKING GREATEST
Iago: Also
Iago: What does it mean that Memeki was honored by the Great One
Iago: Is she pregnant
Iago: Is she being nommed from the inside
Iago: Oh. Oh shit. What does Memeki mean by "my time"
Iago: CALLED IT ASSFACES
Iago: I mean
Iago: She's not currently getting et
Iago: But
Iago: Eggses
Iago: EGGSES, PRECIOUS
Iago: ACK NO WHY WITH THE MEMORIES OF BETTY I AM NEVER PREPARED FOR THOSE
Iago: Okay apparently the thing Nita was supposed to bring was /not/ in fact Carmela but rather hEART-WRENCHING MEMORIES OF HER MOTHER'S DEATH
Iago: Oh god Carmela is yanking Kit's chain about having found a manual and I'm experiencing emotional whiplash halp
Mycroft: Carmela is dedicated to yanking as many chains as possible, the audience's included
Iago: THEY'RE ALL LOST THEIR WIZARDRY SEND HELP
Iago: ROSHAUN IS ON HIS DIGNITY SEND A DIFFERENT KIND OF HELP
Iago: *inhuman screeching*
Iago: ACK NO YOU ABSOLUTE WANKHOLE GET YOUR DIRTY POWERS OFF CARMELA
Iago: "Oops," said Carmela...and, very slowly, smiled.
Mycroft: OOPS
Mycroft: The holy grail of Carmela badass
Iago: *screams a lot*
Iago: *so much screaming*
Iago: Oh, now This Bitch is rising from the ashes, because obviously
Iago: *snarls a lot*
Iago: *basically continuous snarling*
Iago: RONAN
Iago: R O N A N
Iago: *screams forever*
Iago: *interrupts eternal screaming for a breath* oh yes Sker'ret is in fact purple *continues screaming*
Iago: ROSHAUN WHAT ARE YOU DOING
Iago: ROSHAUN
Mycroft: ROSHAAAAUN
Iago: *still screaming*
Iago: WHAT THE HAP IS FUCKENING
Iago: WHY IS THE TRANSCENDENT PIG HERE
Iago: WHY IS PONCH A SHADOW DOG
Iago: P O N C H
Iago: PONCH IS SUCH A GOOD DOG
Mycroft: PONCH IS THE BEST DOG
Iago: *cries forever*
Iago: *is also still screaming*
Iago: TOM AND CARL ARE BACK
Iago: BUT ON THE OTHER HAND PONCH
Iago: PONCH
Iago: PONCH IS BACK
Iago: HE'S A SHEEPDOG NOW BUT HE'S PONCH
Iago: TOTALLY CRYING RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS THE ANIMALS THAT GET TO ME
Iago: IT'S THE END OF THE BOOK AND THE DOG TECHNICALLY DIDN'T DIE
Mycroft: The dog did the opposite of dying, ultimately
Iago: PLEASE EXCUSE ME WHILE I COLLAPSE ON THIS BED AND SOB WITH JOY
Iago: Okay I'm going to go collapse in an emotionally exhausted heap and probably read all of A Wizard of Mars tomorrow. So. Be ready for that.
Mycroft: CONGRATS you made it to the last stop on the emotional roller coaster that is Wizards at War
Mycroft: You win a free trip to Mars
Mycroft: Where definitely nothing will go wrong
#from the Wordsmith#let's have a quick chat#Young Wizards#Wizards at War#Iago Reads Young Wizards#Iago Reads Wizards at War#Nita Callahan#Kit Rodriguez#Dairine is actually god#Carmela Rodriguez: omnisexual#everyone's favorite Christmas tree#the fucking heir of an almighty something or other#centipedes in socks#Harry Callahan is Best Dad#Iago plays the reference game#And Iago isn't the only one playing#not you dd#(yes you)#exploding koalas
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I only read the first seven of the Young Wizards Series, but I really loved those books as a teen. My favorite was The Wizard's Dilemma. There was something so therapeutic about the puzzle and exploration of cancer and life that got to me at a very important time in my life. But the world the series was in was always so robust and wonderful. The sea life in Deep Wizardry and the HOOKS in the first book, are also so memorable.
I really need to revisit them bc I kinda fell off them
But I love love LOVE Deep Wizardry it’s my absolute fave and I can’t remember how many times I’ve read it. It was actually the first one I read (thus beginning a lifetime of reading series in the wrong order)...that dog eared paperback I got from the Scholastic book fair at school when I was like 10. And the thing is, they were the first fantasy books I ever read that I could relate to. Earthsea was the only other one that had poc in it but Young Wizards literally had urban kids of color as the heroes, from NYC even! It was the first time I saw myself in any book I liked. Every fantasy book I read up until that point was all about very Merry Olde England type settings and people—it was still all very Tolkien derivative in the 80s and novels from the 70s. I grew up on Lloyd Alexander’s work (and love it the way most other nerds love LotR), the Dark is Rising, etc. So it absolutely blew my mind as a kid, that kids I could relate to, and went the same places I did could have amazing adventures like that. Kit and Nita and Dairine could have been my cousins or any kids I knew on the school bus.
The other thing I really love most about those books is that they really dig deep into some mature, heavy themes at times without feeling grimdark or edgy for the sake of it. They taught me so much about grief and loss and hope.
They even did the “protagonists growing up and maturing” thing so beautifully especially considering the way magic works in those books. Gods they’re just so good
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What are other books/series that you'd recommend that are in the same vein as Animorphs?
Honestly, your ask inspired me to get off my butt and finally compile a list of the books that I reference with my character names in Eleutherophobia, because in a lot of ways that’s my list of recommendations right there: I deliberately chose children’s and/or sci-fi stories that deal really well with death, war, dark humor, class divides, and/or social trauma for most of my character names. I also tend to use allusions that either comment on Animorphs or on the source work in the way that the names come up.
That said, here are The Ten Greatest Animorphs-Adjacent Works of Literature According to Sol’s Totally Arbitrary Standards:
1. A Ring of Endless Light, Madeline L’Engle
This is a really good teen story that, in painfully accurate detail, captures exactly what it’s like to be too young to really understand death while forced to confront it anyway. I read it at about the same age as the protagonist, not that long after having suffered the first major loss in my own life (a friend, also 14, killed by cancer). It accomplished exactly what a really good novel should by putting words to the experiences that I couldn’t describe properly either then or now. This isn’t a light read—its main plot is about terminal illness, and the story is bookended by two different unexpected deaths—but it is a powerful one.
2. The One and Only Ivan, K.A. Applegate
This prose novel (think an epic poem, sort of like The Iliad, only better) obviously has everything in it that makes K.A. Applegate one of the greatest children’s authors alive: heartbreaking tragedy, disturbing commentary on the human condition, unforgettably individuated narration, pop culture references, and poop jokes. Although I’m mostly joking when I refer to Marco in my tags as “the one and only” (since this book is narrated by a gorilla), Ivan does remind me of Marco with his sometimes-toxic determination to see the best of every possible situation when grief and anger allow him no other outlet for his feelings and the terrifying lengths to which he will go in order to protect his found family.
3. My Teacher Flunked the Planet, Bruce Coville
Although the entire My Teacher is an Alien series is really well-written and powerful, this book is definitely my favorite because in many ways it’s sort of an anti-Animorphs. Whereas Animorphs (at least in my opinion) is a story about the battle for personal freedom and privacy, with huge emphasis on one’s inner identity remaining the same even as one’s physical shape changes, My Teacher Flunked the Planet is about how maybe the answer to all our problems doesn’t come from violent struggle for personal freedoms, but from peaceful acceptance of common ground among all humans. There’s a lot of intuitive appeal in reading about the protagonists of a war epic all shouting “Free or dead!” before going off to battle (#13) but this series actually deconstructs that message as blind and excessive, especially when options like “all you need is love” or “no man is an island” are still on the table.
4. Moon Called, Patricia Briggs
I think this book is the only piece of adult fiction on this whole list, and that’s no accident: the Mercy Thompson series is all about the process of adulthood and how that happens to interact with the presence of the supernatural in one’s life. The last time I tried to make a list of my favorite fictional characters of all time, it ended up being about 75% Mercy Thompson series, 24% Animorphs, and the other 1% was Eugenides Attolis (who I’ll get back to in my rec for The Theif). These books are about a VW mechanic, her security-administrator next door neighbor, her surgeon roommate, her retail-working best friend and his defense-lawyer boyfriend, and their cybersecurity frenemy. The fact that half those characters are supernatural creatures only serves to inconvenience Mercy as she contemplates how she’s going to pay next month’s rent when a demon destroyed her trailer, whether to get married for the first time at age 38 when doing so would make her co-alpha of a werewolf pack, what to do about the vampires that keep asking for her mechanic services without paying, and how to be a good neighbor to the area ghosts that only she can see.
5. The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner
This book (and its sequel A Conspiracy of Kings) are the ones that I return to every time I struggle with first-person writing and no Animorphs are at hand. Turner does maybe the best of any author I’ve seen of having character-driven plots and plot-driven characters. This book is the story of five individuals (with five slightly different agendas) traveling through an alternate version of ancient Greece and Turkey with a deceptively simple goal: they all want to work together to steal a magical stone from the gods. However, the narrator especially is more complicated than he seems, which everyone else fails to realize at their own detriment.
6. Homecoming, Cynthia Voight
Critics have compared this book to a modern, realistic reimagining of The Boxcar Children, which always made a lot of sense to me. It’s the story of four children who must find their own way from relative to relative in an effort to find a permanent home, struggling every single day with the question of what they will eat and how they will find a safe place to sleep that night. The main character herself is one of those unforgettable heroines that is easy to love even as she makes mistake after mistake as a 13-year-old who is forced to navigate the world of adult decisions, shouldering the burden of finding a home for her family because even though she doesn’t know what she’s doing, it’s not like she can ask an adult for help. Too bad the Animorphs didn’t have Dicey Tillerman on the team, because this girl shepherds her family through an Odysseus-worthy journey on stubbornness alone.
7. High Wizardry, Diane Duane
The Young Wizards series has a lot of good books in it, but this one will forever be my favorite because it shows that weird, awkward, science- and sci-fi-loving girls can save the world just by being themselves. Dairine Callahan was the first geek girl who ever taught me it’s not only okay to be a geek girl, but that there’s power in empiricism when properly applied. In contrast to a lot of scientifically “smart” characters from sci-fi (who often use long words or good grades as a shorthand for conveying their expertise), Dairine applies the scientific method, programming theory, and a love of Star Wars to her problem-solving skills in a way that easily conveys that she—and Diane Duane, for that matter—love science for what it is: an adventurous way of taking apart the universe to find out how it works. This is sci-fi at its best.
8. Dr. Franklin’s Island, Gwyneth Jones
If you love Animorphs’ body horror, personal tragedy, and portrayal of teens struggling to cope with unimaginable circumstances, then this the book for you! I’m only being about 80% facetious, because this story has all that and a huge dose of teen angst besides. It’s a loose retelling of H.G. Wells’s classic The Island of Doctor Moreau, but really goes beyond that story by showing how the identity struggles of adolescence interact with the identity struggles of being kidnapped by a mad scientist and forcibly transformed into a different animal. It’s a survival story with a huge dose of nightmare fuel (seriously: this book is not for the faint of heart, the weak of stomach, or anyone who skips the descriptions of skin melting and bones realigning in Animorphs) but it’s also one about how three kids with a ton of personal differences and no particular reason to like each other become fast friends over the process of surviving hell by relying on each other.
9. Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Louis Sachar
Louis Sachar is the only author I’ve ever seen who can match K.A. Applegate for nihilistic humor and absurdist horror layered on top of an awesome story that’s actually fun for kids to read. Where he beats K.A. Applegate out is in terms of his ability to generate dream-like surrealism in these short stories, each one of which starts out hilariously bizarre and gradually devolves into becoming nightmare-inducingly bizarre. Generally, each one ends with an unsettling abruptness that never quite relieves the tension evoked by the horror of the previous pages, leaving the reader wondering what the hell just happened, and whether one just wet one’s pants from laughing too hard or from sheer existential terror. The fact that so much of this effect is achieved through meta-humor and wordplay is, in my opinion, just a testament to Sachar’s huge skill as a writer.
10. Magyk, Angie Sage
As I mentioned, the Septimus Heap series is probably the second most powerful portrayal of the effect of war on children that I’ve ever encountered; the fact that the books are so funny on top of their subtle horror is a huge bonus as well. There are a lot of excellent moments throughout the series where the one protagonist’s history as a child soldier (throughout this novel he’s simply known as “Boy 412″) will interact with his stepsister’s (and co-protagonist’s) comparatively privileged upbringing. Probably my favorite is the moment when the two main characters end up working together to kill a man in self-defense, and the girl raised as a princess makes the horrified comment that she never thought she’d actually have to kill someone, to which her stepbrother calmly responds that that’s a privilege he never had; the ensuing conversation strongly implies that his psyche has been permanently damaged by the fact that he was raised to kill pretty much from infancy, but all in a way that is both child-friendly and respectful of real trauma.
#ya sf#book recs#sci fi#children's literature#animorphs#a ring of endless light#the one and only ivan#my teacher flunked the planet#moon called#the theif#homecoming#high wizardry#dr. franklin's island#sideways stories from wayside school#magyk
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geekhyena replied to your post:geekhyena replied to your chat:In which we learn...
Eeeeyay! Good, because Darryl is my second favorite character (after Dairine, who I headcanon as autistic)
*simply points to High Wizardry liveblog, where Dairine was declared God*
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