#Desert Witch Novel

[nuclearpasta]

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A selfless gentleman helps his enemy strategize.

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[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

Gustave Flaubert - The Temptation of St. Anthony - Rarity Press (private print) - 1932 (illustrations by Jean De Bosschere)

[profiterole-reads]

2024 Favourites

In no particular order. This is content I've read and watched in 2024, not necessarily content released in 2024.

Books

1. So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole: f/f heroic fantasy + another female protagonist on the aroace spectrum with a male love interest (YA). One sister can channel the power of the Gods. The other dreams of becoming a drake pilot to protect their country from dragons.

2. Hunters of Ironport by Lou Wilham: m/m urban fantasy with a trans male protagonist. This series has Buffy/Faith vibes, except m/m. It crosses over with the Witches of Moondale series (f/f), but can be read independently.

3. The Mage's Secret by Ami Spencer: f/nb urban fantasy. This witch story is mostly cosy, with a few action scenes. It's about a coven elder and an Academy head in an established relationship.

4. [Spanish] Prodigioso principio de amor de Silvia Aliaga: m/m urban fantasy. This novel takes place at the University of Magic and Eloquence, in Florence, Italy, and the two leads are from Spain and the UK.

5. Power to Yield and Other Stories by Bogi Takács: collection of speculative short stories with many non-binary characters and a couple of intersex ones. This is my favourite read of the year. These brilliant stories explore gender identity, neurodivergence, religion, immigration and the human condition in general.

6. Earthflown by Frances Wren: m/m science fantasy. The characters have superpowers, but it's not superhero fiction. This novel takes place in post-flood London and has complex worldbuilding. Note that the e-book version doesn't include the 60 illustrations.

7. Redsight by Meredith Mooring: f/f science fantasy. This is mythological fantasy in space. The protagonist is a blind witch who's going to serve as a spaceship navigator. Her love interest is an ancient witch who's become a pirate and can turn into a giant snake.

8. Welcome to Boy.net by Lyda Morehouse: f/f science fiction with a trans female protagonist. This novel is about two bounty hunters in an established relationship. The protagonist used to be part of the ENForcers, which supposedly had only male members, so she had to desert in order to transition.

9. Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune, 2052–2072 by M.E. O'Brien and Eman Abdelhadi: speculative activism fiction written in the form of non-fiction, with many non-binary characters and two trans women. 12 interviews cover the crises of the mid-21st century, then the insurrections that led to establishing communes all over the world, with a focus on NYC.

10. [French] Un Amour pas si aveugle by Lena Clarke: f/f romance. A blind piano teacher and her guide dog move in next to a former firewoman, now an ambulance driver, and her dog.

TV shows

1. Kaos: mythological fantasy with several mlm characters + a trans male major character, and the Fates are played by trans/enby actors. I love this Greek Mythology modern AU, full of dark humour.

2. Meet You at the Blossom: BL wuxia. This Chinese/Thai coproduction is the first uncensored BL wuxia drama and I hope it'll pave the way to many more.

3. The Spirealm: BL portal fantasy. This c-drama is an intriguing adventure with horror vibes. The BL is still pretty visible despite Chinese censorship.

4. Tadaima, Okaeri: BL omegaverse. I had always avoided omegaverse stories, but this anime about an alpha/omega married couple with kids is just lovely.

5. When the Moonlight is Shining: GL fantasy. This c-drama is a quick watch, with 18 episodes of about 2 minutes. A mermaid comes to the human world.

6. 3 Will Be Free: m/m/f thriller + a trans female major character. This Thai drama is about the son of a mafia boss, a male stripper and a hostess at a go-go club. It's actually not as explicit as it sounds.

7. Petrichor: GL murder mystery. An inspector and a medical examiner team up in this Thai drama, which is much better than the forgettable Rizzoli and Isles.

8. Love Sea: BL + GL romance (a lot of BL sex scenes). This Thai drama is Fort/Peat (from Love in the Air)'s new show. Watch it for the high-chemistry BL, as the GL storyline is subpar.

9. Lucky My Love: GL romance. This Thai drama is a quick watch, with 5 episodes of 20 minutes. A superstitious woman meets her new team leader.

10. 1670: historical mockumentary with some f/f. In this Polish show (available on Netflix), the 17th-century humour is a metaphor for 21st-century issues.

Movies

1. Wicked: fantasy with sapphic vibes and achillean rep. I loved it, it was stunning!

2. Drive-Away Dolls: f/f crime comedy (a lot of sex scenes). This lesbian movie was on crack and is supposed to be the first of a trilogy!

3. Le Comte de Monte-Cristo: historical revenge movie with a canon sapphic minor character. This was a magnificent adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's masterpiece.

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

2024 Fic Round Up

I was tagged by @princessfbi and oh lord. This year was supposed to be LESS fanfic. What a mess.

This year I wrote 13 fics (24 if we count the Bermuda entries as separate fics) totaling 728,600 words, shared an original novel, and finished sharing my Google doc fics in the collection Fractals from the Lightning Bolt.

January

Posted the epilogue to my massive vampire/reincarnated lover fic All My Shattered Oaths. This is one of my favorite fics. I don't know what I was cooking in October 2023 but it sure was something and I hope to bring that vibe into my original novels.

February

The lovely amazing @f0x-meets-w0lf posted his art he did for my Hades!Buck fic here!

March

Finished sharing my collection of "ficlets from the vault" in Fractals from the Lightning Bolt and posted Racing with the Brakes Cut, my Buddie F&F AU. That fic was SUCH a fun burst of inspiration and a joy to write and I was delighted by everyone's reactions.

April

Posted the first six entries of my BuddieTommy/Polyfire smut fic collection, Both Bermuda and Golden (Lost but Doing Just Fine).

May

Posted a BuckTommy smut fic coda to 7x06, Want You Like a Desert (Heat is Relentless, Thirst is Quenchless), as well as evidence of my descent into madness, a 77k fic titled Abstraction to Realism that is, of all things, a Winter/Jones fic for Midsomer Murders. But I love it so.

June

I posted the next two Bermuda entries and the 55k fic Descendants of Cyrano AKA "The Gang Plays D&D" which was a lot of fun. I wrote it with the goal that a reader could enjoy it even if they knew nothing about TTRPGs and it seems like I succeeded.

July

Lost my entire fucking mind and after posting a couple chapters in May and June, proceeded to write and post the next 18 chapters of Held Up a Lightning Rod (Wonder Why I'm Struck) in the span of three weeks. This fic is 129k. What HAPPENED TO ME. I also posted my gift fic for the fandom fic exchange, Paint Me in Neon and Make Me Glow, a BuckTommy exhibition kink exploration, along with two more entries in Bermuda.

August

Posted the last two Bermuda fics and started posting Baking is a Science but I Studied the Arts, my poly romcom that only ended up being 62k, bless. It's truly a silly comedy of errors, and it was fun to be more lighthearted in my fics over the summer.

September

Finished writing/posting Baking in two weeks. Goddamn.

October

HALLOWEEEEEEEEEN. Brace yourselves! We started off with my Incubus!Buck fic Take My Oxygen (This Plane is Going Down), inspired by the TV series Lost Girl and my own incubus ideas. Next was my 55k Buzzfeed Unsolved/Ghost Files AU, Connected the Dots in Reverse (But Still Completed the Picture), which was T-rated. I know, right? Then we got my Witch!Buddie AU, With Eyes on the Stars and Hands in the Earth. Inspired by Tamora Pierce, this one was also a lot of fun. Then not one but two werewolf fics, one more humorous and one a lot more serious, and both only around 30k what a goddamn miracle: I'll Eat You Instead of Chocolate (You're Sweeter Anyhow) The Blood Between My Teeth is My Own I honestly wasn't sure I'd finish anything after the Incubus!Buck fic ballooned to 73k and took longer than planned, so I'm grateful the other fics behaved wordcount-wise and I was able to finish strong.

November

Local writer found brain dead.

December

Local writer sloooooowly coming back to life and ready to tackle their original novels in 2025!

This year truly held so much more fic than I planned and all of it was a joy, but it's time to knuckle down and focus on my original stories. I hope to share my one Xedgin fic soon but otherwise, I hope you all will keep an eye out for updates on my author blog @lincolnchristie and come with me on that journey!

[torchwood-99]

Eowyn "The Deserter"

The thing about this debate is that it's not rooted in anything Tolkien included in the novel. It has absolutely no narrative weight or relevance.

Post Eowyn's charge to the Pelennor, there is zero indication that she was condemned, or should be condemned, as a deserter.

She was assisted by Elfhelm and the men in his Eored, who turned a blind eye to her presence.

Her presence was vindicated by the narrative through her defeat of the Witch King.

Her actions on the battlefield were praised by everybody, with Eomer declaring she should be laid to rest beside Theoden in full honour, before he even knew of the Witch King's defeat.

Aragorn and Faramir both declared that her deeds had earned her great renown and has put her on equal standing with legendary queens of old.

Eowyn had to overcome her despair and her desirre for death in battle, but at no point does she have to accept any blame or regret for her actions.

Eowyn declares the shadow has passed directly after Faramir tells her that she is a "lady high and valiant" with deeds that will not be forgotten. Eowyn's path to healing is aided by her hearing and accepting that she is wonderful and deserves all the good stuff.

Back in Edoras, she is "in bliss", and her betrothal to Faramir is toasted and celebrated by all. No indication anyone has a problem with her.

The appendices noted that in Rohan, her deeds were celebrated, and she was forever remembered as "the Lady of the Shield-Arm".

Eowyn the Deserter is something the fandom made up.

Look at her actions factually. She stood by her uncle at the expense of her own ambitions, in the defiance of her own nature, while withstanding sexual harassment, mental abuse and the threat of force marriage and rape, in order to tend to her uncle. A charge she alone had foisted on her, at the age of nineteen, according the year Theoden's illness began, because she was a woman.

After Theoden's recovery, she received zero credit from her uncle, but was instead once more relegated to the task that no one else wanted, a task that all others had the choice to refuse, after her uncle outright forgot she was part of her family.

At this point, she would have had every right to turn around and say "fuck you all", but instead she rounded up the civilians, lead them from their homes, something many of them were reluctant to do, and took them to a place of refuge and safety. She then organised the refuge camp and saw that all was organised and the people were settled.

When she rode to the Pelennor, (with the assist of Elfhelm and his riders) Erkenbrand remained behind, with troops to defend the people. A protector and a leader was provided, and considering his military support, one significantly more crucial and powerful than Eowyn.

She then managed to take down an extremely deadly and dangerous enemy, one that, had he lived, would have made an already improbable victory even more difficult to attain, and would most certainly have resulted in an greater loss of life. This at great risk and cost to herself.

This accomplished, she finally, finally gets some bloody credit, and it is so telling that a not too small part of the fandom, instead of looking at the sacrifices she made, instead of looking at the skills she used, instead of looking at the years of steadfast service she provided to Theoden, sacrifices asked of no one else, instead of looking at the many, many lives she saved because of her decisions and because of her choices, they quibble and go "oooh but she was told to stay behind, and the people left in Dunharrow didn't have her to lead them, leaving them as helpless and vulnerable as sheep, even though Erkenbrand has charge of the troops and these are grown men and women".

Some outright make up stuff that goes completely against the text of the book, insisting her sex had nothing to do with the orders given to her, and that she was left behind because Theoden meant to have her as an heir, even Theoden specifically said that if he and Eomer were to die, the people of Rohan were to choose another leader from amongst themselves.

I've even seen people try to put her actions on a par with Grima's, because "both were selfish", as though there is any sort of equivalency between a woman who sacrificed her own sanity tending to her uncle, before leading her people to a place of refuge and then risking her neck defeating a deadly enemy, to the man who worked to de-stabalise his country and bring about untold death and suffering for the promised reward of riches and a chance to rape someone.

You want to know if Eowyn is a heroine or a deserter? Ask someone from Rohan, they'll either laugh at the prospect she's anything but a heroine, or outright clobber you for daring to suggest she's a deserter.

[so-many-ocs]

user so many ocs, my beloved, fellow Locked Tomb enjoyer, I am about to finish Nona and I am losing my mind because nothing will fill the Gideon Nav sized hole in my heart (lol). do you perchance have any recommendations of what I can read next that's similar to TLT?

ok i wanna preface this by saying i've only read GtN (i needed time to recover after the first one and left HtN at my parents' house for the semester lol but by virtue of Existing On Tumblr i know most of what happens in the series + i plan to read HtN asap)

BUT LET'S GO!! (storygraph summaries linked)

if you liked gideon the ninth, try:

This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone & Amal El-Mohtar - maybe i just read these 2 really close together but Time War has time travel, space fuckery, gut-wrenching sapphic yearning, and a drily humorous tone all packed into the span of less than 200 pages.

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan - historical fantasy, rich worldbuilding, one of my All-Time Favorite Books (right alongside Time War and Gideon the Ninth lol)

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang - historical fantasy, political intrigue, silver possesses the ability to manifest any meaning lost in translation between languages.

Cosmoknights by Hannah Templer - graphic novel (2 books out now); princesses, politics, and gladiator-style fights, but in space!

now for books i haven't read (on my tbr) that others have recommended for fans of TLT:

The Unbroken by C.L. Clark - fantasy, desert empire, a soldier and a princess "haggling" over the price of a nation.

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri - fantasy/romance, one seeking revenge, one seeking family.

The Ones We Burn by Rebecca Mix - fantasy, girl who is a monster (favorite trope of Ever btw), witches, kingdoms, and assassinations.

Crier's War by Nina Valera - fantasy with some sci-fi elements(?), humans vs. robots but with a twist! i want to read this so bad but have not found it anywhere

this list has some of the books i've recommended here, as well as a couple others i haven't! most of the books i've recommended are sapphic or at least lgbtq as well if that's something you're specifically interested in :)

lastly, storygraph does have a "browse similar books" feature, though i'm not sure how accurate it is as i've yet to really try it out!

i hope that was helpful !!!

[akajustmerry]

hey merry! i noticed you just started the show, so how're you liking dark winds so far?

I started and finished it in less than a week. suffice to say, I really enjoyed it! here's some quickfire thoughts (note: I'm Aboriginal/First Nations "Australian" so I'm speaking as a non-Native to the so called US) <3

Something I loved about it as an Indigenous person is that every character has a different relationship to their ceremony and cultural beliefs. You have Bern who's totally immersed, Joe who wants to but struggles because of his grief, and Jim who's skeptical af. I liked that so much because it's very real. at least in my family and community. Everyone's degree of belief is different for different reasons!!

Bern and Jim oh my FUCKING God. I was GIGGLING and KICKING MY FEET. a+ culturally specific slowburn. when he asked her about her tribe?? when she gave him the protection medicine? when he says there's nothing on the rez for him and she says "I'm here"? WHEN SHE LEAVES AND HE RETURNS THE PROTECTIVE JEWELLERY??? 🥹🥰🥹🥰

I preferred the first season to the second. I think it was shot better and had a better executed mystery. The cinematography in season one was so gorgeous. It had a very distinctive almost sunny yet gothic feel, but the second season was shot more conventionally. I hated the colour splash sequences.

Emma's sub-plot of helping other women avoid forced sterilisation was so awesome. Deserves its own show to be honest. That sequence where she tells the patient in Dineʼ (under the guise of translating for the white doc) that she should not have her baby in hospital because the white doctors will sterilise her? One of the best character intros I've ever seen, and I love how it tails off in season 2 with her agreeing to go public with what's happening.

I love Bern so MUCH. Jess Mattern is so GOOD. her encounters with the witch are CHILLING. Her pure dedication to her cultural beliefs is so inspiring. She's also one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen and I'm so gay. My only thing is......in WHAT universe is becoming a BORDER PATROL officer gonna mean you encounter LESS injustice. smh!!!

Kiowa Gordon as a 1970s suave FBI deserter turned hire out of a highway hotel private eye full of love for his community?? That's my dream gender!!!!!!! Also......it must be said....i need him.

Finally, even though I could tell Graham Roland and the writers made HUGE efforts to shift the white gaze of the novels Dark Winds was based on, there was just some moments/attitudes in the series that felt Off. maybe I'm over sensitive to copaganda idk but yeah there was just a little too much.......rampant individual American heroism and pro-cop/military stuff at times that made me roll my eyes as a non-usAmerican viewer

anyways, looking forward to having a reason to stay alive until 2025 (when season 3 comes out!)

[choiceofgames]

Pon Para and the Unconquerable Scorpion

"Pon Para and the Unconquerable Scorpion." Chosen by the gods, betrayed by your king, you must stop the Scorpion!

https://www.choiceofgames.com/pon-para-2/

The philosopher witch Teijia has unleashed a new weapon: a scorpion-god whose venom poisons the very foundations of reality! As the edges of the world disintegrate, the nomadic Stormraiders make one final, desperate push to defeat the Three Nations and carve out their own kingdom.

This time you'll need more than the sign of your god and a few friends: to end the war and save the world from destruction, you'll need an army! Establish yourself as a warlord, crime boss, or divine leader and cross oceans and deserts to find a weapon that can stop the Unconquerable Scorpion!

Old Friends and Enemies Return. Once again find friendship, enmity, or romance with Melaxu the nymph philosopher and Tamur the Desert Empire spy. But beware: the Stormraiders Galimar and Gisla are back too. And what will your own rulers, King Hyras and the Desert Empress, demand of you this time?

New Heroes, New Threats. Recruit Col the satyr general and his young ward Clannath, a crow-woman cursed by the God of Rage. Claim territory across two nations and scheme to protect your followers. But beware the ambitions of the dark priests…and of the priests of Heaven, who still consider you a heretic and enemy of the gods!

The End of Philosophy? Even as King Hyras and Lord Vankred square off to end the Stormraider War, the witch Teijia unleashes her ultimate weapon: the Emissary Beast Magdala, the Unconquerable Scorpion, whose venom can destroy the engines that maintain the World That Remains. What can stop a creature forged by the gods to be unstoppable? Return to the World That Remains. Make yourself at home!

"Pon Para and the Unconquerable Scorpion" is an interactive fantasy novel by Kyle Marquis, where your choices control the story. It's entirely text-based—742,000 words and hundreds of choices long, without graphics or sound effects—and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

[adolin]

Any fiction recommendations? I’ve repeatedly read Locked Tomb, natch. I’d love something similarly brainwork inducing but maybe a touch lighter. Also not fantasy or sci fi…I need something to listen to while I do a ton of chores, and those can be hard (for me) because the unfamiliar proper nouns get confusing. :/

anon!! I'm terrible at reccing anything based on “if you liked TLT” because TLT is like five different genres in a trench coat, but I TRIED (⭐) Here are some brainworm-y recs that aren't sff — where by brainworm-y I mean that they stayed with me for a while after I finished them, but aren't overly confusing. (most of them are books, but available on audio)

Podcasts: a tumblr pal recced me the deviser based on me liking the eldritch elements of tlt; it's short and horror-y, and I really enjoyed it.

I haven't checked out the new TMA yet but I see many TLT peeps who are enjoying it (or S1 of the original The Magnus Archives could be a good entry point if you haven't ever listened to it)

TV: Unfortunately I hardly ever watch live action stuff BUT if you haven't seen either IWTV (the series not the film) or Yellowjackets, I do rec those! There's a lot of overlap between these fans and TLT fandom on my dash. His Dark Materials also goes hard and you might enjoy it (dysfunctional characters! worldbuilding! religious weirdness!) but it has more sff elements than other stuff I've recced. Oddball out of nowhere but The Great is a fun show if you enjoy the meme moments of TLT + people being gleefully horrible + having feelings despite your best intentions

Animanga: Utena (!!!!!) also Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, which occupies a very similar space to TLT in my brain

Books!

✧ I went through my “women unhinged” goodreads shelf and found some books that are avaliable in audio format, and might appeal. These are wildly varied in scope and ngl the criterion was just “at least one person (besides myself) who enjoyed tlt also this book” and the similarities stop there. It's all vibes baby! Still, I tried

my heart is a chainsaw by stephen graham jones (horror, slasher), bunny by mona awad (horror, wildly unhinged), the witching hour by anne rice (horror, gothic)

matrix by lauren groff (historical, lesbian nuns), anything by sarah waters (historical fiction + lesbians), rebecca by daphne du maurier (historical, gothic)

the plot by jean hanff korelitz (litfic, thriller), sadie by courtney summers (thriller, coming of age). anything by gillian flynn (thrillers with terrible women).

✧ I really enjoy Tana French thrillers for the strong sense of place, great prose, and the complete emotional turmoil of her character-centric narratives. If anything sounds up your alley, I enjoyed the witch's elm + dublin murder squad series. They're murder mystery procedural but the messy characters really elevate the novels. Available in audiobook also

✧ American Elsewhere, technically scifi but set in New Mexico. Somehow, cosmic horrors who have taken over a quaint little town and worse! They are enforcing HETERONORMATIVITY upon it! They also have tentacles. The main character rocks

✧ Sundial by Catriona Ward: insane, gripping psychological horror. A mother and her unsettling daughter take a trip to the isolate desert ranch where the main chracter grew up. Surrounded by unsettling science experiments

✧ A Touch of Jen by Beth Morgan: when the parasocial relationship is so strong, it accidentally summons a hellmonster from another dimension

✧ SFF adjacent, sorry, but set in the real world (historical, tho) — Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge, a middle grade novel with fairytale elements that gave me more brainworms than any kids book ought to, mostly because I LOVED the main character. She occupies a very similar place in my brain as Gideon does. This is actually the only book on the list that I'm not sure is available in audio format, but if you get a chance and it's up your alley, I'd check it out

I hope there's at least ONE thing you'll like in here! lmk (also. lmk if you don't have access to a way to borrow audiobooks but would like to)

[theinquisitxor]

April 2024 Reading Wrap Up

I read 6 books in April, which is honestly more than I thought I would get to at the beginning of this month. April's are historically slow reading months for me, and while this was another slower month, I'm happy with what I read. Audiobooks really saved me this month! I read 2 fantasy books, 3 nonfiction (who am I?) and 1 literary fiction.

1.The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown (3.5/5 stars) This was an anticipated new release for me, and I was very intrigued by the premise. This was enjoyable, but there were some things I didn't really care for. This was engaging and easy to read, and if you liked The Cartographers or The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, I think you'd like this. Adult low fantasy

2.The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann (4/5 stars) I really enjoy survival stories and seafaring stories, so I knew I was going to like this. The audiobook was great, and I liked how this was a shorter nonfiction. I'm not sure how much I like the narrative nonfiction that Grann writes in. Either way, this was a super engaging and entertaining read. Nonfiction audiobook

3.Atomic Habits by James Clear. I was not planning on reading this book in April, but I randomly go interested in it. Overall enjoyable, and interesting to see how we structure our lives around habits.

4.Who Cooked the Last Supper: The Women's History of the World by Rosalind Miles (4/5 stars) I read this 80s feminist nonfiction on audio, and while this could get pessimistic and difficult, I found it to be an engaging read with flashes of humor throughout. I would be interested to see what this book would be like published in the 2020s vs the 1980s. Nonfiction audiobook

5.The Bloody Throne (Hostage of Empire 3) by SC Emmett (5/5 stars) This was the fantastic conclusion to one of my favorite new series. Everything came together in this book and delivered an ending well worth the series. I wasn't sure how the series would end, but it was satisfying and bittersweet. I'm going to be talking about this series for a while. Adult fantasy

6. The Wall by Marlen Haushofer (4.5/5 stars) This is a translated dystopian fiction book about a women who is stuck behind a wall while the rest of the world as ended. She only has a cat, dog, and cow as her companions. She must learn to survive and cope with loneliness. I deeply enjoyed this novel, and found many passages that really stuck with me. Parts of this book got me very emotional.

That's it for April! I'm hoping for a strong reading month this May and summer!

May TBR:

The Familiar by Lehigh Bardugo

The Winners (Beartown 3) by Fredrik Backman

The Language of Trees: A rewilding of literature and landscape

Desert Solitare by Edward Abby

Brave the Wild River (nonfiction audiobook)

The Hedgewitch of Fox Hall by Ana Bright

Song of the Huntress by Lucy Holland

The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks (my Random TBR Pick for May)

[ireadyabooks]

Spring into Extraordinary Graphic Novels from I read YA! 🌷🎨

Graphic novels are one of our favorite reading formats here at I read YA! It’s always such a joy seeing an author bring their magnificent storytelling to life with their artwork or another artist adding their unique spin! The possibilities are endless when it comes to graphic novel styles, and that’s what makes them so perfect! There is something for everyone! We have compiled some of our recent favorite graphic novels below that you should absolutely check out as we welcome spring and warmer weather! Whether you’re looking for stories about an adorable daydreamer, a dark secret, or two boys simply falling in love, we have it all! Happy reading!

Rainbow! Volume 1 by Gloom & Sunny

From Tapas Media, the same webtoon platform that brought you Magical Boy, comes Rainbow!, a new LGBTQ+ YA graphic novel series!

Teenager Boo Meadows has pink hair and a very vivid imagination -- she has trouble separating from the real world. In her daydreams, she dances beautifully at balls or fights monsters as a magical girl. In reality, she has a complicated home life, work stress, school stress, and a wicked crush on the girl of her dreams. When a new student, Mimi, arrives at school, Boo starts exploring a side of herself that she never considered before. As she grows closer with Mimi, it may finally be time for Boo to face reality . . . Who is the real Mimi? The one in her dreams? Or the one in real life?

Rainbow! is perfect for fans of Heartstopper and Magical Boy, full of heart, adorable illustrations, and a storyline that any teenager can relate to!

Start reading Rainbow! Volume 1 now!

Escape From St. Hell by Lewis Hancox

In this sequel to the Indie bestseller Welcome to St. Hell, Lewis Hancox tells the hilarious, inspiring story of coming into his own as a trans man.

For Lew, figuring out he was a guy and wanted to live life as a guy was the end of our journey... and the start of a whole other journey. Escape From St. Hell charts all the changes that Lew wanted to be made in order for him to live as a young trans man -- changes not just to his own body and perspective, but to the perspectives of the family, friends, and enemies around him.

As he did in his bestselling graphic memoir Welcome to St. Hell, Lewis Hancox charts his journey with plenty of laughs, a good number of cringes, and an honesty that takes readers along for the ride of Lew's life.

Start reading Escape From St. Hell now!

The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag

From Molly Knox Ostertag, writer-illustrator of the New York Times and Indie bestselling The Witch Boy trilogy and The Girl from the Sea, comes a darkly beautiful story of identity, family, love, loss, and magic.

Everyone has secrets. Mags’s has teeth.

Magdalena Herrera is about to graduate high school, but she already feels like an adult with serious responsibilities: caring for her ailing grandmother; working a part-time job; clandestine makeouts with a girl who has a boyfriend. And then there’s her secret, which pulls her into the basement each night, drains her of energy, and leaves her bleeding. A secret that could hurt and even kill if it ever got out -- like it did once before.

So Mags keeps her head down, isolated in her small desert community. That is, until her childhood friend Nessa comes back to town, bringing vivid memories of the past, an intoxicating glimpse of the future, and a secret of her own. Mags won’t get attached, of course. She’s always been strong enough to survive without anyone’s help.

But when the darkness starts to close in on them both, Mags will have to drag her secret into the daylight, and choose between risking everything... or having nothing left to lose.

Start reading The Deep Dark now!

Heartstopper 5 by Alice Oseman

Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. The bestselling LGBTQ+ graphic novel about life, love, and everything that happens in between: this is the fifth volume of the much-loved HEARTSTOPPER series, featuring gorgeous two-color artwork.

Nick and Charlie are in love. They’ve finally said those three little words, and Charlie has almost persuaded his mum to let him sleep over at Nick’s house. He wants to take their relationship to the next level... but can he find the confidence he needs? And with Nick going off to university next year, is everything about to change?

By Alice Oseman, winner of the YA Book Prize, Heartstopper encompasses all the small moments of Nick and Charlie’s lives that together make up something larger, which speaks to all of us.

Contains discussions around mental health and eating disorders, and sexual references.

Start reading Heartstopper 5 now!

Stars in Their Eyes by Jessica Walton and Aśka

In this lighthearted YA romance, Maisie and Ollie discover that nothing beats the feeling of falling in love for the first time.

Maisie is on her way to Fancon! She's looking forward to meeting her idol, Kara Bufano, the action hero from her favorite TV show, who has a lower-leg amputation, just like Maisie. But when Maisie and her mom arrive at the convention center, she is stopped in her tracks by Ollie, a cute volunteer working the show. They are kind, charming, and geek out about nerd culture just as much as Maisie does. And as the day wears on, Maisie notices feelings for Ollie that she's never had before. Is this what it feels like to fall in love?

Perfect for fans of Heartstopper and Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, this graphic novel debut is a fresh, one-of-a-kind story that celebrates the excitement of meeting someone special for the first time.

Start reading Stars in Their Eyes now!

The Good Neighbors by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh

From the bestselling author of The Cruel Prince, an astonishing graphic trilogy set in a faerie world, full of mystery, intrigue, and romance.

From the amazing imagination of bestselling author Holly Black and acclaimed illustrator Ted Naifeh, a mysterious and wonderful faerie saga, for the first time in one volume.

Rue Silver's mother has disappeared... and her father has been arrested, suspected of killing her. But it's not as straightforward as that. Because Rue is a faerie, like her mother was. And her father didn't kill her mother -- instead, he broke a promise to Rue's faerie king grandfather, which caused Rue's mother to be flung back to the faerie world. Now Rue must go to save her -- and defeat a dark faerie that threatens our very mortal world.

Start reading The Good Neighbors now!

[nuclearpasta]

WWW.TENEARTHSHATTERINGBLOWS.COM

He apparently changes titles faster than his underwear.

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[hyperpotamianarch]

Well, I'm reading the Secret Commonwealth, I have some thoughts, and am unlikely to get to talk to anyone who has read it in the near future, so I'm going to dump my thoughts here! We'll see where it goes.

I'm currently at the middle of chapter 6. To start with, this book is very clear that our current focus is on special roses that come from the Levant. By which I mean, for the duration of the second chapter (I think?) literally everything ties back into those roses. I suppose the Gobblers had a similar role in Northern Lights/the Golden Compass? I don't know.

The book also seems to start to play out as a mystery/detective story, but I guess I'll have to wait and see where that leads.

More tidbits I might want to make include... well... people who've followed my HDM related posts know I'm trying to work on Judaism in Lyra's world. I already knew this book has to do with the Ottoman Empire, so I suppose it could showcase some things about Islam in this world. This would be a step towards seeing how strong is the Magisterium worldwide. There seem to be implications they burned rose gardens because of a connection discovered between those roses and Dust, so it's clear their long arm can reach into the Ottoman Empire. That is interesting, as I'd expect the Ottomans to be against outside influence in their land. Coverup stories or no, something is suspicious and the Ottomans probably also have income from the export of roses. I mean, if those roses can only grow in lands under their control... I would expect them to protect their interests better. If they can't... That has bad implications all around.

Also, Miriam is a Jewish name which appears at the beginning. I don't know how common it is among non Jews, I kind of assumed Maria was the more popular version, so it makes me just a tiny bit interested in that character - though with the way colleges work in Lyra's world, I'm not sure she could practice any religion that isn't Christianity.

Also on the front of Judaism in Lyra's world but a lot more distant, this world probably doesn't have a Sigmund Freud. The connection is that Freud was Jewish (though relatively assimilationist). The reason I think he didn't exist here is that therapy seems to not exist here, and I believe Freud's field of Psychoanalysis is what led to that existing? Also, if Freud existed I highly doubt this "The Hyperchorasmians" book would've survived without any Freudian interpretations of things. I might be extrapolating too much on that field, let's give this book a separate paragraph.

To be clear, I'm team Pan regarding this book, though my reasoning might defer from his. "It was nothing more than what it was" is a completely rubbish statement on events in a fictional novel. Everything can go through literary analysis and be found to have metaphors. I find it odd that I'm saying that because I'm not too fond of literary analysis, but saying there is no symbolism in your book is... a rather odd statement. But in universe, Pan's complaints about the different books can easily seem as him being a crybaby over people who deny the existence of dæmons. It does seem as if this book is going to explore what dæmons are more deeply, or so I'm assuming.

I do have a half-hearted theory regarding what the Hyperchorasmians was intended to represent. Thing is, I've seen HDM described as a book about teenagers killing God, and it's supposedly written as an antithesis to Narnia while being just as preachy in a different direction. Equivalents could be drawn. Obviously, the core problem Pan has with this book is something HDM can't really be blamed for... I'm having some trouble articulating my point exactly, we'll see how things go either way.

The desert - Karamakan - is interesting. It's portrayed as similar to the Land of the Dead or the place in the north the witches use for their practice of separation, but Dr. Strauss's dæmon managed to get there - and it seems that the only way to get into the building is with one's dæmon? So I don't know what's going on. This is another thing to be seen.

Also, Malcolm from La Belle Sauvage is a scholar now. I don't really remember much from this book, and I'm not sure what's going to be relevant? Bonneville is dead, I think, and likely irrelevant. There's the odd faerie woman from the flood, which... I don't know what she has to do with anything. I'm not sure what anything has to do with anything from this book. Again, I suppose we'll see.

That would be it for now.

[d-8tober]

D8Tober Prompt List (Long Version)

FAQ for the event is available here and the prompts-only version is available here

The Shining

Characters facing an extended period of isolation together, such as a deserted island or a snowed-in building

One of a bazillion movies based off Stephen King stories. A family goes to take care of a haunted hotel for the winter, trapping them with each other. There's probably three movies on this list that are genuine indisputable classics not just within horror but also for movies in general; this is the first of those three. If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend it just for the level of cultural references that depend on it even now.

Do you recommend it?

Absolutely.

Are there sequels?

There's a tv miniseries version made because Stephen King notoriously hated both the Kubrick version and Kubrick himself; it's a soulless mess. There's also a direct sequel made just a few years ago that tries to be a followup both to the King novel version and the Kubrick movie, Doctor Sleep; it got a little overlooked from some bad timing on the release but it's actually incredible and I HIGHLY recommend it.

Saw

Characters making a difficult choice or a required sacrifice.

If you're not a horror fan and you've heard of Saw, you've probably heard it called torture porn. That's a reputation that's almost entirely earned by the sequels, however - the original Saw is a hyper-low budget movie that borders more on thriller than horror, starring Cary Elwes (of Princess Bride and Robin Hood: Men in Tights fame) doing what may be the worst American accent in the history of movies. It's a very grimy movie, for certain, but it's also kind of a taut little mystery.

Do you recommend it?

Yes, though not that strongly.

Are there sequels?

Yes, and they're where the series gets its reputation. The movies involve a theoretically continuous plotline, and they manage to get incredibly convoluted and also increasingly gorey. Personally, I'd recommend just stopping after the first one.

Pet Semetary

A character's favorite pet or other animal.

Another King story, and also a book the man himself claims he can't remember writing and thinks is his most miserable story. I don't think either of the two movie version are that good, but they can be okay - I can't even talk about them without giving away the most major twist, really.

Do you recommend it?

Not really, but it's not actively terrible.

Are there sequels?

There's a recent remake, and the original movie had a truly awful sequel. I'm also told there was a direct-to-Paramount+ prequel to the remake, which I'm sure is every bit the quality that you could expect from a direct to C-tier streaming service horror movie prequel.

Suspiria

Characters exploring dance.

Technically I'm talking about the 70s Italian version here, which is a fever dream of a film made in a style in which all the actors spoke in their various native languages on set and then were overdubbed for all versions of the movie. Taking place in a dance boarding school run by witches, the script was originally written envisioning the students to be children in the 10-12 range and then cast with them as college-aged but without changing any of the dialogue, which honestly just makes it more unsettling. It's stylish as hell.

Do you recommend it?

Yes, but if you're looking for something SLIGHTLY less weird to most modern audiences maybe go for the remake first and loop back.

Are there sequels?

As mentioned, there's a very recent remake that basically takes the framework of dance boarding school run by witches and abandons the rest. There's much more emphasis put on dance (and rather less on 70s progressive rock music) but it has a style all its own. I love both versions, but I slightly prefer the original myself.

The Thing

An imposter; a character replaced by a foe unknowingly.

I'm talking about the 1982 version here; as someone who was born in the 80s but is mostly not on board with 80s nostalgia shit at ALL I make a lone exception for the works of John Carpenter. Taking place at an Antarctic research station, this movie is both known for its paranoia-inducing plot and its incredibly detailed special practical effects. Among Us is 100% not based off this movie, they promise.

Do you recommend it?

Yes, wholeheartedly.

Are there sequels?

There's a prequel from the mid 2010s that basically uses the exact same plot but replaces the practical effects with CGI (which has already aged poorly) and has less interesting characters overall. It's not the worst thing in the world - the plot is good! - but why watch it when you could just watch the 1982 version instead?

Friday the 13th

Violence without glory or mercy.

There are a million of these, of course, featuring Jason Vorhees murdering a bunch of people in various sometimes-creative but usually not fashions. The original isn't that, though; it's a cheap Halloween knockoff with boring kills, shoddy acting, and maybe the world's worst who-dun-it mystery. (Jason is not the killer and in fact never really appears.)

Do you recommend it?

Absolutely not.

Are there sequels?

There are SO MANY sequels. None of them climb all the way up to good, though most are at least a little better than the original; personally the one I enjoy the most is Jason X, the one in space, which at least is aware of how fucking bad it is and dances in the sewage a bit.

Scream

A metatextual story or image.

Breathing some fresh air into horror in the mid-90s after like fifteen years of the same stale slasher series limping along, Scream still holds up quite well today - I watched it last year. The cold open of the movie alone would be an incredible short horror film. Also, it's the first R-rated movie I saw in theaters, at far too young an age to probably be watching it in theaters (I was 10). Movie theaters really didn't give a shit before Columbine happened, I have to tell you.

Do you recommend it?

A strong yes. Genuinely, as a writer, there's a lot to learn in this movie, which is VERY funny without actually being a horror-comedy.

Are there sequels?

Yes; none of them are as good as the original, but none of them are BAD necessarily.

You're Next

Betrayal from a beloved one.

A home invasion movie where it turns out the main character and designated final girl to be grew up with survivalists and is WAY prepared for a situation where people are trying to murder the shit out of her.

Do you recommend it?

Yes, though it's a milder recommendation than some of the others on the list. The violence in this one is a little more realistic than many of the others, as well, so know that going in.

Are there sequels?

Nope, this one's a pure stand-alone.

Alien

Placing profits above safety; an anti-capitalist message

A crew of a spaceship finds they have an unwanted stowaway. Actually, multiple ones. Honestly the idea that someone in circumstances to be reading this wouldn't at least have a vague idea what happens in this movie is baffling to me.

Do you recommend it?

YES. Yes, yes, yes. This may be one of the twenty or thirty best movies ever made, and made 45 years ago or not it still LOOKS great.

Are there sequels?

Bunches, in complicated branches that would require flowcharts to fully explain. Aliens, the most direct sequel, might actually be better even though Alien is one of the best movies of all time in my books; after that, it drops off in a hurry but if you want more and an expanded universe and all then hey, you've got that going for you.

An American Werewolf in London

Werewolves! Either all characters are, or one is newly turned into one.

A comedy-horror that is more or less what it says in the title; an American in London gets bitten by what locals definitely won't admit is a werewolf, and then things happen.

Do you recommend it?

Eeeeh. The movie itself is okay, not great. The director is a, ah, controversial figure MOSTLY known for his work with comedies and also his work in running unsafe sets that got actors harmed or killed, including two children and one adult on the set of the Twilight Zone movie; unfortunately, he also made a number of movies that ARE legitimately classics of my childhood, this just isn't one of them. I just wanted a movie where I could prompt werewolves. Werewolves are great.

Are there sequels?

There's one, An American Werewolf in Paris, which involves none of the same people and is actively terrible.

Freaky

Body swap two or more characters

The movie was pitched as Freaky Friday but instead of getting swapped with her mom the main high school character gets body swapped with a slasher movie killer, played by Vince Vaughn. Legitimately this one's a lot of fun, made by the same people who made the Groundhog's Day inspired Happy Death Day, and also it's VERY bloody.

Do you recommend it?

This one was literally the Halloween recommendation I gave my mom last year.

Are there sequels?

No, at least not yet.

Evil Dead

Characters not leaving well enough alone, and pushing into danger from curiosity.

A very classic 'group goes to an isolated place and then dies one by one' kind of movie, this was Sam Raimi's first movie, starring his college buddy Bruce Campbell. There's a lot of genius in this, but it also does have some real rough spots, and in some ways is basically a student film.

Do you recommend it?

Honestly for most new viewers I'd recommend skipping to the second one, which basically remakes the first one for the first half and then continues from there. There's a lot of filmmaking brilliance on display in a much less raw but still campy state in Evil Dead 2.

Are there sequels?

Yes, even beyond the second one there are several plus a TV show. Army of Darkness and the TV show are more fantasy adventure comedy things, and a lot of fun; the remake and the recent sequel to the remake, on the other hand, cut out all the campy humor elements of the original and play them straight horror and end up being pretty divisive as a result. I recommend everything in the series, though.

It Follows

Characters regretting a relationship

A remarkably low death count on screen in this one, which is a tense movie about a shapeshifting monster that gets passed off STD-style and steadily walks towards the current target, killing them if they catch up but moving on to stalking their partner if they hook up first. Features a memorable score, in particular, enough so that I'm mentioning it here.

Do you recommend it?

Lukewarmly yes; it's good, but I don't think it's great. This one's got a real cult following, though, which led to…

Are there sequels?

There's one coming out soon, titled "They Follow". Horror movies get sequels relatively easily - they tend to be cheap to make and while they generally don't do gangbusters at the box office they usually do okay - but I have to admit I didn't think one was coming for this.

Final Destination

One or more characters fighting against destiny

The premise on this one is pretty famous, and while this isn't the first story ever to use it by a long shot it's probably the most well known: After seeing a vision of the future where he and a bunch of other people die, the main character takes action to prevent it. Only, it turns out that death doesn't like to be cheated, and the survivors start dying in mysterious and bizarre circumstances…

Do you recommend it?

This entirely comes down to one thing: Does the idea of repeated scenes of people either dying or nearly dying in tremendously Rube Goldberg-esque fashions appeal to you? If so, then absolutely yes, even though the acting is overall VERY late 90s teen drama.

Are there sequels?

Yes, four of them, and most of them are pretty good in the category of fun deathtraps. The second one's 'mass death vision' scene, in particular, is a traffic accident scene that genuinely probably causes multiple millions of people to avoid following behind log trucks. Avoid the 3-d one, but the last one and the first three are all fun if it's your thing.

Reanimator

Characters attempting to bring back a dead friend

Extremely loosely based off an HP Lovecraft story, but don't let that stop you from watching this science gone wrong film about a researcher attempting to bring the dead back to life. Honestly, just that is enough that you know a lot of where this is going, but do exercise caution - it's VERY 80s and also VERY gorey. Also, and the fact that I'm giving this warning in this article when I haven't on several other films means you should take it seriously, if you're sex repulsed stay far, far away from this one.

Do you recommend it?

Yes, assuming you can tolerate those warnings in the above paragraph. Barbara Crampton and Jeffrey Combs are great.

Are there sequels?

Yes, two of them. There was also apparently a Broadway adaptation in the early 2010s so those of you with tastes in that might be able to track down a cast recording or something?

Candyman

Characters fighting against someone seeking revenge for the sins of their ancestors

One of the few decent 90s pre-Scream horror movies, this one features a researcher in urban myths going into a housing project in Chicago and seeking information on the titular Candyman. She finds him.

Do you recommend it?

Yes; it's a very good movie, though there's a pretty heavy social message aspect (both racism and feminism are major points within the film) to it that is at times ham-fisted. It means well, but I'll leave it to the viewer to judge on that front the quality.

Are there sequels?

Yes, and they're dogshit slashers that lose everything good about the original except for Tony Todd playing the villain. There's also a more recent reboot, but I have not seen that one.

Ready or Not

Characters playing a childhood game.

A comedic horror movie, this one features a game of hide or seek and some of the world's worst in-laws. There's some GREAT props and stuff if you're into board games at all, and honestly you're on a dimension 20 promptlist so there's a decent chance you are.

Do you recommend it?

Strongly so, yes. The ending is particularly memorable.

Are there sequels?

No, and there better NOT be any either.

Sinister

Discovering records of past tragedies, such as a journal, photograph, or film.

A fine member of the long tradition of horror movies where the secret villain is the protagonist (see also the Shining, though it's even less of a secret there), this is a haunted house movie with a nasty twist. Very much in the jump scare vein of movies so if you're not into that, maybe give this one a past, though unlike its near-contemporary in the jumpscare heavy front of the Conjuring movies this one's got the FULL courage of its convictions to actually follow through on some of them - this is a nasty, bloody movie.

Do you recommend it?

If you're okay with a nasty, bloody movie then yes. I'm not exactly sure what sent Ethan Hawke on the road to where he's ended up in a bunch of movies like this, but he's good as the aforementioned protagonist.

Are there sequels?

There's one, which is weirdly easier to find on streaming than the original. It's not very good, but I've seen worse.

Tucker and Dale VS Evil

The kindness of strangers in the face of the unkindness of those once thought friends

Another horror comedy, this one turns one of my absolute least favorite tropes of hillbilly murderers on its head, and is purely a (bloody) comedy of errors for the vast majority of the runtime.

Do you recommend it?

Yes.

Are there sequels?

No; filming conditions on set were apparently bad enough that there's basically no possibility anyone would come back for it, and the movie wasn't a huge financial success even though it's become something of a cult classic.

Midsommar

A relationship continuing past when it should have ended; the failure of inaction.

An extended exercise in misery dressed up in spring tones, this is the only movie on this list I remember actually getting specifically called out during a D20 episode - Aabria talks about going full Midsommar at the start of ACoFaF, which it is something of the look if not AT ALL the tone. This one's a cult movie. Not, like, a cult classic - it's literally a movie about a cult.

Do you recommend it?

It's a great movie, but it's also HEAVY. If you're in the mood for that then absolutely go for it, if you're not then maybe wait for more cheerful days.

Are there sequels?

No, and I can't imagine anyone involved making a followup.

The Lighthouse

A character assuming another's identity.

There are people who would try to make the case that this is actually not a horror movie and I think that's fair. This is the same director as The Witch, and it's a very specific style for this movie up to and including it being in black and white and the accents that the two actors (the ONLY two actors) choose to take on. If you're into Greek mythology, see when you figure out which myth this is a reference to as a fun little minigame.

Do you recommend it?

I… kind of? If you think you'd be into a period piece with two actors in black and white that also features a shockingly high amount of talk about various biological functions, go for it.

Are there sequels?

Good god, no.

Hereditary

A character's bloodline being cursed in a mysterious way.

This one was a big hit a few years ago, and is half horror movie, half family tragi-drama, and all miserable. It's not the scariest movie on this list by any means, but it is in rare company on my personal list of things I recommend watching once and then never again. (Total Forgiveness is actually also on this list.)

Do you recommend it?

Yes, unless you have already seen it, in which case no.

Are there sequels?

Midsommar is the same director and in spite of an almost opposite aesthetic inherits much of the ethos of misery, but no, not really.

Phantasm

Dealing with a character's corpse, either to reanimate it or bury it.

One of the WEIRDER entries on this list, Phantasm is a late 70s film featuring a truly great villain known only as the Tall Man, who steals corpses and reanimates them as slave zombies back in his home dimension and honestly it just gets a little odder from there. His main opposition is a like ten year old kid.

Do you recommend it?

I can't say I DON'T recommend it but I probably wouldn't put it high on the list of things I would recommend to people partly because unless they're deep into weird movies themselves they're going to look at me like I'm crazy after they watch this on my recommendation.

Are there sequels?

Yes, and they form an allegedly continuous story and feature mostly the same actors - that original movie was an indie production in the freaking 70s and cost less than many houses to make, returning something like a hundred and fifty times its budget. The first sequel is probably the best movie in the series; the later ones kind of lost what plot there was.

The Ring

Impending death, to one's self or another.

A mysterious tape leads to death seven days after you watch it - this is probably one of the best-known and most-parodied movies on this list, to the point where I'd be a little surprised if even the younger audience hadn't at least HEARD of it even though it's somewhat older now.

Do you recommend it?

Yes, either this version or the Japanese version (which is the original; this is one of a string of American remakes of Japanese horror movies from around this time, and definitely the best of them.)

Are there sequels?

There are sprawling franchises in BOTH the US and Japan around this, with substantial differences in the lore and varying degrees of sucking. Personally, I'd just stick to the original two movies, but all the rest of it has fans certainly.

Child's Play

A character's favorite childhood toys.

A serial killer gets shot down by a cop and possesses a doll, but wants to steal a real body back. In contrast to what the sequels eventually became, the original is much less comedic, with a lot of practical effects around the doll - who in spite of being a serial killer has to play it smart because he's a doll, at least in this one. Chucky gets a lot of his superhuman abilities later on in the series; in the original it's mostly a deception play.

Do you recommend it?

Yes, the first two movies in particular here are quite good.

Are there sequels?

Buckle up, because this one's a long runner - this series has a continuous timeline spanning like eight movies and three seasons of television, with more still forthcoming. There's also a reboot that basically is in name only and also is bad.

Dracula

Vampires! Either all characters are vampires or one is turned into one.

I mean, it's Dracula. Do you seriously need me to explain to you on tumblr.com what Dracula is?

Do you recommend it?

It here being the original Bela Legusi Universal movie? Sure, as long as you know that's what it is - this thing's damn near a hundred years old at this point.

Are there sequels?

Yes, and a million different versions of this story.

Nightmare on Elm Street

A work focused on a character's dreams.

A school janitor who may or may not have been committing sexual assault on children - it's implied in the original that he wasn't and it was a witch hunt from the parents in the style of the satanic panic of the time; in the remake he absolutely was - has regardless become a demon who haunts the children of the parents who killed him and murders them in their dreams. One of the great 80s slasher franchises.

Do you recommend it?

Yes; it's the best of the 80s slasher franchises, at least in the first movie or two before Freddie descends into full clownhood.

Are there sequels?

Yeah, a whole bunch of varying quality, including a deeply weird one in New Nightmare which is effectively RPF of the first movie except instead of Real Person Fanfiction it's just Real Person Fiction.

It

A work focused on the character's greatest fears.

Yet another Stephen King story, this one features a creature from beyond space and time who comes up every so often to murder the shit out of people and especially kids while taking the form of their worst fear to do it. Tim Curry plays the clown in the miniseries in one of his most well known roles, and again this was a MADE FOR TV MINISERIES that broadcast on network television and is one of TIM CURRY'S best known roles. He's by far the best part of it.

Do you recommend it?

Yes, I recommend it. And It.

Are there sequels?

I suppose we can mention the much more recent theatrical movies, which split the childhood and adulthood portions more firmly into two films and also made literally over a billion dollars between the two of them. I've never seen them, though. There's only room for Tim Curry to clown around in my heart.

Jaws A beach episode! Beach-inspired fic or pic.

THE shark movie of all time, and also the movie that singlehandedly created the concept of a summer blockbuster movie, and ALSO the movie that kicked off Steven Spielberg's career and in spite of all of those things it's also genuinely incredibly good.

Do you recommend it?

If you somehow haven't seen this you should watch it the next time you have two hours to kill; this is a genuine classic work of art in popular filmmaking and also you'll suddenly understand a thousand cultural references you've been missing.

Are there sequels?

Yes, three of them, and they're increasing levels of bad. The second one rehashes the first but does a shittier job; the third one is IN THREE-D and that was the only reason they made it, and the fourth one features a telepathic shark that stalks the family of the sheriff from the first movie to the Bahamas out of wanting revenge for the murder of that shark but is both worse and more boring than this description makes it sound.

The Fly

A character going through an unwanted physical change.

Did you know Jeff Goldblum was hot once upon a time, and also like, genuinely ripped? This movie absolutely shows that off and then desperately makes you wish it hadn't. Another classic, though not really for the weak of stomach - a lot of real body horror in this one, so buckle in if you're going to give it a watch. I miss practical effects.

Do you recommend it?

Yes, though if you're on an older movie kick and haven't seen a lot of these the other older movies on this list are mostly better. Unless you're genuinely curious to see Jeff Goldblum as a sex symbol, in which case hey, go nuts. Also fun fact - this movie was still in a few budget theaters on the day I was born, though it was far behind the #1 movie in America, Crocodile Dundee. I'm mostly bringing that up because it invariably makes the Australians in my life flinch.

Are there sequels?

There's one, which I've never seen and which certainly doesn't involve either David Cronenberg or Jeff Goldblum. It is by most accounts quite bad. Also, technically, this one's a remake to begin with and there's a 50's version but I'm not counting that one - the difference between a movie from 1955 and one from 1980, even though they were only 25 years apart, are VASTLY greater than the differences between a movie from 1980 and today even though that's almost 45 years.

A Bay of Blood

A comedy of errors, with deadly or painful results.

Another foreign film, and kind of a proto-slasher, this one involves a real estate deal gone bad, family feuds, accidents, a whole lot of deaths, and some gratuitous nudity. It's basically like Friday the 13th in some ways except actually fun, assuming you're into that kind of thing. Definitely cheesy though.

Do you recommend it?

Eeeeeeeeeeh. If you're into schlock and cheese and people getting murdered in the middle of sex (not, generally, by the person they're involved with) then you could do a lot worse.

Are there sequels?

Not direct ones.

[four-loose-screws]

FE2 Novelization Translation - Book 2 Chapter 2 Part 5

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

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Chapter 2: Battle at the Border

Part 5: Sonya’s Secret

The Newly Reborn Knights of Zofia marched as quickly as they could towards the summit of Fear Mountain to rescue Silque. They were so afraid of General Nuibaba that their fear actually took their minds off of all other matters. The Medusa spell had a ninety percent chance of causing instant death. Though they could very well be marching to their deaths, their resolve was greater than their fear, and this was exactly the kind of situation they had honed their fighting spirits and combat skills for.

At the base of Fear Mountain, they were intercepted by a Witch army, who appeared to be the forces led by the Witch that kidnapped Silque, and openly introduced themselves as soldiers of the proud General Nuibaba. Their leader Marla fought on the front line to the very end, even as Delthea’s Aura spell dyed her army’s dark robes red with their own blood, one after the other.

Finally, Alm’s sword sliced Marla’s shoulder wide open.

“Sonya!” Marla screamed as she collapsed.

Alm assumed Sonya was the name of another Witch army general they would cross paths with and fight later.

-

Sonya, a Mage in Mila’s Restoration Army, had a magic soul bond with a certain person very important to her.

A sharp pain suddenly shot through her chest. “Marla!” She cried out in response, awaking her from her light but sound sleep.

Sonya’s eyes darted around and surveyed her surroundings, painted in the purple darkness of the moments just before dawn. The rest of the army did not stir even an inch in their sleep underneath the branches of the giant trees surrounding them. Relieved to see that her scream had not disturbed anyone else’s sleep, she stood up and left their campsite to wash the cold sweat off her face in the water nearby. The Archanean sisters’ three falcons all looked up to watch her walk away, instinctively worried by the fact that she was going somewhere alone.

Their riders had flown them several times around the nearby gorge, which was behind the Temple of Mila and cut through the forest that surrounded it. They knew that Dead Man’s Mire was nearby, territory of Jedah, leader of the Duma Faithful. Celica and the others had decided to wait until the sun was high in the sky to attack, and set up their camp near the edge of the forest.

The water flowing out of a crack in a nearby boulder felt good on Sonya’s cold sweat, and she wiped the back of her neck several times. The water flowed into a small, thin stream, and the small ripples appearing atop it were caused by her tears.

As a great and powerful Mage who had accomplished much all by herself, from mastering Excalibur to even temporarily taking the desert kingdom on the Zofian border as her own, it was not befitting of her at all to cry. She was hiding her face in her hands when someone knelt down next to her at the edge of the stream.

As her heart pounded in her chest, the person put a hand on her heaving shoulder from behind. It was Celica.

Sonya quickly stood and fixed herself up. “I apologize for disturbing your sleep.” She looked away from Celica.

“This isn’t like you.” Celica said. 

“There is nothing else more embarrassing for me than this.”  Sonya wiped the one remaining tear from her cheek.

Celica had heard her cry out in her sleep and followed after her, worried that she might be dreading today’s battle against Jedah. “Who is Marla?”

“She is a proud Witch who serves directly at Nuibaba’s side. He is the general of the Duma Faithful’s dark magic army.” Sonya answered. 

Celica could of course sense that was not the entire story. That alone could not be the reason for Sonya’s tears.

Sonya looked at Celica, her expression asking for more, even if she did not speak the words aloud. “And she is my now deceased sister. You are the general I have sworn to serve. I will tell you everything.” Sonya said before continuing, “I hate Jedah, the leader of the Duma Faithful. It is my greatest desire to kill him myself. It is also the sole reason why I asked to join your army. I hope you can understand that I have not always participated in your army because I believe Mila should be restored to her rightful place.

“I have two sisters. Marla is the oldest, I am the middle child, and Hestia is the youngest. I didn’t know for certain if they were alive or dead. But now I know that at least Marla was alive.”

For Sonya, the premonition she received of Marla’s death was proof that she had still been alive. And the cruelty of it explained to Celica the reason for Sonya’s tears. 

But her sisters were not Sonya’s only secret.

“Although I am now a grown woman who has given up on love and compassion, I still have my memories of the fleeting days I spent with my sisters as a child. But those are the only memories I have with them. I did not get to be a teenager, and they probably did not either. Because our father sold us to Duma. Our father sacrificed our souls to Duma in exchange for the position he coveted within the Duma Faithful.”

“My soul was impure because I hated my father so much, and so I was deemed unfit to be used as an offering, and was cast away from Duma’s altar. That was the best thing that could have happened to me. I swore to take revenge against our father that could sell my sisters’ souls so easily, and chose my path of becoming a lone Mage.”

Just before Sonya spoke the words aloud, Celica finally realized what she was getting at.

“My father, who sold his daughters to Duma… whom I hate more than anything… is Jedah himself.”

Sonya’s words made Celica look away.

Sonya was one of Jedah’s daughters, and he had sold her in exchange for his position as the leader of the Duma Faithful.

Celica was hit by a wave of deep emotions. ‘Did Jedah think of his daughters as nothing more than livestock? Or that if they loved their father, they would be more than happy to sacrifice themselves? If so, then what is a father truly supposed to be? What does that make us, who believe that fathers love their children unconditionally? We are all someone’s child. And we could become someone’s parent one day. Are we, as parents and children, going in circles, living in an illusion that tells us love is real?’

“He may be my father, but it is because he is my father that he is my enemy. I must be the one to kill him.”

As Sonya finished her story and a chill went down Celica’s spine, a voice echoed from within the cracked rock and the shadows of the sycamore trees. “And you have no doubts?”

The source of the voice appeared, wearing the robes of a member of the Mila Faithful. It was the Sage Nomah, leader of Novis’ priory. He was the teacher Celica completed her religious studies under, until she eventually transcended to Priestess. He was also the person to grant her permission to travel and find a way to save Mila.

Nomah was supposed to remain at Novis Priory, teaching other clergy Units. For him to be in a remote location like this, within the Duma Faithful’s territory no less, was an exception within an exception. However, for him to appear in person must mean he had a very serious reason to do so. Celica avoided asking him why he was so brazenly acting outside of his sacred position, and knelt down before him. Sonya followed suit.

“I will ask you once more.” Nomah said as he walked towards them with the support of his Sage’s staff, carved from the trunk of an old tree. “Sonya, do you have no doubts? Do you have no pleasant memories of him embracing you?”

“I do not.” She said without hesitation.

“Then take this.” Nomah handed Sonya, who was still kneeling, a ring. 

It was the Mage Ring. Mages are different from Units who wield physical weapons - their greatest specialty is their ability to attack from afar. The Mage Ring is a miraculous talisman that further extends the spellcasting range of whoever wears it. With it, Sonya could target Jedah no matter how large a wall of soldiers he surrounded himself with.

Though Sonya was a very strong Mage, Jedah’s position as leader of the Duma Faithful meant that he possessed even greater magical power. She had never known whether or not she could win against him, and her resolve to kill her father was nothing more than a wish. But Nomah’s gift allowed it to now become the duty fate bestowed upon her, that she must live her life to fulfill.

Some would say it was cruel, and yes, there really was nothing more cruel in the entire world. This could possibly be the first time she felt how inhumane it was for her to be attempting to kill her own father, as her hand was shaking when she took the ring. But once she had taken it, she became resolute in her decision, and cast aside all doubts. When she put the Mage Ring on her right middle finger, she did not hesitate. Then, she thanked Nomah and walked away.

“Celica,” Nomah said as they watched Sonya leave, “I have heard that Mila was sealed away within Falchion by Emperor Rudolf himself. I cannot comprehend how that could have happened.” He sat down on the cracked rock, keeping his staff upright by balancing it beneath his chin.

“Such a thing cannot be done so easily. He may be an emperor, but it is unprecedented that a god would become so weak that they could be sealed away at the hands of one Unit. Our current situation is so dire that it has shaken the very foundation that the Mila Faithful has been built upon for thousands of years.”

“But be that as it may, Mila is lost.” Celica said. She had seen everything with her own eyes. The lid of Mila’s crypt, smashed to pieces on the ground. Her physical body nowhere to be seen. And the priest Emperor Rudolf left alive to give her his message. 

“Everything you say is true. Mila has been sealed away by Emperor Rudolf. Celica,” Nomah sighed again. “I am worried that Mila herself wanted to be sealed away by Rudolf. I cannot shake the feeling that is what actually happened. It is the only way I can accept the fact that she was sealed within Falchion so easily. Everything that is happening… from the insurrection in Zofia, to the war between Rigel and Zofia that followed, to the holy war between us and the Duma Faithful, to Mila being sealed away and Duma achieving total domination… What if it is all not a wicked plot crafted by Duma, but instead a series of events Mila and Duma planned out together?”

“But what could they possibly hope to gain by doing so?” Celica asked. “Valentia is falling apart. Both the land itself and her soul. Sonya’s tragic decision is symbolic of that. The gods are the parents of all Valentians. What good could come out of making their children suffer?”

“That is what I do not know.” Nomah said. “And because I do not know, I came here to find out everything. May I join you in your travels, Celica? I promise I will not be a burden to you.”

She couldn’t imagine that he could ever become a burden. His spiritual powers were greater than ever in his old age, granting him the ability to cast Sagittae, a light magic spell even more powerful than Aura, making him stronger than any other Unit currently in her army.

[fallingtowers]

top 5 lesbians you've created?

GREAT question

5. avandera bell, a character i wrote a couple short stories about who i keep meaning to get back to. she's an aging pulp swashbuckler who spends most of her time squabbling with her platonic life partner and having sword and sorcery misadventures

4. jack of hearts, my current d&d character. she's a foulmouthed guttersnipe wizard who loves to stab people to death. she beat the grim reaper at chess and then told them to fuck right off when they dared to question her aims. she has a heavy australian accent

3. astrid raadh, the main character of a novella i wrote. she's a witch hunter on a dying desert planet who dresses all in black denim and rides a giant lizard and kills witches with a bigass sword. AND she's transgender.

2. serakhar arat, a character from my novel. she's a cop but i love her so. if i ever manage to get the novel published i'm gonna follow it up with another one from serakhar's pov

1. arhaún ysza, my novel protagonist. she's a crime lord's former bodyguard on a quest for revenge. she spends most of the novel being the most abrasive person alive and getting her ass roundly kicked. AND she's transgender.