#Sevenwaters trilogy

[a-crack-in-the-universe]

Am thinking about Liadan and Bran’s relationship, and it struck me that they are the only Sevenwaters couple who are connected psychically—which you see when Bran is able to see Liadan’s vision at one point in Son of the Shadows.

No other couple has this. Which leads me to think that Liadan and Bran aren’t just lovers. They are literal soulmates.

[jessaerys]

ohhh pierre chuvin we're really in it now

[a-crack-in-the-universe]

Yeah!! Isn’t it beautiful? :D :D

I’m also very emotional about Bran’s Blade and how Bran is remembered as a heroic and compassionate leader long after his death. After everything he went through, he deserves to be remembered so positively. I wish Liadan got a mention though.

To be honest I’m not entirely sure if Inis Eala was named after Finbar. I thought it was but I have doubts now. It’s possible that the island was already named Inis Eala and Finbar moving there just made the island’s name more real?

Though, a big reason I thought that it was named after Finbar was because I feel like it being called Isle of the Swan long before Finbar’s arrival doesn’t really make sense unless the island already somehow had a connection to or was associated with swans when it was discovered. Finbar was the man with the swan’s wing so the island being named after him made a lot of sense to me.

And yes, I think Finbar and Liadan would like Liobhan and her fierce sense of justice and compassion a lot. It's kind of sad that they'll never meet her (or the other Warrior Bard/Blackthorn and Grim characters) in canon.

About your Sevenwaters Infinite Loop, Blackthorn and Grim could both be Anchors! It would make sense since they are a pair in the books. Also this project could be a great way for the Sevenwaters characters to meet the Warrior Bard/Blackthorn and Grim characters! :D

Don't mind me, I'm just really happy about Swan Island

I recently acquired Blackthorn and Grim and the Warrior Bards, both trilogies by Juliet Marillier and set in the same universe as Sevenwaters, though at least a couple centuries removed.

I don't know if any other factors make this apparent, but the really obvious one is Swan Island!

SWAN. ISLAND!

Bran and Liadan founded Inis Eala so Bran's band of warriors could have legitimacy and purpose and safety, and they brought my son Finbar I to the island for his safety and to give him a peaceful, isolated place to stay. The island was named in his honor (something a fellow fan had to tell me because I had no idea what the name meant.)

And hundreds of years later, Swan Island is still a thing! They train warriors and spies there! It's still going Bran, Liadan, Finbar! It is still going! Your legacy reaches on into the future and I know you'd love Blackthorn and Grim's babies! I love them!

I didn't know until the other day that these two trilogies were connected in this way, but as soon as I found out, I had to get them! If nothing else, this is an Expansion the Sevenwaters Infinite Loops can't leave unaddressed, even if there has to be a separate Anchor (more likely two, I wouldn't make poor Blackthorn do that alone!)

[smalltownfae]

I'm counting LotR as just one book so it's not here and I only read one ASOIAF book so it can't enter this.

[theinquisitxor]

October Reading Wrap Up

October was a great reading month and I got through ten(!) books in the month. That's more than I've read in a while, so it felt good to be able to know I can still read that many. I read some spooky/halloweenish books, as well as continued a few series, and finished a series.

1.Son of the Shadows (Sevenwaters 2) by Juliet Marillier, 5/5 stars. I started the month with reading the second Sevenwaters book. Just like with book 1, I enjoyed this immensely, and I found the characters and storyline to be strong and engaging. This one is even more romance heavy than the first books. Adult historical fantasy

2.Paladin's Hope (Saint of Steel 3) by T. Kingfisher, 4.5/5 stars. Another good installment in this series and new mystery that our characters are faced with. This one was a bit shorter than the first two books, and I wish this was a little longer, but otherwise it was great as always! Adult fantasy romance

3.The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got That Way by Bill Bryson This was my nonfiction book for the month, and I read this on audio. Enjoyable, but I felt like it was a little dated. I've read other more recent books on linguistics, and enjoyed them more. Nonfiction.

4.Echo North by Joanna Ruth Mayer, 4/5 stars. This was an enjoyable YA fantasy, and a good blend of fairytales I really enjoy. I don't read a lot of YA anymore, but this reminded me of some of the 'older' YA that is really good. East of the Sun West of the Moon, batb, cupid & psyche retellings all blended together. The author also credits Robin McKinley, DWJ, and Edith Pattou as big inspirations, and I could tell. YA fantasy

5.Last Argument of Kings (First Law 3) by Joe Abercrombie, ?/5 stars. I honestly was so done reading this trilogy, and just wanted to know how it ended so I could just finish it. I skimmed most of it, and only read the Glokta chapters and the ending. This type of fantasy is 100% not for me. I only finished the series because my brother gifted me the boxed set (and he read them). Adult fantasy

6.I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacquline Harpman, 5/5 stars. This is a lesser known classic that's gotten some popularity recently. It's part dystopian, part science fiction, and reminded me a little of The Wall which I read earlier this year. Very poignant, dark, but an exploration of self and a woman on her own. This is translated from French!

7.A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher, 4/5 stars. Another good T Kingfisher fairy tale retelling (however this was quite loose on the retelling), but also dark, featuring child abuse and animal horror. But there is humor, and a good cast of adult characters trying to fix the situation, and I like how T Kingfisher writes competent adults.

8.Witch Week (Chrestomanci 3) by Diana Wynne Jones, 3/5 stars. I started this on audio, but finished with the physical book. Can't say I enjoyed this one as much as the first two. This just reminded me of how horrible middle school was! A good halloween time read though. Middle grade fantasy.

9.The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky, 4/5 stars. This is a historical fantasy that has been on my tbr since 2019. This is light on the fantasy elements, and about first contact between Inuit and Vikings in present-day Canada about 1000 years ago. Our main character is an Inuit shaman, and they and a viking have to team up to save the land and their peoples. Super detail rich and well written.

10. Graveyard Shift by ML Rio, 4/5 stars. A good read for Halloween, and excited to see that ML Rio is publishing again! A thriller about 5 people trying to discover who made a new grave in an abandoned graveyard. As someone who works in academia, I liked the academia element in this story, I only wish it was longer!

I'm on track to finish my Goodreads Reading Challenge this year, which is 80 books. Usually I get somewhere in the 90s, but not this year I guess. For Nov and December, I'm planning on finishing the Sevenwaters series, and Chrestomanci, so I'll be prioritizing those books.

November tbr:

The Scorpio Races (reread on audio)

Child of the Prophecy (Sevenwaters 3)

Heir to Sevenwaters (Sevenwaters 4)

Chrestomanci: The Magicians of Caprona (book 4)

Paladin's Fate (Saint of Steel 4)

Nonfiction

The Word for Woman is Wilderness

Cape Cod (on audio?)

The Virgin in the Garden

[riverxsong-ao3]

20 Questions (for fanfic writers)

Thank you @theonceandfuturequeenoftarts for the tag! I don't know who else has been tagged/answered, but if you see this, this is your prompt to answer (if you want)!

how many works do you have on ao3 7

what’s your total ao3 word count? 366,485

what fandoms do you write for? Harry Potter and Phantom of the Opera

top five fics by kudos: Horcruxes, Death Eaters, Treasure, The Knights of Walpurgis, A Woman Out of Time

do you respond to comments? I… try. I was very particular about responding when I first started posting regularly, but fell out of the habit. I’m trying to pick that back up again now and am actually going back to some older comments to engage!

what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Hmmm… I don’t really write angsty endings, but I have a feeling Pity the Living is going in that direction. It’s either “Harry goes mad due to Voldemort living in his head,” or “Voldemort comes fully back to life and takes Harry away against his will,” so. Not great outcomes on either front.

what’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Well, these are the endings I go for, but… I think the Vitae Redux series is leading towards the happiest — I mean, uh, spoilers?

do you get hate on fics? Nothing bad so far. A bit of constructive criticism, but overall it’s mostly positive.

do you write smut? Sometimes! Treasure definitely started out as a PWP oneshot, but I tend to focus more on the emotional side of relationships, with some added smut as an occasional treat.

craziest crossover? I haven’t really written any crossovers, though I do sneak in references to other works. The closest would be in the final instalment of Vitae Redux, not yet posted, when Tom and Harry end up hiding out for a bit on a cluster of magically hidden islands which are a direct element taken from the Sevenwaters Trilogy by Juliet Marillier

have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I’m aware of. I did however once find someone trying to sell a short story I wrote on Amazon as an ebook, and that pissed me off to no end.

have you ever had a fic translated? Someone went through and translated a few instalments of Vitae Redux, and that was very cool!

have you ever co-written a fic before? Not precisely, but I do bounce story ideas off my friends and rework things based on their suggestions!

all-time favorite ship? Tomarrymort, hands down <3

what’s a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Ugh, if I’m being honest, probably Treasure. That’s subject to change, though, at the moment I don’t know exactly where it’s going but who knoooows?

what are your writing strengths? Dialogue for sure, particularly in weaving in what’s happening in the story around the dialogue. I tend to play out scenes in my mind ad nauseam until I know exactly what, where, and why the characters are doing and saying things long before I ever put digital pen to paper.

what are your writing weaknesses? Worldbuilding? I’m actually pretty thorough with this, it’s weaving it into the narrative seamlessly where I struggle. Aaaand endings. Fuck endings lol

thoughts on dialogue in another language? Love it. Try to add it in as much as I can when I know enough of the language in question. I think it can go overboard, though, and have found it most effective when it’s short, to the point, and easily translated by another character so as not to leave the reader floundering.

favorite fic you’ve written? Vitae Redux, hands down. This story keeps me up at night. OTOH, I have a backlog of writing of favourite fics I can’t wait to get back to once I’ve finished up with this one!

[malrie]

in a pure narrative sense I don’t actually believe this is for nothing, I see the vision + understand why some things need to come to pass. but the drop in pace compared to the first book can’t really be ignored here. as well as the fact that reliance on building up for what I assume to be the climax in the third book is sort of disappointing since it makes me feel like I shouldn’t expect anything exciting in this book at all. which isn’t quite fair to the main chars of this book.

i was wondering why this book feels like such a slog to get thru at times compared to marillier’s other works and. son of the shadows is 600 pages. LMFAO WHAT. I mean im like 70% of the way and all but since I’ve been ebooking it I never even thought it wasn’t the same length as daughter of the forest ~400 pages…. damn no wonder I gave up last year cuz by the time I read 300 pages of nothing kdkwmmekt

also for reference dreamer’s pool was apparently 464, the wildwood dancing book duo was about 400-430 each.. like those were just fine and I normally don’t care much for page counts bc I feel those are just so dependent on vibes too but yeah it’s just sooo noticeable bc the pace is whack

[starlit-hopes-and-dreams]

10. The worst book you have ever read?

11. The best book you have ever read?

16. The book that made you fall in love with reading?

-verkja

(Edited for your reading comfort!)

@verkja, I also love you for the editing :D Thanks for the ask! From this ask game.

10. The worst book you have ever read?

Ooooh boy. I read a truly awful dark romance that was circulating booktok (yeah, yeah, i deserved it lol) called Den of Vipers by K.A. Knight. I regret reading the whole thing, I really do.

But what I regret even more was reading FIVE books in a series I hated because I owned them all in pb and I started it and by god I was going to finish it. That was The Monarchies of God series by Paul Kearney. It might not even have been bad, but I was bored out of my mind, so might as well have been. 😅

11. The best book you have ever read?

Fuck this question² lol

Okay, going with some of the best written (in my poor, i haven't even read some of these in a while, opinion lol)

Also, you get series, and multiple ones at that. Sue me :p

The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemison

Truly a brilliant writer, I have no trouble saying she's a masterclass author.

The Sevenwaters Trilogy by Juliet Marillier

Her writing is just so beautiful, and these books are heartbreaking.

Kushiel's Dart (and all the subsequent books) by Jacqueline Carey

Political intrigue out the wazoo. Great books.

The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson

Do I even need to say anything? This man comes up with the most brilliant, inventive, and stunning magic, not to mention his worlds, and the interconnected universe, and... just wow.

16. The book that made you fall in love with reading?

I might be too old for this question; not sure I remember that far back lol. I was getting in trouble in the first grade for reading too much.

I had a subscription to the Babysitter's club books. There was the Boxcar Children as well. And Animorphs. But I'm sure there was something even earlier than that. Surely I didn't teethe on chapter books?? 😅

But Anne McCaffrey hooked me on fantasy with the Harper Hall Trilogy in her Dragonrider's of Pern series. Which is funny considering she is mostly on the sci-fi end of the range, and I generally won't touch sci-fi lol.

[amchara]

I hope I’m not too late! 2 and 20 for the book asks 📚💕

Nope, not at all! 🥰

I've just answered 2 here so thought I'd do a twist of it and tell you the top 5 authors who I will always pick up their latest book (or have read their entire catalogue) because I love their stories so much.

Cassandra Clare - (I know, you're probably so surprised 😂). But her mix of fascinating character arcs and typical yet also compelling romances and dynastic storytelling just gets me in my book loving heart. Fav books are probably Lord of Shadows and Chain of Gold.

Ben Aaronovich - He writes this series called Rivers of London and honestly, it's such a comfort read for me. A young police detective gets sucked into the magical world lurking just beneath. I love the characters, a lot who I feel I bump into every day, living in London.

Diana Wynne Jones - A classic English childrens/YA author, I absolutely devoured all of her books when I was younger. The most well-known of her books is Howl's Moving Castle but my favs were the Chrestomanci Chronicles and Homeward Bounders.

Juliet Marillier - Mostly her historical fiction, Celtic-myth inspired stories set in ancient Ireland (In particular the Sevenwaters Trilogy) but I've also enjoyed her YA books.

Becky Chambers - The hopeful, solarpunk, humane but still messy future that Becky Chambers typically writes in her books is such a balm against most of the grim dark sci-fi that I grew up with. It's slightly less hopeful than her Wayfayers series but her more recent novella To Be Taught, If Fortunate had me thinking about it afterwards for days...

20/ What do I look for in a book... Characters who act and feel like real people, with all that entails - eg. messy emotions and responses and act on those and are not just being pulled along by the book's plot-strings.

Captivating world-building if it's a fantasy- it doesn't have to be always perfect but it has to have a certain type of internal logic and gravitas that makes me want to live (or not live!) in that world.

A certain level and standard of writing. Not just grammar - but also sentence structure and flow of structure? It's hard to explain but it's why I bounce hard off most of the mainstream romance my mom tries to recommend to me and a lot of the popular YA/NA that is often recc-ed.

(Book ask meme)

[imaginatrixproductions]

The Great Big List of Stories!

My brain is full of tribbles, and this writeblr is not just for original fic. Also AO3 bios are very small so I can't list potential/unwritten fic ideas there.

Original Series:

The Sisterlands Sequence/Ylonaverse: My big original baby, where most of my OCs have their origins, or found a place to rest. Very long, and still growing! It has evolved a lot over the years and I have consequently restarted the drafting process a number of times.

Tulatia: My series of original fairy tale retellings, where I come up with my own completely unique spins on my favourite stories from childhood and later. Will include adaptations of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, The Wild Swans, Brother and Sister, Iron John, Snow-White and Rose-Red, Dwarf Longnose (with the antisemitism stripped away and the cool stuff I actually liked left behind), Princess Belle-Etoil, The Singing, Springing Lark and others.

The Big List of Fanfics I Still Intend to Write:

The Maginite Chronicles, which has it's own sideblog specifically for it here: @themaginitechronicles

Shadows of Deltora, a Yu-Gi-Oh/Deltora Quest crossover

Daughters of the Forests of Silence, a Sevenwaters/Deltora Quest crossover

Of Peacekeepers and Pokémon, a Pokémon/Farscape crossover

Tales of Domino and Darthania, including Wild Swans of Domino and its sequels. Yu-Gi-Oh-based fairy tale retellings

Yugi and the Faraway Tree, Yu-Gi-Oh/Faraway Tree series crossover

Of Shells and Wings, Gargoyles/TMNT (2003 continuity) crossover

Of Beasts and Roses, Disney's Beauty and the Beast sequel fic, in which the curse is transferred onto Gaston and he becomes the focus of a Sno-White and Rose-Red retelling

Sisko'Brien Salamanders, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine AU of the Voyager episode Threshold that got way out-of-hand

Family Defiant, a series of fairy tale retellings centred around the Deep Space Nine cast, radiating out from Seven for a Secret

The Emissary, the Avatar, and the Children of Fire, a DS9/A:TLA crossover

My Compliments to the Captain, wholesome DS9 fic where Sisko makes food for Odo while he is solid.

Dominion Studies Major, in which I demonstrate how the DS9 writers could have sold us the Kiraodo ship if they hadn't been cowards (also known as the canon-compliant Changeling Kira fic)

Turnabout Is Fair Play, A Sisko-Dukat bodyswap fic.

Dungeons, Dragons and Q, a trilogy of fics in which Q and his son shove my three favourite Trek casts into DND campaigns to play them out from the inside.

Star Trek: Galactic Warp, my own idea of a Star Trek series set in the 26th century (from before New Trek took off).

And more stuff is being added all the time. My brain is just like that.

I have also been known to occasionally write for the Infinite Loops project, though its restrictions make things a bit less fun for me. Which is probably why I flung myself so hard into the alternate timelines of the Maginaverse (see that sideblog for more information).

[a-crack-in-the-universe]

I just started rereading Daughter of the Forest again, and I have thoughts:

Finbar’s speech to Colum (and also his words to Sorcha) about trying to understand your enemy and make peace with them is so relevant, and I love how the Warrior Bards and Shadowfell series show this theme as well.

Colum really is a terrible father. He only pays attention to his sons once they’re finally old enough to take part in his campaigns. And his treatment of Finbar is abusive. Not to mention he’s been ignoring Sorcha and doesn’t even know how old she is. I know it’s because of his grief and trauma re Niamh’s death, but it doesn’t excuse his terrible parenting.

I love Sorcha, but her thinking Eilis is boring because she doesn’t like the same things as Sorcha is so unfair? Eilis seems like a really nice girl, her not liking to run around and play in the forest doesn’t make her a bad person. Even Oonagh dismisses her. Justice for Eilis!

“Padriac will go farther than any of us” is such good foreshadowing, I love it so much.

The whole period where Sorcha is looking after Simon is so interesting, because it’s clearly a turning point for her and marks the beginning of Sorcha’s loss of innocence and end of her childhood. Before meeting Simon, Sorcha very much is innocent and optimistic like a child usually is, and once she sees what the Sevenwaters men have done to Simon and hears what they do to other people on their campaigns, there is no going back. She can’t go back to pretending that darkness and cruelty don’t exist in the world.

And then we come to Lady Oonagh. Oonagh is such a great villain, so cold and manipulative and deceptive. The way she managed to bewitch Lord Colum and Diarmid is so 😭. I wonder how Diarmid managed to get under her sway though when all of his other siblings were able to resist her?

The way Oonagh asks questions to Sorcha about the brothers and Sorcha is compelled to answer is creepy. It looks like she’s gathering information to use against the Sevenwaters siblings, especially the brothers.

It’s interesting how, though Finbar talks of understanding the Britons and how they are people, he is extremely quick to judge Simon and assume he intends some harm by giving Sorcha the wooden carving. He is right though that destroying the carving would probably be the safest course of action, especially with Lady Oonagh around now.

Padriac’s such a friend to all animals. I love his outrage when seeing Linn’s injury. It’s so sweet. :’) Also him being furious with Cormack over it.

Poor Cormack. You can tell that he’s devastated and ashamed that he hurt his beloved dog.

Oonagh killing all of Padriac’s animals hurts me more than anything else she does before she turns the brothers into swans. Mainly because she never intended to murder Eilis or Linn, but she murdered Padriac’s beloved animals knowing how it would break his heart. It’s the cruelest thing she’s done so far.

[jessaerys]

[theimaginatrix27]

Pinned Post At Last!

Finally making one of these!

Hi, I'm Trix! I write stuff! And sing stuff sometimes! And am looking into branching out into podfic territory!

I'm also totally blind, Ace and Australian! And a Christian who knows when to mind her business and is determined to not be a bigoted arsehole (I may not always know if I'm failing at this, but I was raised with the understanding we never stop learning and growing unless we're arrogant enough to believe we don't need to anymore). Vehemently anti-Capitalist, hate bigotry in all its forms, think progressives need to stop with the bullying because abuse and harassment have no correct target, and am working hard at being kind and open-minded.

List of important sideblogs:

Main writing sideblog, for discussions about writing, including fanfiction, though it's mostly full of reblogged writing advice as of now (this will change): @imaginatrixproductions

My sideblog specifically for my biggest ficverse, including reblogs I feel are relevant to it: @themaginitechronicles

My political blog, where I have somewhat sporadically been reblogging political posts I agree with: @politicallytrix

Tumblr changed how you select blogs to post to recently so I've had a bit of a tough time adjusting and haven't reblogged/posted to my sideblogs much lately, but I'll get back into it, promise!

The great big list of fandoms!

Dragon Ball

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, and its first two spinoffs

Pokémon

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the 2003 version)

Winx Club

Avatar: The Last Airbender/LoK to a lesser degree

The Sevenwaters series, Blackthorn and Grim trilogy, and Warrior Bards trilogy, all by Juliet Marillier

The Deltora Quest and Rowan of Rin series by Emily Rodda

Steven Universe

Star Trek, though notably not Star Trek: Picard. I may give Discovery and Prodigy a go but I am of the opinion that ST:PIC was unnecessary nostalgia bait and they should've let those characters (and actors) rest. And not doing so led to some things being technically canon that I have firmly rejected.

To be more specific, though, my main Treks are TNG, Voyager, and most important of all, Deep Space Nine.

Fairy tales! (Yes, this counts as a fandom. And it has bled into a lot of things I write, even the fics that aren't specifically fairy tale retellings).

Aaaand I think that's everything that needs covering for now! Enjoy yourselves, and don't be mean or I shall block you.

[smalltownfae]

End-of-year book asks: 3, 4, 6, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 20, and 21!

3. What were your top five books of the year?

1 - Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett

2 - Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura

3 - The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

4 - Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

5 - Recitatif by Toni Morrison

Warning: I changed my top once again and I will either post a video or make a new post with my top 10 favourites.

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

Sadly no. Even my favourite authors disappointed me this year: Patricia A. McKillip, Kazuo Ishiguro and Octavia E. Butler, to be more exact. It's always sad to find out that your favourite authors sometimes write stuff you dislike. I think Lloyd Alexander and Toni Morrison have the potential to become favourites though.

6. Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?

I answered this one here.

10. What was your favorite new release of the year?

I'm glad my mom died by Jenette McCurdy. Easily. I haven't read many new releases and that was such a great book.

12. Any books that disappointed you?

Yes! Babel by R.F. Kuang. Babel, so much. I didn't even finished it. I only read half of it. It's not like it was bad but I know it would be just 3 stars if I finished it and I was tired and bored.

Another huge disappointment was Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler. Another one I didn't finish. I barelly even started it. I don't know what was going on in her head to write that vampire-like being with the appearance of a 10 year old girl having graphic sex with a grown man and then hinting that she was the one that seduced him... Disgusting.

Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro was pretty bad and so was Heir of Sea and Fire by Patricia A. McKillip. This really was the year I wept for my favourite authors. I doubt I will finish the Riddle-Master trilogy.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin was also a disappointment. I am so sad about this one because I love her essays and I liked the 2 Hainish Cycle books I read by her but this was so boring. Isn't the Earthsea Cycle meant for children? How do they not fall asleep???

Cloven Hooves by Megan Lindholm was also disappointing but honestly I didn't expect much. Maybe Realm of the Elderlings is the only thing the author wrote that I like. If it was one book it would be a one hit wonder but it was an entire series so I am confused.

Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier. How does someone write an amazing book like Daughter of the Forest and then writes this??? The problematic romance was there already but what happened with everything else that was good and turned to trash?

13. What were your least favorite books of the year?

1- Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie (it was a reread but honestly I have no idea how I thought this was ok the first time)

2 - Cloven Hooves by Megan Lindholm

3 - Heir of Sea and Fire by Patricia A. McKillip

4- Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro

5- A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le.Guin

6 - Son aof the Shadows by Juliet Marillier

7- Heir of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier

15. Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year (Booker, Women’s Prize, National Book Award, Pulitzer, Hugo, etc.)? What did you think of them?

I am not aware of book prizes so I had to google it. Apparently A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers won an hugo but didn't I read that last year? I didn't care for it. The author is not for me.

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

Babel. But I haven't even finished. I read half of it.

Jade City by Fonda Lee. It was just ok, guys.

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

Yes. I answered it here.

20. What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

Babel by R.F. Kuang and not at all. Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo was also just ok and the least good book in the series so far.

21. Did you participate in or watch any booklr, booktube, or book twitter drama?

I sometimes hear about the drama but I end up forgetting more often than not. I am pretty sure I watched some videos about book drama but I already forgot all about it.

Thank you for the asks :)

[malrie]

I know book 3 rounds out the trilogy but this description for book 4 of sevenwaters???? I need to get there LOL

[themaginitechronicles]

Timelines of Magina, an Overview

It has occurred to me, nearly a year after coming up with it, that I have not yet taken the time to discuss the Timelines of Magina concept on this blog, though I've brought it up elsewhere, mostly on Discord. It sprouted from the main fic due to my influences being so many and varied that I felt bad leaving them unacknowledged.

As of now, there are seven total timelines in the greater Maginaverse:

The Main Timeline: The one I'm most likely to write up in full, the one I started posting last December, the one I have, thus far, put the most thought into. Featuring the cast of Dragon Ball, Yu-Gi-Oh DM/GX/5D's, TMNT 2003, Winx Club and a healthy side of Pokémon, as well as a number of OCs and original concepts from my Sisterlands series (this is also true for most of the other timelines, with the exception of one I will point out when we get to it).

The Alternate Anime Timeline: Featuring some of the anime I cut from the original Magina lineup, plus a few cartoons to round out the numbers. Featuring the casts of Sailor Moon, Digimon Adventure/Tamers/Frontier, Card Captor Sakura, Captain Planet and the Planeteers, and He-Man/She-Ra (Filmation flavours).

Neo Anime Timeline: Featuring anime/cartoons I only got into after leaving High School (The OG Magina concept was created at the end of Year 10 for me, so when I was sixteen). One Piece is here because it has grown so much since I first saw the 4Kids dub, and that dub did it so dirty, that it's a whole different beast from the one I had initially considered adding to the OG Magina lineup. Featuring the casts of One Piece, Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist, A:TLA/LoK, and Steven Universe.

The Witches Timeline: It could technically be called the Mages timeline, but there are far more witches here. Featuring the delightful and badass witches of my growing years, and wizards too. Yes, Harry Potter is in here, but I assure you the characters have opinions about how Joann chose to record their world! And they're not flattering! Featuring the casts of Harry Potter, Bewitched, Sabrina the Teenage Witch (original sitcom), Charmed, the Worst Witch 2000s series, and Discworld, because Granny Weatherwax was not having with being left out of this! ("But she's dead!" you exclaim. Oh, didn't I tell you every timeline has dragon balls? Because every timeline has dragon balls.)

The Australian Fantasy Timeline: Featuring the characters from a bunch of Australian fantasy series I love! And yes, this includes Sevenwaters! It's actually an older concept I shelved when I thought I wouldn't be able to fit it anywhere, but now I can and I'm very happy! This timeline features the characters of Sevenwaters/Blackthorn and Grim/Warrior Bards, the Bitterbynde trilogy/Crowthistle Chronicles by Cecilia Dart-Thornton, the Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix, Deltora Quest/Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda (if I am able to read Three Doors and Star of Deltora, I'll put them here too), and a number of original characters/concepts from my fairy tale retelling series, as well as some from the Sisterlands/Ylona! (There, that's the difference. :D)

The ASOIAF Timeline: There are so many characters in ASOIAF that they needed a world to themselves. In this timeline, I just snag them from either where the series ended or the point of their first deaths, and give them therapy and Sisterlandic magic, and I may even keep the Empress away from them for a time. We'll see. :D :D :D

The Sci-fi Timeline: I saved this for last because this is actually the reason I'm making the post, but I'm going to save the details for its own post later. This version of Magina brings together several favourite Sci-fi franchises I love, and then throws the Empress at them, too. Featuring the casts of Star Treks TNG/Voyager/DS9/possibly Lower Decks, Stargate SG-1/Atlantis (Universe is being ignored), and Farscape.

I may have to make an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of some of this stuff because the timelines are all going to blur together in a mid-series thing we won't get to for quite a while.

I plan on writing oneshots/arcs set in these timelines, partly to explore them, partly to establish where the characters are/will be at the time of the blurring of the lines.

I'm particularly playing with the Sci-fi timeline right now, as I've been swept up by Star Trek fandom, particularly Deep Space 9, and have had some fun ideas for the Maginaverse regarding those characters. To post any of it now would mean some spoilers for the main timeline, but if others can talk me into doing it, I will. It's fun to write for them, anyways. :D

I'll make separate posts for each timeline at some point, and link them in the above list items, at which point I'll remove this paragraph, as it will no longer be necessary.