#I read the original trilogy and both of these in 8 days

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

sooo. . . I finished six of crows xd

everyone welcome the new blorbos :DDD

[virginiaoflykos]

What to read after Light Bringer? (Series similar to Red Rising)

August 2023 update!

Red Rising is my favorite series of all time, and since I first read it, I have sought series and books similar in both spirit and execution. Some of these recs are books I haven’t read personally, but have often come up in discussions with other users!

1. The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson

Status: ongoing, expected 10 books in total, 4/10 out at the moment

Book 1: The Way of Kings. The Way of Kings takes place on the world of Roshar, where war is constantly being waged on the Shattered Plains, and the Highprinces of Alethkar fight to avenge a king that died many moons ago.

2. The Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone

Status: finished, 6/6 books out.

Book 1 (in publication order): Three Parts Dead. Comprised of 6 standalone books set in the same universe, the Craft Sequence tells the tales of the city of Alt Coulumb. The city came out of the God Wars with one of its gods intact, Kos the Everburning. In return for the worship of his people, Kos provides heat and steam power to the citizens of Alt Coulumb; he is also the hub of a vast network of power relationships with other gods and god-like beings across the planet. Oh, and he has just died. If he isn’t revived in some form by the turn of the new moon, the city will descend into chaos and the finances of the globe will take a severe hit.

3. Hierarchy by James Islington

Status: ongoing, 1/3 planned books out

Book 1: The Will of the many. The Will of the Many tells the story of Vis, a young orphan who is adopted by one of the sociopolitical elites of the Hierarchy. Vis is tasked with entering a prestigious magical academy with one goal – ascend the ranks, figure out what the other major branches of the government are doing, and report back. However, that isn’t quite as easy as Vis or anyone else thought it was going to be…

4. Suneater by Christopher Ruocchio

Status: ongoing, 5/7 books out

Book 1: Empire of Silence. Hadrian is a man doomed to universal infamy after ordering the destruction of a sun to commit an unforgivable act of genocide. Told as a chronicle written by an older Hadrian, Empire of Silence details his earlier adventures and serves as an introduction to the characters and the setting.

5. Dune by Frank Herbert

Status: completed, 6/6 books out

Book 1: Dune. Set in the distant future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which various noble houses control planetary fiefs. It tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose family accepts the stewardship of the planet Arrakis. While the planet is an inhospitable and sparsely populated desert wasteland, it is the only source of melange, or "spice", a drug that extends life and enhances mental abilities.

6. The Expanse by James S A Corey

Status: completed, 9/9 books out

Book 1: Leviathan wakes. Set hundreds of years in the future, after mankind has colonized the solar system. A hardened detective and a rogue ship's captain come together for what starts as a missing young woman and evolves into a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.

7. The First Law by Joe Abercrombie

Status: completed. 3 books in the original trilogy + 3 standalone books + 3 books in the newest trilogy

Book 1: The Blade Itself. The story follows the fortunes and misfortunes of bad people who do the right thing, good people who do the wrong thing, stupid people who do the stupid thing and, well, pretty much any combination of the above. Survival is no mean feat, and at the end of the day, dumb luck might be more of an asset than any amount of planning, skill, or noble intention.

8. Cradle by Will Wight

Status: completed, 12/12 books out

Book 1: Unsouled. Lindon is Unsouled, forbidden to learn the sacred arts of his clan. When faced with a looming fate he cannot ignore, he must rise beyond anything he's ever known...and forge his own Path

9. Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons (one PB’s favorites)

Status: completed, 4/4 books out

Book 1: Hyperion. The story weaves the interlocking tales of a diverse group of travelers sent on a pilgrimage to the Time Tombs on Hyperion. The travelers have been sent by the Church of the Final Atonement, alternately known as the Shrike Church, and the Hegemony (the government of the human star systems) to make a request of the Shrike. As they progress in their journey, each of the pilgrims tells their tale.

[mjdrawsalot]

Jon Kent (pretty much) Complete Reading Order

Compiled first for my personal use and tidied up for @jonkentweek ! Goes up to June 2024 and includes every appearance of this character that I could find. I used ComicVine's archive to track these down, which is both fallible and constantly being updated, so there might be some mistakes. Also, I did my best to highlight the occasions where Jon was a significant character in a story and to skip the ones that were just a non-speaking, one-panel cameo, but those were personal judgements and your mileage might vary.

Color key (and apologies for the eye strain): Red are issues in which Jon is a central character, not just a cameo, Blue are crossover events, Orange are stories that take place in alternate universes/are non canonical

Optional stuff you can read for historical context:

Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? (1997) a classic possible future story, which is, to my knowledge, the 1st time a character named Jon who is Superman’s kid appears

Son of Superman (1999) a self-contained, now AU, story about a teen Jon Kent, very classic 90s young adult comic with all the tropes that come with that, but enjoyable as the proto-iteration of Jon as an idea

Canon appearances start here

The Final Days of Superman crossover event: Superman (2011) 51-52, Batman/Superman (2013) 31-32, Action Comics (2011) 51-52, Superman/Wonder Woman (2013) 28-29 (This is the origin story of the Clark, Lois and Jon that the comics follow in Rebirth. Largely ignored by writers, as it was written to patch up New52 weirdness, but there are occasional references that might be confusing if you skip it completely.)

Convergence (2015) 5, 8

Superman: Lois and Clark (2015) 1-8 (Establishes Jon and his family in the DCU)

Superman (2016) 1-11, 13, 17-28, 30, 32-36, 38, 40-45, Special 1

Action Comics (2016) 957-972, 974-978, 980-983, 985, 987, 989-1000, 1002, 1005, 1016, 1022-1035, 1042, 1045-1048, 1050-1057, 1059-1060, Special 1, Annual 2023

Justice League (2016) 3-6, 15, 18-19, 22, 28

Trinity (2016) 1-6, 16

Super Sons (2017) 1-16

Dark Nights: Metal (2017) 3, 6

The Man of Steel (2018) 1-6 (central from issue 4 onwards)

Superman (2018) 1, 4-12, 14-16, 20, 29-32

Adventures of the Super Sons (2018) 1-12

Justice League (2018) 9, 23-25, 34, 52, 75, Annual 2022

Super Sons/Dynomutt Special (2018)

Super Sons: The Polarshield Project (AU trilogy of graphic novels)

Supergirl (2016) 8, 30-33

DCeased (2019) 1-6 (what if DC but zombies?)

Super Sons: The Foxglove Mission

Lois Lane (2019) 3-4, 6

Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium 2

Legion of Super-Heroes (2019) 1-12

Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child

Green Lantern: Blackstars 2-3

The Terrifics (2018) 25

Teen Titans (2016) 15, 43, 45-46

DCeased: Hope at World’s End (2020) 1, 4-5, 9-15

Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular (in the short Super Sons story)

DCeased: Dead Planet (2020) 1-7

Super Sons: Escape to Landis

Batman/Superman (2019) Annual 1

Challenge of the Super Sons (2020) 1-14

Dark Knights: Death Metal The Last Stories of the DC Universe (2020) (in the Superman short story)

Dark Knights: Death Metal The Secret Origin (2021)

Dark Knights: Death Metal The Last 52 War of the Multiverses (2021) (in the Superman parts of the story)

DC Nation Presents Future State (2020) (intro, information and behind-the-scenes for Future State)

Future State: Superman of Metropolis (2021) 1-2 (Future State is another possible future, meaning that it’s not necessarily canon, but it takes place in the future of the main canon, not in a complete AU, like say, Dark Knights of Steel. Technically not necessary to understand main universe stories, but a few popular characters and characterizations were brought over to the main universe.)

Future State: Justice League (2021) 1-2

Future State: Superman/Wonder Woman (2021) 1-2

Future State: Kara Zor-el, Superwoman (2021) 1

Future State: Legion of Super-Heroes (2021) 2

Infinite Frontier (2021) 0 (establishes the main universe status quo from this point on, feat. a synopsis of Jon’s life up to here)

Challenge of the Super Sons (2021) 1-7

Superman: Son of Kal-el (2021) 1-18, Annual 1

Shazam! (2021) 1

Superman Red and Blue (2021) 6 (in the short story The Special, but this mini series in general is cute and I recommend it)

Justice League vs. The Legion of Super-Heroes (2022) 1-6

Superman & Robin Special (2022) 1

DC’s Round Robin (2021) 2 (in the short story Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow)

Nightwing (2016) 89, 91-92, 101-104, 110, 112-113

Earth-Prime (2022) 2 (story based on the CW show Superman and Lois)

DC Pride (2022) (in the short story Super Pride)

Justice League: Road to Dark Crisis (2022) (in the short story Team Up)

Dark Crisis (2022) 1-7

Dark Crisis: Young Justice (2022) 1

Dark Crisis: Worlds Without A Justice League: Superman (2022) 1

DCeased: War of the Undead Gods (2022) 1, 4-5, 7-8

DC’s Terrors Through Time (2022) (in the short story Trick or Treat)

Dark Crisis: The Deadly Green (2022) 1

The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special (2023) (in The Life of Superman short story)

Dark Crisis: The Dark Army (2023)

Superman: Kal-El Returns Special (2023) (in the short story Distractions)

Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton (2023) (in the short story Electric)

Batman (2016) 131-132 (in the Tim Drake Robin chapters)

Superman (2023) 2-3, 9

Lazarus Planet: Omega (2023)

Power Girl Special (2023)

Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent (2023) 1-6

Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow (2023) 1 (edited version of the story in Round Robin)

DC Pride (2023) (in the short story My Best Bet)

Titans: Beast World (2024) 3-4, 6

Titans: Beast World Tour: Metropolis (2024)

Trinity Special (2024) (taken from the backups of Wonder Woman 2023 plus some extra)

[moondyad]

sometimes i scroll all the way over to that "news" section on my phone and see random articles recommended to me by google. today i was met with this article:

(you don't have to read it or give it any traction, it doesn't deserve that. it's simply here for context)

confused by the title, i was hooked into reading it. but the conclusion was simply, "My Lady Jane almost got as many renewal signatures as The Acolyte got, so the fans who did sign the petition are a vocal minority." and then went on to say this:

and i went "oh". these questions told me everything i needed to know about the author, he was a cis white guy. i scrolled to the end and sure enough, i was right. it really pisses me off when people are so entitled that they think something is just for them and should never branch out into appealing to other demographics. watching a cis white man protagonist in a movie or series never bothered me, why does it bother a cis white man when that situation is reversed, unless it comes down to bigotry?

forgotten what they are? the original trilogy was anti-war messaging and influenced heavily by a Japanese film, The Hidden Fortress. like frankly, shut the hell up. i'm so sorry that you got 7 (the new one making it 8) movies and ~7 series where a protagonist was a cis man who you could relate to. why is it so wrong to have media be "something for everyone" without the implicit reason being to alienate poc, lgbtq, or other minorities from your fandom.

yes, there is this almost weird corporate pandering where minorities get shoved in a role to be the "token", we generally don't like that shit either. we don't want half-baked representation. having a black woman protagonist just... being on the screen, is not "woke" corporate pandering!! what do you do if you pass a black woman on the street? scream, cry, throw a fit? i'm sorry to tell you that people exist?

i know this fandom is full of older white men, but i am continually surprised by the general narrow-mindedness and lack of media literacy that is so prevalent among them. when they willfully ignore the more progressive messaging of the original movies, it's like the alt-right manosphere space using The Matrix as a "stop being a societal sheep" metaphor when the directors and writers of the movie were two trans women who intended for the movie to be a metaphor for transformation. i won't say transness explicitly, because both of them were closeted at the time of making it and admit they only knew how to depict that in the form of their character, Switch, who was a trans allegory.

i for one was left with more questions than answers at the end of The Acolyte. i am a very lore-focused individual and tend to dissect things with the culmination of the information i know. but i did not hate the show. the characterization didn't have enough time to breathe for decisions to have felt earned, and just in general the pacing was quite fast. the newer concepts like heavily grey characters and Osha/Mae being the same person were very exciting to me, and i had hoped to learn more about Qimir in the next season. now i'll never get that chance.

if criticisms of the show stuck to the fast pacing or plot holes, we wouldn't be having this discussion. i like to think that one day these older fans will recognize the irony of their stances, but it might just be wishful thinking.

[theinquisitxor]

Mid-Year Book Freak-out Tag 2024

Another year, another Mid-Year Book Freak-out Tag! I believe this set of questions originated on booktube, but I see it circulate around all social media. I usually do this set of questions every year. Feel free to copy/paste the questions if you're interested!

I try to only answer 1 book per question (but sometimes I can't decide) and I try to only talk about a book once throughout the set of questions too, so I'm not too repetitive, but it doesn't always happen!

1.Best Book so far in 2024: I'm going to have to say Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I read this on audio back in January, and it's stuck with me since. I bought a physical copy and have been reading & marking up the book over the past few weeks. I'm not a religious person, but this book could be my bible lol.

A close runner up is North Woods by Daniel Mason, and the Beartown series by Fredrik Backman.

2.Best Sequel you've read so far in 2024: Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett. This series is just so fun and exactly the type of book I like to read.

3.New Release you haven't read yet, but want to: Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel. I really enjoyed her debut, Kaikeyi and she's an author on my radar now. I'm also interested in Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland.

4.Anticipated Release for the second half of the year: The new T.Kingfisher book, A Sorceress Come to Call in August, as well as A Dark and Drowning Tide by Alison Saft later in the fall.

5.Biggest Disappointment: The Atlas Complex, the third and final book to the Altas series by Olivie Blake. This was a big disappointment and let-down :(

I also found Song of the Huntress and A Winter's Promise to be disappointments this year. Both were books I was anticipating liking a lot, but was let down.

6.Biggest Surprise: The Throne of the Five Winds / Hostage of Empire trilogy by SC Emmett. This became a new favorite fantasy series, and I went into the first book without much of an expectation, but was surprised by how much I liked it.

7.Favorite New Author: I did not read many new (new to me, or debut) authors this year so far, but I did enjoy reading the Greenhollow Duology by Emily Tesh. So I would say Emily Tesh is a new favorite.

8.Newest Fictional Crush: usually I struggle with this question, but this year was easy 😂. It's easily Zakkar Kai from The Throne of the Five Winds without no doubt. Takshin from the same series is also a contender!

9.Newest Favorite Character: Komor Yala from The Throne of the Five Winds, she was such a great main character, and had such a quiet strength and intelligence that made her an instant favorite.

10.Book that made you cry: The Wall by Marlen Haushofer had me crying by the last page. I might not make everyone cry, but it certainly made me emotional.

11.Book that made you happy: A Fragile Enchantment by Alison Saft was one of the first books I read this year, but it was so delightful and had me smiling throughout. I read it in a day and couldn't put it down.

12.Most Beautiful Book you've bought/acquired this year: The Language of Trees: A Rewilding of Literature and Landscape by Katie Holton is such an artistic and unique book.

13.Book you need to read by the end of the year: I've been meaning to do a re-read of the Pellinor series by Alison Croggon for a few years now, maybe I'll get to it this year

[jenyifer]

I’ve read 10 more books let’s get a rec list here for future use for people to look up on my page or alone.

Disclaimer:I think reviews and opinions show a lot about who you are and your life exp so. I am a woman lover who is 30 with ADHD. I am cisgendered she/her. I like listening to books on my drive in and out of work. I’ve read and watched a lot of scifi and fantasy and these books reflect that too.

In order of most loved:

1. Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈⏳ Historical Romance. this beautifully crafted novel moved me to tears. Set in a historical, mundane world, it captures the essence of the original while offering a fresh perspective.

2. Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh 👯‍♀️🏳️‍🌈👽🚀now MC Romance very very low I like to think she’s a little bit some where in the ace spectrum but 🥹🥹 Avicenna gives you enough gay vibes trust me. It is a real journey. MC is broken out of her brainwashing and tries to save the Earth and Universe. It’s high Sci-fi fun. I really loved it.

3. The Last Binding Trilogy by Freya Marske 🏳️‍🌈👯‍♀️🏳️‍🌈🪄⏳🔎 Alright each book is from a different intertwined couple’s POV. Each book is very much historical wizard mystery’s found family. Each book has steamy interesting spicy scenes. I find this series more impressive now because I still think about the couples and its universe was fun. Side note the last couple is the best.

4. The Tithenai Chronicles by Foz Meadows 🏳️‍🌈⏳🪄🔎 it’s more historical than super magical but both books have decent mysteries. It’s about an arranged royal marriage one comes from a conservative country suffering from trauma which we get to see but is treated respectfully and not harped on and the other is a warrior who is a little neurospicy. So Velasin is so dear to me I forgive a lot because he’s baby and I love him. They have non binary characters and disabled characters in the story being treated like people. There is some very spicy scenes in these two books. The new character in the second book so amazing they reminds me of Tennal from Oceans Echo in spirit anyway. I liked them. But his spicy scenes had me blushing for days. A con of this book is it’s very emotional so depression trauma warnings.

5. Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🦹🦜 I can’t believe I forgot to do a review of this one considering I really enjoyed it. So it’s YA dystopian Latin America folklore kind of like superhero and god goddess. Really heart warming found family coming of age. Also in the vein of hunger games etc. I loved the universe and the structure of the world. Each character was well developed throughout the book. Main character is someone you want to see succeed. I’m so excited for book 2. Lots of neurospicy peeps represented in my opinion.

6. Simon Snow Trilogy by Rainbow Rowell🏳️‍🌈🪄🧛🏻🐲 Also YA feel book one has a lot of Harry Potter jabs but it’s not a direct parody. I also think in book 2 3 they take jabs at diff genres which was fun. The series is very funny has perspective from all the characters. The universe is interesting. Romance is decent. Lovable characters. It isn’t good to think too hard about anything.

7. The Unbroken by CL Clark 👯‍♀️⏳👑🪄 this book would be higher up if I wasn’t iffy on the main couple individually I’d rank both leads pretty high on best characters. It’s a book about colonialism political magic rebellion found family. It’s action packed it’s interesting with a good mystery. A disabled main character and a more male presenting lesbian with is something new. Touraine is going to do what Touraine thinks in her heart while Luca serves with her brain and wallet.

8. So this is ever after by f. t. Lukens 🏳️‍🌈👯‍♀️🪄👑⏳ Does what it says on the tin is YA. Medieval setting with standard fantasy quest group. Very easy read.

9. Out of the Blue by Jason June 🏳️‍🌈🧜🏻‍♂️🎬🎓very YA vibes. Very romance. About a nonbinary mer person on their journey out of the ocean to help a human and a film obsessed gay chubby human on his journey to get over a relationship. I would have this book ranked higher except for the ending and School vibes do kind of make me cringe.

10. Temperature of You and Me by Brain Zepka 🏳️‍🌈🦹🔎 about a boy whose skin is fire and human who works at a dairy queen. Mystery is weak some holes in the plot.Romance very immature. School age kids.

Okay so audible had a sale anddd I got a couple titles on there (if I have to spend a fortune on gas and tolls I’ll spend a small one on the books that keep me sane) and I have 4 Libby audiobooks checked out. I still have a hard time with wlw books. Or too much thinking. It needs to hit a sweet spot for me since I’m usually driving in hard conditions so can’t use the super brain on the story. Anyways any suggestions or recs would be welcomed!!!

[starlightcleric]

Tagged by @dragonologist-phd, thank you! Tagging (if you would like) @rannadylin, @risualto, @sayonaramidnight, @pyritea, @raynshyu, and anyone else who would like to!

1. the last book I read:

The last book I finished (just yesterday) was The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. It had been on my to-read and I saw it on the shelf at the library so I took it. I enjoyed it, I think it’s well written and the main character realistically flawed in an interesting way, but I don’t know that I would ever reread.

2. a book I recommend:

Depends on who I’m recommending to, but I did actually in real life recommend Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid to a friend and she read it (although she didn’t enjoy it as much as I did).

3. a book that I couldn’t put down:

I read quickly, so I either read books in one day or it takes me multiple days of reading a few chapters at a time, but I absolutely devoured The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. Stay up past bedtime to finish reading levels of hooked, which is rare for me as an adult.

4. a book that I’ve read twice (or more):

I reread more in my childhood, but a series (that I read in childhood admittedly) that I’m intentionally re-reading now is the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy by Tad Williams. Currently I’m on volume 3(.1), To Green Angel Tower, part 1 because the book is too long to publish in one mass market paperback volume. (The original form of the book I read was all one volume).

5. a book on my TBR:

I either own books because I love them, or because I want to read them, and The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi is in the latter category. I originally got it from the library, didn’t finish it, put it on my christmas list and received it, and now it’s sitting on my shelf waiting for the stars to align and actually read it.

6. a book I’ve put down:

Last book I intentionally put down was The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang. Not because of the quality or anything, I’m just extremely uninterested in school stories right now.

7. a book on my wish list:

I am extremely looking forward to The Lotus Empire by Tasha Suri coming out later this year.

8. a favourite book from childhood:

Watership Down by Richard Adams is the book that I’ve read most in my life, to the point that my copy is falling apart.

9. a book you would give to a friend:

Is this either A) to lend or B) as a present, in which case A) no I hate lending my books to people. If it’s B) it supremely depends on the person and what they like reading. Hopefully I would give them something they want. I don’t like this question.

10. a book of poetry or lyrics you own:

I don’t really own short poetry, but I do have multiple Shakespeare plays and also national epic poems. So let’s call out The Kalevala by Elias Lönnrot (translated Keith Bosley) which is a beautiful work of poetry, even translated, and it touched me to my soul and I love it and it makes no goddamn sense.

11. a nonfiction book you own:

I have one history book that I have two copies of (by accident) but I’ve kept both because they’re actually slightly different! The Influence of Sea Power Upon History 1660-1783 by A.T. Mahan, but the second is a larger copy with more pictures that’s 1660-1805 for some reason!

12. what are you currently reading:

I have, in progress, The Unbroken by C.L. Clark, To Green Angel Tower, Part 1 by Tad Williams, and The Journey to the West, Volume 1 translated Anthony C. Yu.

13. what are you planning on reading next:

I just picked up from the library today Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Volume 4 by Kanehito Yamada and The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo!

[jinxquickfoot]

20 Questions for Writers

I was tagged by @16woodsequ. Thank you!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

82!! And that's counting the one-shot collections as 1 fic.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

1,572,787

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Still in Marvel, although I've had a few ideas around Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss that I probably would written if my MCU WIP list wasn't so impossibly long.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

The One Where Peter is Bucky's Weakness

Let's Whump the Spider-Kid and Friends!

The One Where Peter is Tony's Weakness

You're Always Spider-Man

The One Where Clint is Tony's Weakness

You guys really like it when I kidnap Peter Parker.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Of course!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

The Worst Thing, it's the only ending I wouldn't call 'happy'. I labelled it 'bittersweet' instead, which I think is fitting. Actually Dollhouse also is a strong contender.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Let's Whump the Spider-Kid and Friends! teeters on the edge of soppy. Everyone is alive post-Endgame, Peter gets a prom with all the Avengers and his high school friends, and the Spider-Kid in question gets a whole month of rest.

In hindsight, I wrote that fic during pretty extreme burnout (that I am now thankfully over), and I can see my need for rest and care just bleeding through Peter in those final chapters. I'm so grateful we both got what we needed.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not for a long time, since the debates over Civil War have... if not settled, maybe don't hold as much interest as they used to.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Not yet, but I think I might be brave and include some Winterhawk smut in the Heart of Stone series.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Nope.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. I've come across one or two with eerily similar premises and wondered, but I've never followed up. Tropes are tropes for a reason.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not a translation but Hair is Everything has a podfic!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Many! And tried to many at the same time which was a mistake, but I'm so glad I've gotten to work with so many incredible authors:

The One Where Clint is Steve's Weakness with @16woodsequ

The One Where T'Challa is Shuri's Weakness with @fluencca

The One Where Bruce is Thor's Weakness with @onwardmeteors

The One Where Peter is Peter's Weakness with @spagbol99

The One Where Bucky is Steve's Weakness with @usaonetwothree

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Winterhawk aka Clint/Bucky has my heart forever and ever, but I have a soft spot for Clint/Matt and Wanda/Vision as well. Outside of Marvel, I love reading for Stede/Ed, Husk/Angel, Caleb/Essek and Buck/Eddie.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you will?

If I've posted it, I'll finish it (I swear, I know I haven't touched the Whumptoberverse in three years). I do have an outline for something called the Amendment trilogy which I thought had some promise, but I've done so many Civil War Fix-Its now I doubt it has anything original to say these days.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I don't think my plot twists are too shabby, and I like to think that I find new things to say about well-worn characters and tropes. I'm also pretty damn good at structure, but that's because I studied and practised the hell out of it. Oh and occasionally I like to think I'm funny, especially when writing for Tony.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Sometimes I focus too much on getting a fic done than letting it breathe. I've been told several times the ending to The One Where Peter is Bucky's Weakness is disappointing, and I agree. I was ready to get out of there so I Game of Throned it instead of spending a good 5-10 chapters wrapping that fic up properly.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Short bits are fine if you pop the translation in the end notes. If not, I like to just say something like, "He switched to Russian [continues dialogue in English]."

19. First fandom you wrote for?

MCU and we're still going, baby.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

AH okay I want to include all those I co-wrote but that feels like cheating, because what I like about those fics is often what other people brought to them.

I used to say Budapest and that's still a strong contender. But I actually love The One Where Clint is Sam's Weakness, specifically the final chapter. The idea of mistakes and regrets and choices not making you who you are is a very personal thing for me. Clint saying "You’re my hero, Kate." might be my favorite line I've ever written in a fic. Sometimes the simplest ones are the best.

Low pressure tag: @fluencca @usaonetwothree @queenofalotofdifferentworlds @spagbol99 @teeelsie-posts

[danielfeketewrites]

DOCTOR WHO TOP 10 - 1st Doctor

So, I threatened to do this a while ago, and I'm finally ready. This is my first top 10 in a series of Doctor Who top 10s.

Expanded universe wil be included, always. Let's go.

10. A Big Hand for the Doctor

Out of the 11 Doctors, 11 stories anthology, this might be my favourite one? Although a few of the others are great as well.

It's just so... weird. I mean, all of those short stories are likely written by people with little to no knowledge of eu. So Colfer (who I am predisposed to like, because I loved Artemis Fowl as a kid) isn't tied to... I dunno, Quinnis? Operation Proteus? He's probably never even heard of them. So he creates a glimpse of a whole new NewWho-esque era that takes place before Totter's Lane. One that (unlike the one presented in Fugitive of the Judoon) seems actually fun and interesting.

The 1st Doctor had a cybernetic arm for all of his episodes. Why? Because why the fuck not.

9. The Savages

Whenever some weird incel on the internet says "Doctor Who was never about politics!", the correct answer to that is "Shut the fuck up and go watch The Savages." Or it would be, if any of it still existed.

Don't get me wrong - William Hartnell's Doctor Who era was very political. Mostly with "Nazis bad" and "cold war bad", which are both solid takes. But this serial has balls.

It has no monsters, it's just a parable about South Africa. I don't know, I just think it's really cool for this children's sci-fi show in mid-1960s to go "Yeah, fuck apartheid!"

8. The Edge of Destruction

I haven't seen this one for years but from what I remember and what I know about it, I like it a lot. It's just this weird filler, except it's not at all, because it's an integral part of each character's arc. It has a profound weirdness about it which I adore.

It's Doctor Who, as originally intended.

7. Home Truths

I listened to this one recently for the first time and - wow. Just wow. It's just dripping with atmosphere. I love it a lot and need to listen to the rest of that trilogy now.

6. Dalek Invasion of Earth

It's the one where the Daleks... actually become the Daleks. From opressors on a futuristic planet, bound to a single city, to galactic conquerors. Iconic, and for very good reasons.

5. Journey Out of Terror

Simon Guerrier is just fucking excelent at writing the 1st Doctor, Ian, and Barbara. There's no way around it, this short story is properly brilliant and you should read it if you haven't done so yet.

4. The Daleks' Master Plan

I love the madness of the Master Plan. It's a lot bigger than manageable. It's ambitious and epic and I adore it to bits. It has the Monk! Huge empires! Jumping through time! Cold war parallels! A Christmas special! There's nothing like it. Hopefully more of it returns to the archives one day.

3. The Aztecs

The Aztecs is one of the purest Doctor Who experiences ever. It's really funny, but also quite dark. It has action and adventure, yet stops to think about history and culture, as well as the philosophy of time travel. It feels timeless.

2. The Keys of Marinus

The Keys of Marinus is widely disliked and overall not a beloved story. Which is, of course, bullshit.

I love it so goddamn much. It's the first "Classic Who" serial that was genuinely FUN for me to watch. It made me fall in love with Doctor Who again, in the same way I feel in love the 11th Doctor's era. It's amazing and should be recognised as such.

1. The Time Meddler

Alright, this is one the most beloved Hartnell era serials. And... for good reasons.

I love this story. It's clever and fun and inovative and just all around marvelous time. I can't help it, the Doctor x Monk rivalry just gets me. The setting is excellent. And it kinda invents the final bits of Doctor Who that weren't invented by Season 1.

[aroaessidhe]

Mid-Year Book Freakout 2023

1. Best book you’ve read so far this year

The Art of Prophecy - this was so fun and made just for me I enjoyed it a lot The Misadventures of an Amateur Naturalist - really good and also quite unique for the space it’s sitting in I think! The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi - this is very good and fun I loved it

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far this year

The World We Make - love this duology!! NK Jemisin does it again etc etc A Day of Fallen Night - prequel technically, but I enjoyed it a lot and more than priory I think! Sailing By Carina’s Star - i am enjoying this trilogy a lot we love queer pirates The Shadow Cabinet - somehow even more wild than the first book

3. New release you haven’t read yet

I don’t keep lists of books I need to read, so of course when I try to think of something my mind goes blank, here’s a couple from my library holds/kindle To Shape A Dragon’s Breath Wander The Night also does Flight & Anchor count if I’ve read the original patreon version but not the published version yet

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

(same situation lmao) I’m looking forward to He Who Drowned The World! that’s the first thing that comes to mind

5. Biggest disappointment

tbqh I’ve read a lot of disappointments but they’re mostly self published ones that I read soley because of aspec characters that didn’t hold up in the writing department and are not very well known anyway. (I’ve read tons of selfpubs that are amazing too of course!!) so I’ll just mention some traditionally published ones: Rosewater - I did go into this with the wrong expectations for one, but also the MC was so (intentionally) misogynistic it was hard to enjoy :/ The Wicked Remain - there were a few iffy things in the first book but also things I liked and the second book just...didn’t really add to the things I liked. idk Song of Silver, Flame Like Night - I knew this wasn’t gonna be entirely for me in the first place but man what was up with the only other female character (that’s not dead) having an absolute caricature of a mean girl rivalry with the MC in like. a calling each other slurs kind of way not a fun way

6. Biggest surprise

Beating Heart Baby - I enjoy reading YA contemporary but there’s usually a limit to how much I enjoy it compared to sff, but this went beyond what I expected and I really loved it The Meister of Decimen City - I didn’t have any expectations for this, someone just mentioned it on a discord and I got it from the library, but I loved it a lot!

7. Favorite new author (debut or new to you)

See generally I only call people favourite authors if I’ve read and loved like, at least 3 separate books from them, and I don’t really have any of those for this year.....you need to work to get my loyalty Here’s a few authors that I’ve read a second book/series from them this year and am like, ah yes, I will read the next one: Ceinwen Langley Rebecca Schaeffer Liselle Sambury

8. Newest fictional crush/newest favorite character

tbh I’m not one to separate an individual character from their book or like, the other characters surrounding them very often, so I just can’t think of anything specific... all the women in The Art of Prophecy are great

9. Book that made you cry

I’ve actually started recording this in my stats this year HAHA, with “fully crying” “teared up” and “cried from cute/happiness” and,, I did not expect that there are only 3 books that have made me fully cry????? Which are: In Other Lands and Lirael (nostalgia def has a part to play in both of those) and Beating Heart Baby. I can’t remember why I cried for that one but clearly it was a lot lmao

10. Book that made you happy

I mean it’s a reread but In Other Lands of course

World Running Down - only just read this and I really enjoyed it! a good mix of an interesting sci-fi future that isn’t super dark but also doesn’t shy away from various issues, and an interesting romance! (me enjoying a romance, shocker)

witch hat atelier! - how could it Not make you happy tbh

thanks @violaeade for tagging me!

I will tag @thereadingchallengechallenge @nycorix @speculatives @dkafterdark and anyone else who wants I guess

[turnupswritessometimes]

13 questions about books

Tagged by the wonderful @holographiccs - thank you! <3

1. The last book I read:

I finished reading Fright Bite by Jennifer Killick this morning - very good, very fun middlegrade horror. Each book has different mutated animals, and this time round it was rats! We love to see it!

2. A book I recommend

So many, but The Shadow Glass by Josh Winning. What if the puppets from Labyrinth/The Dark Crystal came to life in our world? Fun shenanigans! It's a real love letter to the Jim Henson company.

3. A book I couldn't put down

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Yes, it's only a hundred pages or so, but I read it in one sitting. Those boys!! Those boys and their relationships and coming of age! The ending!

4. A book I’ve read twice (or more)

The Black Magician Trilogy (I know I'm cheating) by Trudi Canavan. I love the world and the characters and the magic system. The Novice is the best one because of Dannyl's arc. (We love finding out you've been using magic to suppress the fact you're gay for literal years! I'm sinking my teeth into that plot line.)

5. a book on my to-be-read

I have nearly 100 on my Goodreads to read list, lol. But I'm very interested in These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong. Romeo and Juliet but in 1920s Shanghai? Incredible!

6. a book i’ve put down

I don't often not finish a book, but 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' by Paul Alexander. You cannot make those kind of sweeping, certain claims about James Dean's life without proper referencing or a proper bibliography!

7. a book on my wishlist

'Poison in their Hearts' by Laura Sebastian, the final in the trilogy. Very Game of Thrones fantasy political intrigue, but with strong female characters who are actually well-rounded and well-written! And use their smarts in most situations! Very intrigued to see how it will all finish up.

(But I have the first two in paperback, so I really need to wait for this one to be in paperback too.)

8. a favorite book from childhood

Anything by Jacqueline Wilson, but I do have a soft spot for 'Candyfloss.' Wilson just has a way of capturing what it's like to be a child really authentically. I did also love that each chapter had a page of illustrations that fit together to hint about what was going to happen.

9. a book i would give to a friend

Lost Boy, by Christina Henry. A dark Peter Pan from Lost Boy Jamie(who wears a red pirate coat! Hint hint!)'s perspective that fits perfectly within the original book. It will make you cry!

10. a fiction book i own

Way too many...Descendent of the Crane by Joan He was one I hugely enjoyed. Very twisty Asian Fantasy with a really good romance and a great female lead.

11. a nonfiction book i own

Last Night at the Viper Room by Gavin Edwards. A really good biography of River Phoenix's life that's well researched and really highlights who he was. (And how weird everyone was about him!)

12. what i am currently reading

I'm slowly trudging my way through 'It' by Stephen King and 'Tinker Belles and Evil Queens' by Sean Griffin. Both are very good but Tinker Belles and Evil Queens requires a lot of thinking to get through. (And It has a lot of Kingisms to brace yourself for.)

13. what i plan on reading next

I've just collected 'Rumblefish' and 'That was Then, This is now,' by S.E. Hinton from the library, so I'll be devouring both of those over the next couple of days at work. I love the sense of time and place in them. There's a sparseness to the prose, and yet real depth in the characters.

I'm tagging @lizziebennetss (thank you for the follow btw! <3) and @howtotrainyourmerlin (if you feel like it)

[awkwardtickleetoo]

hi baby! can you do 6, 8 + 14 for the questions? :D

hi hi :)

from this post!!

it’s super long so i’m putting it under the cut lmao

6. make a sampler plate! which three fics should a first-time reader of yours read first?

i think definitely the og birthday fic, Belated Birthday Surprise, because it’s the origin of this whole blog (where i got my humble start 😔✊) so it’s a good read to start out with!! and also if you choose to keep going it could lead you to the birthday raspberries trilogy from there :O

i think second would be the first fnaf fic, Laugh For Us, Superstar, as it’s kind of a staple of this blog in a way

and lastly i’d say No Out-Tickling the Tickle God, because it’s the first concept from @mushiewrites that i ever wrote and mush is basically a co-owner of this blog as this point with how often i talk about them sooooo it’s another staple to me <3

8. which three fics were the easiest to write? why?

for this one in judging based on which ones came to me the easiest and we’re written the fastest, and with that in mind i’d definitely say Shaking the Jitters Out, Timed Challenge!!, and Belated Birthday Surprise. they were all written in like. a day or two or maybe even less, so pretty quickly and easily i’d say

14. which three of your own fics do you re-read all the time? why?

oh one THOUSAND percent the top one is Cosquillas, Cosquillas, i am genuinely so so proud of this fic, it’s one of my favorites i’ve ever written like. ever. the spots and the teases and their soft little touches :(( and i’m really really proud of the lil spanish parts like,,, ahhh idk idk i just think this fic is so so awesome i love it a lot :(

i don’t really reread my own fics a lot anymore?? i kinda fell out of the habit, which sucks, so maybe i’ll get back into it. but i can say with absolute confidence that the ones i USED to reread all the time we’re The American Experience and The Importance of Eye Contact, because they’re both fantastic and very very fun reads for me <3 so i’d say those would count too

[padfootagain]

The Marauders come back to Hogwarts to begin their sixth year there, and many things will change for them during these coming months. Outside the safety of their school, the world is growing darker. Inside the Castle, they'll find both new friends and enemies.

Pairings : Sirius Black x Original Female Character + Jily

Warnings : graphic depictions of violence and torture, adult themes, mentions of child abuse. Several violent scenes and themes will be used in this story, be aware of this if you decide to read the fic.

This is the rewriting of my first fic ever! From 8 years ago, when my English was very poor and I had no skills in storytelling whatsoever... This fic was posted on FFC.net at the time, but I would not recommend you to read it there as a) my English was terrible and b) there will be major changes in the plot so... please, just read this version. I'll also post it on AO3. This fic was planned as a trilogy back in the days, I'll try to actually make it into the three books I had originally planned, and for which this would be the first part!

On-going series :

-Prologue + Chapter 1 : A Brand-new Year

-Chapter 2: Kiss and Resolutions

-Chapter 3: Confessions

-Chapter 4: Broomsticks

-Chapter 5: The First Prank of the Year

[theinquisitxor]

March 2023 Reading Wrap-Up

Hard to believe that we are already going into April, but I read 7 books in March + 1 dnf. It was a really good reading month in general, and I found some new favorites this month.

1.A Day Of Fallen Night (Roots of Chaos #0) by Samatha Shannon. 5/5 stars. Absolutely stellar and my favorite book so far this year. I thought this was better than Priory and this is one of the few books where I don't think I have any complaints. Adult High Fantasy

2.The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty 4/5 stars. This was a very entertaining story about lady pirate coming out of retirement for one last job, set in the middle east during the middle ages. Very fast paced, plot and action driven story. Excited to see where this new series goes. Adult Historical Fantasy

3.The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokski 1/5 stars-DNF. I could not stand this book, and stopped only after about 25%. Sadly, I don't think Chokski is an author for me. There were a lot of things I didn't like- the writing style, the characters, the instalove. I was very disappointed in this. Adult Fantasy

(the same cover artist did the covers for both A Day of Fallen Night and Amina al-Sirafi!)

4.The River of Silver : Tales from the Daevabad Trilogy by SA Chakrabory 4/5 stars. I really enjoyed reading this collection of short stories from one of my favorite series. This included stories from before, during, and after the main events of the series. This gave a good wrap-up and bonus content to this series. Adult High Fantasy

5.Velvet Was The Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 3/5 stars. This was an enjoyable historical noir from one of my new favorite authors. I didn't enjoy this book as much as Garcia's others, but it was quite different. Historical Noir.

6.Persepolis Rising (The Expanse #7) by James SA Corey 4/5 stars. I'm hoping to finally finish this series this year, and I enjoyed this entry quite a bit. It is very action and plot driven, but I really like the new plot and new villain this book introduced. It should be a good end to the series. Science-Fiction

7.Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen. A must read for ace folks and those interested. Really well done and informative. Nonfiction

8. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn 4.5/5 stars. Wow wow wow I really like this. I was hooked, and could not put this down. It was very action and plot forward, but didn't feel over the top. This was also unique and original, even though it has familiar ya tropes. A new favorite and I hope to read book 2 soon. YA Fantasy.

That is:

5 Fantasy, 1 Historical Fiction, 1 Nonfiction .

April TBR:

The Evening and The Morning by Ken Follett

How High We Go In the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

A Lady for A Duke by Alexis Hall

A Marvelous Light by Freya Marske

How to Live like a Monk: Medieval Wisdom for Modern Life by Danielle Cybulskie

[ccthewriter]

CC's New Watch Ranking - April 2023

Every month on Letterboxd, I make a list of the 10 best films I’ve seen for the first time. It’s a fun way to compare movies separated in time, genre, and country of origin, and helps me keep track of what I’m watching! This is a breakdown of those films.

April! An early heat wave broke and gave us the rainy, misty days that this month is supposed to contain. My vegetable garden is starting to take root. This is the first year I’m planting in earnest, prepping trays of seeds to make their way outside. I’ve been learning a lot, and keeping my eye on the backyard window as I’ve been settling in to watch these films. Plants like music - do they like film scores? Maybe I’ll take my speakers outside and find out. I bet they’d love Angelo Badalamenti, whose work is featured heavily in this month’s list. After a slow start due to several exciting new work opportunities (yay!), this month ended up containing some cinematic heavy-hitters! 

Click below to read the breakdown! Click HERE for the list on Letterboxd! 

10. The Hawks and the Sparrows 

1966 - Pier Paolo Pasolini

A delightful absurdist tale by one of Italy’s greatest directors. A father and son, whose attitude seems ripped right out of Waiting for Godot, wander a road with indeterminate purpose. Along they way they meet a philosophizing talking bird, and fall backwards in time to the life of St. Francis. Interspersed are some scenes of modern (1960s) Italian life, including the real funeral procession of a Communist leader. It’s a strange, lopsided work, perhaps not achieving the thought-provoking or artistic heights that the director intended, but contains some brilliant gems of absurdism. I’m particularly struck by several shots and discussions that focus on the Moon. You may know, reader, that I am obsessed with Fellini’s Voice of the Moon. That is an absurd, wandering meditation on the moon’s symbolism and power, and echoes of those ideas are found here, too. It gets me wondering about what Fellini and Pasolini shared, the experiences that united their thought, and got them to create such interesting, parallel pictures. 

9. For a Few Dollars More 

1965 - Sergio Leone

Impeccable craft. The platonic ideal of a Western that so many movies/other media try to grasp, but can never quite achieve. (Looking at you, Mando.) While The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly might be the ultimate piece in this trilogy, For A Few Dollars More still manages to hold all the compelling, subtle characterization and breathtaking conclusion that makes that capper so legendary. Two bounty hunters seek out a mad fugitive - they all double-cross one another in pursuit of victory. There’s just grand vibes within this thing. A legendary score, gorgeous shots, handsome sweaty men trying to kill each other (aka flirting), and other tiny design choices that are beyond iconic. What’s not to love? Toss this on with a bourbon, pardner, and watch them shoot a hat. 

8. Bitter Rice 

1949 - Giuseppe De Santis

What if we fought back against systems that oppress the workers of the rice fields AND we were both girls 👀. First and foremost watch this if you love wlw - there is some subtext that occurs between the main pair as they squabble. A jewel thief, coerced into crime by her shitty boyfriend, hides out among rice workers with her stolen goods. She meets Silvana, a peasant who catches onto their scheme and ultimately gets entangled in their lives. It feels like both the thieving pair lust after her. The politics of this one are messy, to say the least. Francesca, the thief, sides with some scabs who want to work the fields despite not being part of the union. Silvana organizes the workers against them, but ultimately they come to a patronizing compromise to let both sides work together. The film doesn’t care about the details that would make this labor struggle real - what does it take to join the union? Who organizes it? Do the members get to vote about how they feel about the scabs? Pulling those threads makes the movie collapse, along with the shoe-horned melodramatic ending for Silvana, which seems born out of an American Hayes Code sense of what must happen to a woman who "chooses wrong." Despite these elements, the film is shot beautifully by Otello Martelli, Fellini’s cinematographer, and contains one of the greatest framing devices for a neorealist film ever devised. A voice over telling you that what you’re about to see is the real testimony of rice workers, which diegetically shifts into a radio announcer present at the scene, is inspired. A film to yell at as you enjoy it. 

7. Touch of Evil 

1958 - Orson Welles

The film opens with a bomb being place in the boot of a car. Then there is an unbroken shot lasting about 5 minutes of that same car driving slowly through a crowded street. It is breathtaking tension building. Hitchcockian perfection. What follows is a surprisingly nuanced exploration of police corruption. These pigs live in paranoid fantasies sustained by evidence that they plant - hatred, ignorance, and alcohol let them forget that they created the justification for their hate themselves. This film drips with noir style and culminates in a chase scene that’s just as satisfying as the end of The Third Man. Who else understands noir like Welles? He gives a remarkable performance here. 

6. Inland Empire 

2006 - David Lynch

Lynch was doing creepypasta lo-fi found footage before it was cool. Seriously, watch this film and be surprised that this came out before Marble Hornets! Lynch’s first foray into digital filmmaking follows the story of actor Nikki Grace, played by the inimitable Laura Dern. (Consider her!) She is cast in a film that she later discovers is an adaptation, derived from a production that was shut down due to strange events happening to the cast. This grounded framing quickly dissolves into classic Lynchian surreality. The narrative is intersected by stories of 19th century Polish sex workers, modern day drifters, an unnamed woman who watches the film’s events on a TV screen, and more flashes of disconnected images than I could ever try to remember. Terry Crews is there for a few minutes. Lynch’s films defy simple explanation, as their very structure seems to repel logical attempts to define them. It is enough to say that this all builds into a moving tale of the exploitation built within the Hollywood machine. To be an actor, even with all the progress we’ve made, is to give yourself up to depersonalization, to completely vanish in the eyes of the viewer. Audiences want to see a self that is inside you, but is not you. You can get lost pulling on that thread. And there are dark figures who are only too happy to encourage you to get lost, who want to sit behind a camera and watch your selves separate, so they can bottle it up and sell it for massive, massive profit. Fascinating to see such a film come from Lynch, who by all accounts is a highly ethical filmmaker and whose crews (particularly Dern!) adore working with him. I think it takes a fundamentally good and kind person to truly understand evil - they must have the good grace to recognize what lives within them, what lives within all of us. 

(Also, these fucking rabbits terrify me in ways that I'm still understanding. I think I saw the short film Lynch made with them while I was under the influence of certain substances. They know what I'm thinking and will show up at my doorstep one midnight, I just know it.)

5. Lost Highway 

1997 - David Lynch

Whereas Inland Empire explores the loss of self that’s a feature (not a bug) of acting, Lost Highway explores a broader loss of self that can happen any time, anywhere, to anyone. Recapping the plot, again, seems a little pointless, but in brief, it’s about a jazz musician who appears to be stalked by a shapeshifting entity. As he tries to understand why he’s being targeted, he gets arrested for (apparently) murdering his wife - but while in jail, he mystically transforms into another person entirely. This new character lives an entirely separate life that eventually intersects with the original one in shocking ways. It’s all very cyclical, and vague, and contains a host of implications that are too broad to clearly explain. Lynch is the ultimate Oneric filmmaker in this way - the content of the dream is so different than the lasting impression it gives you. Towards the beginning of the movie the main character has this exchange: 

Fred: "I like to remember things my own way"

Cop: "What does that mean?"

Fred: "How I remember them, not necessarily how they happened"

That’s the ultimate explanation of how these films function. They are truly symbolic masses that pass through you, live inside you, and then transform into something greater than its sum ingredients. 

4. Bound 

1996 - The Wachowskis

So after dipping our toes into that Lynchian, vaguely defined dreamscape, here we have a much more straightforward film. What if the hottest most gorgeous most sapphic most jaw-droppingly sexy women imaginable did a crime together??? Wouldn’t that be cool?????? There really isn’t much in the way of symbolic nuance in this picture like there is in some of these other recommendations. This is just a straight-forward, tightly constructed crime thriller, starring (cannot emphasize this enough) just the biggest queerest icons you can imagine. I knew this movie would rewire me once I saw it, and am pleased to report that it really, really has. If you’re in the sapphic camp please check it out - it’s as required viewing as But I’m A Cheerleader is. Corky is a stone-butch ex-con who’s hired to renovate an apartment. She discovers that living next door is a mobster and his disaffected trophy girl Violet. Violet seduces Corky in the most noir femme fatale porn-adjacent way imaginable - quite literally “can you fix my pipes?” - and the two agree to pull one over on the mob so they can run off into the sunset. What follows is tightly constructed, steaming tension, as Hithcockian in perfection as Touch of Evil’s opening oner, but with a little more pulpy crass. Gays and theys, please, do not hesitate to watch this. It’s the film that let the Wachowskis make the Matrix, it is truly that spectacular. 

3. The Immortal Story 

1968 - Orson Welles

Welles is a master storyteller, a magician, a ponderous and monologuing baron of Art whose work is now embedded in the history of this medium. When he’s not playing himself, he’s playing corrupt, ignorant men. What do you think compels him to do that? He had the power and resources to play anyone he wants - why was this the role he chose? These questions will naturally rise up when you’re watching The Immortal Story, Welles’ last feature fiction that he would ever direct. It follows the story of a wealthy businessman who has a meeting with his assistant late one night. The businessman - this baron - reveals that he despises fiction, and only wishes to tell or hear things that are true, like data in a ledger. But then he reveals a story a sailor once told him, about a wealthy man who once paid the sailor to sleep with his wife and produce an heir. His assistant knows the story; he says this is a common folk tale, repeated in every port, on every ship, and that his master is incorrect in believing he heard it from the person it actually happened to. This sends the businessman on an obsessed journey - he commands his assistant to recreate this tale, to hire a courtesan, to find a poor sailor, and reconstruct this tale exactly as it was told to him, line-by-line, so that… well, the baron’s reasons for recreating this tale are obscure. Obsession? Stubbornness? A late-life spark of creativity? These questions intermingle with the first few I proposed. What impresses me so much about this film is that it is Welles clearly exploring his own creative drive, questioning all the motivations that have driven him to the life he has been leading for decades. It’s an incredible meditation from one of cinema’s greatest filmmakers. I firmly believe it sets the ground for the future explorations of truth and fiction that Welles accomplishes in F for Fake. How appropriate that this is the capstone towards his fiction-telling career. 

2. Mulholland Drive 

2001 - David Lynch

The perfect fusion, and appropriate mid-point, between Lost Highway and Inland Empire. Lynch explores the fundamentals of identity as two people try to discover who they are within the mad dreamscape that is Los Angeles. A woman stumbles out of a car crash into the home of a newly-arrived dreamer, ready to go on an adventure and help this woman restore her identity. Or, perhaps the real story is that a jealous actress clings to a more successful starlet, but gets her heart toyed with and torn to pieces as part of some power-tripping game. Lynch is a master of montage, assembling seemingly random moments into a cohesive whole that leaves a distinct emotional message. The competing, lopsided, cyclical narratives that make up this film are no exception. All the cutaways to different characters that intersect with the main pair’s lives are incredible, too. This is the Lynch film that most feels like it captures life itself. Its many contradictions and absurdities, its passion and revulsion. The highlight is the scene where the protagonists sit and watch an underground show. “It's all just a recording,” the performer repeats. This film is just a recording. Our lives will become a recording, once we’re gone and can only be remembered by artifacts. In this moment the movie seems to speak to the viewers directly, reminding them that everything they’re watching is false - and they’re allowed to let it transport them to other realms, anyway. 

1. The Music Room 

1958 - Satyajit Ray

One of the things I like most about movies from before, say, 1975, is that they don’t mind really lingering in a certain mood. Much of this movie shows a bored man, descended from royalty, lounging around his dilapidated palace. He hides from responsibility, debts, and truths he’d rather forget. But one doesn’t get bored watching him linger. Almost like a survivor in a horror movie hiding from a monster, Biswambhar is actively hiding, actively moping and avoiding the reality of his situation at any cost. It is a remarkable effect. Biswambhar’s only passion in life is live music, and his music room is his treasure. When his family meets a tragic turn of fate, he is left alone in his palace, situated on a flood plain that will eventually sweep away all his land. He decides to spend the rest of his life waiting for the day, living on ever-dwindling reserves of treasure and sherbet. Destiny seems to call to him at one point, and he decides to spend the rest of his reserve on one final, grand act, like in the good-old-days. He hires a musician, invites all his neighbors, and acts like he hasn’t been a reclusive hermit for several years. We understand him the most in this moment. The way he lights up, reopening the music room. The fantasy he embodies. As the musician plays, and we linger in the majesty of her dance and the hammering tabla, we are mesmerized just as he is. Cascades of meaning become clear. This man has sacrificed everything just for this moment, has given it all away to live inside a happy bubble, shunning the outside world… and can you blame him? How can anything life offers compare to the astral travel music can provide? If only he could have found a way to balance his obligations and this passion. Maybe if he had been a musician himself. But no. He can only watch… just as we, watching this movie, are now. Satyajit Ray is a director most capable of making the audience question itself, whose films seem to provoke deep thought and lingering wonder long after the work is over. This film might be the greatest example of that ability. As our own world changes in uncertain times, with an unclear future, a film like this forces us to question just what we’re doing consuming so much media. Like Biswambhar, I think many of us are turning a blind eye to environmental change so we can linger in the happiness of the music room, too. That’s the lesson to take away from this film. One can’t live their life waiting for that room to contain magic once again… 

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Thank you for reading! If you liked any of these thoughts feel free to follow me on Letterboxd, where I post reviews and keep meticulous track of every movie I watch. Look forward to more posts like these next month! 

[chrissmou]

Romance Books I love the most

I love romance novels and particular series with individual books in them because I can finish one and then read the next one in a month or even in the next few days. I love a good romance novel, with much banter, characters who don’t know what they will do next, and many more, but have a happy ending in the end. Here is a list of my favorite ones (if the book is part of a series, I will write the name of that too). Also in the next two weeks, I am going to rank two of them, the Bridgerton Series and Brother’s Best Friend, both of which I love.

The eight I recommend for now are the following (not in any particular order). I will link their Goodreads pages too.:

1.      The viscount who loved me by Julia Quin (Bridgerton series, book 2): I love Anthony and Kate’s story. It has everything in it. Two stubborn but strong characters, an amazing plot with the flashback, and the second epilogue is absolutely funny and worth reading.

2.      Twins for Brother’s Best Friend by Sofia T. Summers (Brother’s best friend, book 3): I love the careers of Greta and Isaac, she is a CEO of a Tech company and he has a consulting company that he inherited from his uncle. They have good chemistry and it is very sexy and steamy too.

3.      Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen: I love all Austen books but especially this one because I love Eleanor and she reminds me of one of my friends who is very sensible. Also, it has two love stories. Fun Fact: I love the movie adaptation with Hugh Grant.

4.      Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: I know many of you love her comic series Carry on, Simon, which I recommend and love. But there is a reason that this one is in this. It was the first novel of this kind I read in just two nights two, I couldn’t stop reading it and the novel I bought from London a few years back. I often say that Cath is the protagonist, is my spirit animal, an awkward, avid fanfiction reader with a love story I aspire to have.

5.      A Taste of Love by Jeniffer Yen: The first of her Jane Austen retelling and one of the best too. Liza and James are a good couple with all the best qualities of the original with differences that make it a very interesting book. Also, every time I read it I salivate at Liza’s baking abilities.

6.      A Pho Love Story by Loan Le: This book changed my perception of many things from Asian history and mythology to the Vietnam war and the damage it caused to many families and people in general.

7.      10 Blind dates by Ashley Elston (Messina Family, book 1): As Christmas is approaching I am going to say that this is the book for you to be in the holiday spirit with this fun and entertaining book. The dates vary from bad ones to good ones; and of course, the Italian American family is hilarious. I highly recommend the second one also.

8.      A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (All Souls Trilogy, book 1): I have read the book “The world of all souls” which is complementary to the series by the author, Deborah Harkness. In this one, she said that she wanted each book to have a different vibe, the first romance, the next a history book, and the last a thriller. I have read all her books and, in another ramble, I am going to talk about both and the series because I love them. I have read this one, three times already because Matthew and Diana have a very romantic and understanding relationship where they meet and they learn about the meaning of being a witch and a vampire, or a historian and a scientist. I love it.