#This was my first reread of the books and it really gives you a greater appreciation of what the author does

[mx-flint]

Just finished rereading Nona the Ninth and. Heartbroken. Again. Lifenis too short and live is too long. You can't take loved away. I will make myself remember.

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

My fic recs

...yes it is just my ao3 bookmarks but anyway.

Hunger Games

Now we're all the chosen ones

Hunger Games & Six of Crows crossover - well, you get six of crows in HG setting. I think the author did a great job at making up the characters background so fits the world and the characters as well.

Not all of them are in one games, which is great, cos all your faves can stay alive, and the series is longer <3

Each of the arenas was very unique as well, it never felt repetitive.

Mag's War/Mag's Trilogy

Basically, the revolution and the aftermath through the eyes of Finnick Oddair, Mag's protege.

What I really like about this series is the worldbuilding that goes into fighting a war, winning it and reform the country, but more so, I like the relationships in this series.

The relationships are really a driving force for Finnick, his love for Mags, Annie, later Cashmere and Johanna. My favourite is Finnick and Johanna (qpr) in the happy end version - "this might not be the perfect ending for everyone, but it is for us"

Phoenix Fire & Mockingjays

Once again, briliant worldbuilding. Even the encyclopedias are fun to read, and the whole thing is rereading material.

There is one story from the series that is my favourite though:

My Eyes Dazzle

Absolutely horrific story of President Snow, his young wife- his obsession and paranoia that runs so deep you can feel it.

Mind the content warnings, though.

Harry Potter

Bonds of Grey

Very elaborate canon rewrite including soulmates – soulmates of choice, platonic soulmates.

You could argue that the characters are overpowered, but it's so fun to read, on the battle field and on political courts as well.

Prince of Slytherin

It'd just feel weird not including Prince of Slytherin, I've read it multiple times. You can also see the writing style improve through the books.

Also, there's a scene of professor Snape eating popcorn at a wizangamot meeting. I think.

Oh god, not again!

Very funny time-travel fix-it. Well, fix it. (Barely anything gets fixed and several new problems are created.)

Contains this quote: HP: „Come on! Do you think if I was the heir of Slytherin, I wouldn't be merchandising it?!“ „...fair enough.“

Lucius Malfoy and the terrible, horrible, no good time

...okay that's not the official title but that's what's going on. It's incredibly funny, I sent this to my roommate and she was laughing out loud.

Lucius is so funny in this, obsessed with his hair, slughtly (rightfully) afraid of his wife, and pissed that the deatheaters keep breaking his fine china.

Next two are from @thistlecatfics

Nymphadora, Nymphet

First of all, mind the content warnings. Really, do. It's the Blacks.

Second of all, this is very beautifully written, and I find myself thinking back at it, remembering some quotes. It's haunting.

Icarus

I've only read this one once, but it stayed with me, it's just so vivid. Dealing with the war ending when the war is the only thing you knew.

Also, the definition of mutually destructive relationship <3

Once again, read the tags, though.

The Locked Tomb

Crawl home to her

I lack the words to describe this, but this fic was what made me actually use the ao3 bookmarks function for the first time. Let that speak for itself.

Descendants

Okay first of all everything that my mutuals wrote <3

So I'm gonna write just few that I really like:

From @tiredflowercrown

There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin

Ivy/Claudine. Ivy being the self-destructive diva she is and causing chaos at the pirate crew meeting.

...you know, I just really need to throw Ivy de Vil and Harry Hook into a room together and study them. For the greater good.

Dirty

I just think Harriet should get violent more often, that's all <3

Oleander petals

And Anthony deserves to give in to the darker side. You know, as a treat <3

Does it cross your mind to be slightly sorry?

„Oh so that makes it okay? You had faith that your cousins, who you had never put in positions of power, and the boys who love you so much that they would stop breathing if you asked them to, would be able to care for an entire crew! Harry shut down when he realized you had left! You think Harriet is an alcoholic, you should’ve seen Harry!”

That was a quote and I have nothing else to add.

@humaforever 💞

Seven Deadly Sins

Okay funny story about this story: I just started rambling about this ship in dms, completely drunk, and when I woke up the next day, (hungover), there was a story!

A miracle!

(thank you)

Innocent bystander

Sammy Smee is suffering, forever and ever. It's fun to watch.

Secret Santa

This one is great cos it's all my faves! Together! Being happy! Causing only moderate amount of chaos!

Look I'm pretty sure that I could write it down from memorory with like, fifty percent accuracy. It's just good, and I'm rereading stuff a lot.

@shellyseashell

Heart made of glass

Claudine! Pirates! Theatre nights!

What else can you wish for?

No, really, I really love this story. It's amazing with the friendships Claudine is slowly building, with Isle kids that shouldn't care but do.

Our finest gifts we bring

Anthony fretting over what to get his Girlfriends for christmas.

Every character that appears feels so real and true, and I like the gifts that they got.

@theamityelf

The worst is now the victor

Descendants kids in Hunger Games setting cos apparently I like hurting myself-

Really though, it's so well written, and there's a ton of comfort in there as well. And Uma always trying to do the most!

Where the angels used to be

Another crossover, this time Good Omens, with Uma and Audrey taking on the roles of Crowley and Aziraphale respectively. (For those interested, Core 4 are horsemen of the apocalypse.)

I really like watching Uma and Audrey through the ages, but my favourite is them with Harry and Gil. Uma just. Let them follow her everywhere. She forgot that humans are supposed to age and die, okay?

And Harry didn't really feel like telling her.

The scene when Audrey tells her is probably my favourite, Uma's just like: "Harry? Do you wanna die?" "Nah I'm good." "Okay."

@nocturna-iv

A path to an answer

... I'm just gonna leave the link there for this one.

Blue Domain

Complete AU. Some politics, Evie and Uma friendship, Harry/Uma, what more could a girl want.

Okay last ones probably, without tagged author:

Anchored

Ladies and gentlemen, behold, the first smut fic I managed to read. (That's not on the author btw, that's on me, I don't really like most smut scenes. This is very sweet tho)

Til the storm comes

The pirate crew. Not just Sea Three, the whole dead. Bonny, Desiree, Jonas, Gonzo, Claudine, Marya, whole bunch of others.

This fic is great, very raw-like. They're Isle kids to the core and it's so real.

Plus, the party scene is great.

That concludes my fic recs for the day, thank you for your attention <3

[idontactuallywherepjs]

pt. 2

I loved it. I'm well past book one but i loved it. My assorted thoughts out of order that nobody asked for because im screaming

I really really like how Horace was handled. When the three bullies started on him, it was a little bit of "yeah a taste of your own medicine, learn empathy you little shit", because he was mean to Will. And it's made very clear that Will bit back, verbally, and no one party was truly in the right, but Horace was the one to start shit and used his greater physical prowess to his advantage. So with three older boys giving him hell, he might reflect a little. And that's a fine way to write a bully learning and changing.

But then. In the same scene they were introduced, the bullies took it all a step further, and messed with everyone else's things, and forced Horace to clean it up and, possibly, take the fall. In a place like Battleschool, with how strict it is? That's dangerous. And it kept building and building every time we see them. When Harvest day comes, and Will and Horace have their fight, it doesn't feel good. Because even with his actions in the moment, I felt for the kid. He felt like his friends betrayed him, while everywhere else he went his life was made a hell. The only respite was training, and that's just because it was out in the open where the bullies couldn't reach him.

And when Rhodny breaks up the fight, there is a sense of dread. Not just because it could make Rhodny think Horace is more violent then he actually is and kick him out, but because Will and Horace both aren't finished with each other. Their both angry and hurting and this fight is not over.

And then suddenly, it is. They both do their best to defend the other from the boar. They exchange words of peace. But due to the nature of the moment, a lot is left unsaid. Then the three bullies go after Horace. Then they go after Will. And again, they defend each other. And they trust each other. They are friends. Not best friends mind, there's a long ways to go, but they are in each other's corner, and through all this, Horace did gain empathy, and a greater moral compass. It didn't come out of nowhere, but it was strengthened. I really really like how it was done.

Halt being just subtly caring for a lot of the book, so it's hard for even the reader to see just how deeply he cares for Will at any given moment up until the second boar, where he just runs and Hugs Will. In front of Everyone.

That is Halts Son.

I'm going to have to reread this and pay special attention to Halt. Will captured most of my attention he is the baby boy.

Halt and Will working together to pull one over Gilan.

Also Gilan.

So silly that right before he showed up Halt was like "Former apprentices always go after their masters" and Will is about to be like "i won't" and then thought about it for a second longer and shut his mouth because. Yeah. He will.

I absolutely adore Tug. That is a good horse.

The run down of archery, the bows, and the specifics given is, while not in depth, is REALLY FING ACCURATE! LIKE THAT NEVER HAPPENS IM SO HAPPY. I DO ARCHERY AND WAS METALLY PREPPING TO SUSPEND MY DISBELIEF BUT I DIDN'T HAVE TO REALLY!

I mentioned this briefly in my first post, but I love the pacing. More than halfway through the book and we finally get plot. And none of that time was wasted, it was all spent learning the characters and world and getting comfortable so that when things are disrupted it feels disrupted.

I like that Will was a little awkward around Gilan, just because he's a new person. Like yeah they got along right away but they weren't just instantly besties.

The fight with the Kalkara was really tense and well done on all sides. The tracking was interesting, The fights were cool and believable, I was half convinced someone was going to die, and everyone's skills and fears were on full display, and made them feel more real. Even when Will got his certified Protagonist Moment TM it felt both earned and not out of place, or like the plot just decided to make it happen. The set up and pay off were both well executed.

I also really love that the adults do their best to make sure Will is as safe has possible. He's just a boy and while he does save them in the end, they do everything they can to protect him, even if it is an all hands on deck situation.

During the tracking, Halt taking every opportunity to teach Will and comfort him. The moment with the false alarm of not being able to see Gilan comes to mind. And Will just being so concerned for Halt's safety. Will and Gilan having some moments together. They're family your honor.

Halt and Gilan embracing when they first meet up on the way to the Gathering. Such a cute moment.

Actually Halt's training style in general was a highlight. It's a little bit of tough love but he makes sure to get through to Will what he's trying to teach and feels more patient then he wants to let on. It's really sweet.

The story of Wills bio father nearly made me cry. Oh my gosh such a tender moment on all sides. ow.

That's all I have to say on book one for now. Ive got plenty for book 2 though, and im like, 2/3 through book 3? ive got 11ish chapters to go. Im buying 4 and 5 tonight, they don't have 6 or 7 though. they can be easily obtained, but it's still sad. Might also get book 8 just to make sure i have it in case they sell the rest of the latter half of the series before i can get my grubby hands on it.

pt3 coming at some point!

[kooldewd123]

Alright I've got some THOUGHTS about the Iskoort and how they relate to Yeerk ecology that I've been dying to get out but I wanted to wait until I reached book 26 in case there was some detail I was forgetting. So obviously, the big twist with these guys is they they're actually some offshoot of the Yeerks who found a way to evolve past the need for parasitism by creating an artificial species to inhabit. The part that's been really sticking out in my mind as I reread the series, however, is that this isn't actually the first time a concept like this has been brought up. Let's take a look at Guide's description of the Iskoort:

Since we formed our symbiotes, the combination Isk and Yoort, we have been as we are now. ... The Isk cannot live without the Yoort. And to ensure this symbiosis would be real, the Yoort, too, were modified. Now Yoort cannot live without Isk and Isk cannot live without Yoort. They are one creature with two parts. - Guide, #26: The Attack

This description sounded familiar to me when I read it for some reason. That's when I realized: It's weirdly similar to the way that Seerow describes the relationship between the Yeerks and the Gedds:

[The Yeerks] have no history of harming intelligent life-forms. The Gedds are barely conscious in their natural state. It's not as if they were stealing the bodies of truly sentient creatures. They and the Gedds are symbiotic. - Seerow, The Hork-Bajir Chronicles.

The Iskoort aren't a symbol of what the Yeerks might become become in the future - they're what the Yeerks already were before the Andalites found them. The Yeerks, within their native habitat, aren't parasites, but rather mutualistic partners to the Gedds. The Gedds' bodies give the Yeerks new senses and enhanced motility, while the Yeerks' capabilities for higher thinking grant the Gedds all the benefits that come with it, such as greater survival skills and the framework of civilization. Yeerk benefits from Gedd, and Gedd benefits from Yeerk. It's not hard to imagine that over many generations, as the Yeerk/Gedd relationship grew deeper, we could have seen something strikingly similar to the Iskoort evolve.

But then the Andalites came.

The Yeerks specifically evolved to infest the barely-sentient Gedds, but it turns out that much of sentient life in the galaxy mirrors Gedd anatomy closely enough to also be viable hosts for Yeerks. Like I said before, the Yeerks didn't necessarily evolve as parasites, but they became so opportunistically when unleashed upon unsuspecting habitats that had never had any reason to evolve defenses against such a threat. You know what we call something like that in real-world ecology? An invasive species. And I just love that. Animorphs is a series with a strong, clear environmentalist message. Invasive species are some of the closest examples we have to actual villains in nature, so creating villains that reflect them is a brilliant idea. And with this perspective in mind, even more parallels start to pop up! Real-world invasive species often begin spreading as stowaways on settler ships, and the Yeerks began spreading using Andalite advance ships. Invasive species can cause ecosystem collapse by out-competing native species, and the Yeerks intentionally destroy the ecosystems of worlds they've conquered. My biology brain has been latching on to this idea ever since I read that passage from Seerow. It's such an interesting shift in the way to analyze the Yeerks' actions.

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Books That Make You the Writer You Are

Thanks for the tag, @melestasflight!

I’m not sure how to answer this because I’m not used to thinking of myself as a writer! I never wrote fanfic or fiction of any kind until I fell into the Silm fandom in 2019 (like, I’d read the Silm many times before then, but I hasn’t discovered the online fandom), so I’m not really sure where it came from!

I’d have to say three big ones are 1) all of Tolkien’s works, especially The Silmarillion itself; 2) Jane Eyre; and 3) Les Misérables. All three are books that I reread regularly, and all three are ones thatI love for the combination of their prose, their themes, and their characters. A fourth is, honestly, The Bible, both in its themes and message and how The Silmarillion and Tolkien’s entire world is embedded in them, as well the effect of some of the writing (the Doom of Mandos feels like it could be from one of the prophets like Jeremiah).

Often the thing that will get me writing again if I’ve been stalled for a while is reading good prose. While I wouldn‘t say any of the following have necessarily made direct, specific impacts on my writing, some of my favourite books with great prose are Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, and parts of The Once and Future King by T.H. White. And in terms of poetry, the epic poetry of Sir Walter Scott (Marmion, The Lady of the Lake, The Lay of the Last Minstrel, Rokeby) has inspirational cadences, word choices, and images, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese has leant many vibes (not to mention a title) to my sole completed longfic, The Ashes at Thy Feet.

Though it’s less relevant to my fanfiction writing, I also love well-written non-fiction, so I’m just going to give a shout-out to some good ones. I wish we could recapture the old belles lettres style of historical writing that was meant to be beautiful rather than just informative, and combine it with the present day’s greater (in some cases) historical accuracy and rigour. Some of the better ones the present day has to offer are James McPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom, on the American Civil War; Margaret MacMillan’s Paris 1919, on the negotiations at the end of the First World War and how they have shaped the modern world; Pierre Berton, Canada’s historian (the two best of his that I’ve read are Klondike, a great tale of the personalities and upheavals of the Klondike Gold Rush, and The Great Depression, an impassioned accounting of the failures and brutalities of governments – and the travails and achievements of regular people – in 1930s Canada; the latter will also give you an appreciation of FDR by showing a parallel case of a country that was in similar circumstances but lacked creative leadership); and pretty much anything by Ta-Nehisi Coates. For one piece of older writing, if you haven’t read Ulysses S. Grant’s Personal Memoirs, and you’re even slightly interested in the American Civil War, it’s a treat.

[chrysanthemumgames]

Hello this is my first time I think commenting and I just wanted to say I love your book. I was watching this show on Netflix called blood of Zeus and the second season gives me the same feels as your book I’ve never really researched a lot of  Greek mythology but I do love it so I’m not sure if this is how he acts in general or if you made up his personality just for your book but this show reminds me of it so much the way Hades acts with Persephone just reminds me of it completely. Even the little things it was all very heartwarming and made me want to reread your book all over again

Hey anon! I'm really glad you've enjoyed reading.

One of the fun (and also stressful) things about playing around with old myths is that they're up for interpretation, change, and the application of creativity. There are so very many takes on all of it, with greater and lesser degrees of 'attempt at faith to the source material,' and I have found I can like both the ones that hew very closely to the myths and ones that take only the bare bones of them and make something completely new.

But I think many people, both strict interpreters and loose ones, can agree that Zeus is really just Like That(tm).

[eris-eveningstar]

Ask game!!

8, 12, 18, 19? 👀👀 Am very curious

(I love your writing)

8. if you had to write a sequel to a fic, you'd write one for...

Well, I mean, I haven't posted that many fics, but obvs my main fic is gonna have a sequel post 6th year. Quick warning, as you fall WILL leave on a cliffhanger.

But if I were to choose a general, random tomarry fic to write a sequel for, it would be this one fic I read years ago that really needs a sequel in my mind. I might actually do it one day. Like, a short 20k one shot. Maybe.

*

12. A trope you're really into right now.

Funny you should say that! Harrymort, just harrymort. Voldemort gets his soul pieced back together and falls for Harry. I'm rereading the mirror of eidrokcuf by kayliana for like the millionth time rn. Also an unexpected turn of events by lily_for_real and Paul, Richard, or Tom by Chaos_Bear. I love all of those fics.

*

18. if you keep them, share a deleted sentence or paragraph from a published fic

Oh my fucking god. Yes! Here it is! It won't ever happen but when I was first plotting out the fic months ago this was where my mind went off to.

("Wait!" Harry sputters out, shocked. "You want to give me to him? Like, so he owns me? I'm not some toy to be kept!"

A dark chuckle, and a smug grin from the man sitting behind him, with not a care in the world. "Oh, Harry, darling, that isn't the kind of ownership we're talking about."

His stomach dropped and fluttered at the same time. Harry was pretty sure he was completely spazzed out, and if this meant what he thought it did, then what did that mean for them...?

"Marriage, Harry." Dumbledore finally spoke. "You will be given to Tom in marriage." The man looked undoubtedly sad, in some convoluted way. And if Harry wasn't absolutely certain that Dumbledore thought this treaty was worth it for the greater good, then he may have believed it was genuine.

Harry stumbled, tripping right on—)

And that's it. Haha

Should I post this as a new fic? I might actually write an arranged marriage fic and write this one day. Like, seriously. Just wait for it.

*

19. The most interesting topic you've researched for a fic

Hm...well, I have a pdf of all the books regularly pulled up for when I need to know what happens in canon, and a LOT of hp timeline websites. It's a lot. And overwhelming. God, the things I do for you guys.

Also, omegaverse anatomy. I had to Google that. You're welcome.

***

Anyway, that's all! Hope you guys wanna ask more questions cuz I LOVE talking about my fic.

[love-toxin]

miss ellie i'm realizing now that i never told you now revolutionary your ocs are. like. i've been on this website for literal years and the day i found your blog was with an oc post where you introduced such a dynamic lineup with so much variety, it was the first i had ever seen. maybe i wasn't looking hard enough but you had poc yanderes AND trans yanderes it was the first time i had ever seen any (i know it sounds crazy to say but i'm being so fr rn.) even when i look through your old posts and reread them i just get blown away by how each one is different and has their own personality even though you have so many?? anyway it's late and i just wanted to say that ty <3

will you marry me?? 🥺

LOL to be for real though that makes me sooooo happy you don't even understand, I'm really glad i get to be that way for you and all you lovely people 💕💕 it's a blessing to be able to write & post my work and I'm genuinely happy to see people connecting with it.

tbh, the representation i try to portray accurately is a really long-standing relationship i have with writing & authorship in general. this might not be a terribly interesting bit of lore but back when i was in my teens and consuming a lot of fanfic online in the early forms of it (ff.net my love </3) that was something that hit me a lot in reading self-insert fic, because I'd always been a huge reader and was just then tapping into self-inserts and community fiction posting rather than just books. and i remember distinctly (i think partly bc I've always grown up in multicultural neighborhoods/had mixed family growing up) reading fanfics and having the thought of "huh, i can relate to this description or this experience, but that makes me wonder whether other people can."

funny enough, it was partly when i would read descriptions of the author giving a self-insert long hair or referencing their hair in some way, and I'd start wondering how girls who wore a hijab would read that same piece, cause i went to school with a bunch of girls who wore it or a full niqab. and so i started wondering more like "if i was black, would i relate to this experience in this fic? if i was trans or gender non-conforming, are there characters i can relate to? if i were a mix of these things, could i find somewhere i belong in this setting?" and since then it kind of became a focus in the way i wrote stuff going forward.

i think using inclusive language in fic writing is really integral to a greater horizon of people enjoying it, and thinking on my ocs i always wanted to have characters that people could really relate to. I'd stop a lot in my process of creating my initial sets of characters and try to keep in mind those thoughts that i had in reading fics; "if i were this or that, could someone in that position relate to the stories I'm writing? and if not, what can i change to make that happen?" because if people are going to enjoy my characters or find comfort in them i want everyone possible to have the ability to. it's kind of intimidating at times to write for experiences i haven't had personally but it led me (and still leads me) to do a ton of research, and in doing so I've been able to learn lots of really fascinating things in the process. in doing so, it made it really easy for my characters to develop their personalities through my writing because i think they inherently have identities that are complex, which is always the goal you want for any character in the first place.

sorry that this kinda went off on a ramble LOL, but after so many years of writing and with my degree under my belt i still really think about it a lot. I'm really glad what i wanted to do has come across and i hope you continue to enjoy my ocs!! ❤️❤️

[songofsaraneth]

@onionjuggler submitted:

3 and 14!

From this books ask game!

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

I'll be honest most of what i read this year was either rereads of treasured books (finishing up my RotE reread I did mostly in 2023), and then a lot of books i thought were just Fine. They were good enough to keep me entertained and then pretty instantly forget what happened in them specifically. So the ones that stand out from those that weren't just rereads are:

Exordia by Seth Dickinson: This book is a bit frustrating actually because it's SO CLOSE to being exactly what I want, and it drives me mad that it's not quite there. It also is a better read if you go in with the understanding that it's actually 5 novellas in a trenchcoat (publisher changed the plan, from what I understand). But it's the kind of frustrating that wouldn't leave my head for weeks after because what was there was so compelling. I will be reading book 2 the instant it drops.

Dungeon Meshi by Ryoko Kui: It was so cute and fun. I couldn't watch the anime when it started out so found the manga instead, which isn't a format i read much of otherwise. Great balance of silly, heartfelt, and using speculative bio to introduce a usually untouched element of realism to fantasy aka cooking/food.

The Paper Menagerie And Other Stories by Ken Liu: I mean I knew I was gonna like this anthology and just never got around to it to now for some reason. I like reading translated sci fi in anthlogies becuase you also get a window into what tropes are being used in other cultures/languages which is half the fun of it to me.

Monstress vol. 7 by Marjori Liu & Sana Takeda: honestly I love all of the Monstress graphic novels but this one had some fun stuff I apprreciated in particular. I also read 8 and it was good but not as suited to my tastes, and have 9 (this year's release) but left it in New Mexico so will read it once I'm back.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries: this book was just a fun fantasy romp but what I really appreciated about it was that the protagonist was ACTIVE rather than passive despite being a more stuffy/bookish sort of personality. She just went outside and dealt with things anyway. I'm pretty tired of stories where the protagonist is just being unwillingly dragged along by the narrative rather than directing their own fate so I always notice & appreciate when books break that particular mold.

14: What books do you want to finish before the year is over?

I started rereading the How To Train Your Dragon books because they're very short and I am so close to my book goal for the year (95/100...). I won't finish all of them but I will get through a couple more probably. And I've also gone through some of the Hugo nominated novellas as well since I do usually read those most years.

Actually you know what. Gonna go back and plug HTTYD books more emphatically, because if anyone reading this comment imprinted on Animorphs you should give these a try next. They're not the same level of trauma, and the first couple books are WAY sillier, then the greater story arc comes into play and I am so invested by book 5, and books 8-12 just get me so good emotionally. Never thought I'd be heartbroken over a character named Snotlout but here we are! Also, if you're an audiobook, David Tennant does the narration and you get to hear him sing a bunch of funny little songs. Though the print versions have the authors cute scribbly drawings that go along with the story so can't go wrong really.

[hood-ex]

I had this all beautifully typed out but then my phone died before I got to send it so now I'm typing it out again but less thought out. :)

So I have been reading this book and it really got me thinking about Dick and how choice is essentially something that I feel would be important to him. I say this because I was looking at your projection post with Roy and Dick and I wonder if I was projecting because of what I have seen in editorial and just what I know of Dick in general. I'm mentioning choice because in this book this character is involved with this girl who everyone just decided since they were young that they would be together and since their families are so tied together it seems like it is a win for everyone, but the character himself feels so strongly against it and he says something to her that gave me that huge lightbulb moment where it just screamed Dick Grayson. I know I'm not naming names here and I'm doing it for a reason, but I think you know what relationship I might be talking about and that I might have tied this to, but what I would give for writers to acknowledge that Dick not wanting to be in a shadow of something and wanting a choice.

I know you were making light in that post but I feel like the time Dick got angry about Myand'r is a good base for a jumping off of as well but also a good pointing the finger because though it might not be the same don't Dick and Kory have a certain feeling towards their father figures that makes them a little similar yet so different? What they could see in the other what the can't see in themselves.

Anyway, Emily I have to tell you about the rest of this book because it is so bonkers. So Basically two brothers living on their farm with the older brother's wife. The older brother was left the land and the younger brother was left the house. Anyway, The older brother can't have children and him and his wife have tried, but then he gets this idea since they don't love each other romantically his younger brother and wife could have a child and no one in their town would be the wiser. Of course the younger brother and wife are offended at first but they also start discovering that they have begun to look at each other in a different way. Anyway older brother has to go buy a bull for the ranch and leaves †hem alone for a a week where they are really trying NOT to think of what the husband had asked of them.... yup. That's as far as I got right now but I am intrigued. lol.

I would say in regard to the relationship I believe you're referring to, Dick did have a choice in it, and initially, he was actually the pursuer in the relationship. With DC's retcon, I can see where a story like the one you're reading could've been a storyline for Dick, but I feel like Dick's path is different.

As for Dick not wanting to be in the shadow of something, I'm not sure if you're referring to his love life specifically or in general, but I'd say they showed successful character progression for him by having him transition to Nightwing. That was the ultimate moment for him to step out of Bruce's shadow and set himself apart as the leader of the Titans.

Ohhh you mean when Dick popped off for the way Myand'r treated Kory?

"This so-called paradise was paid for with your flesh, your heart, your life! What has he sacrificed? He lived in glory while the citadel nearly destroyed you." - TNTT (Vol. 2) #16

You know what, I never really thought about that before (Dick and Bruce vs. Kory and Myand'r) but that's an interesting topic to get into. I'd have to reread the Komand'r/Tamaran arc to get into it more, but there's definitely something that could be said about Dick's devotion to Bruce out of loyalty, love, and trauma while Kory's is less devotion to her father and more of a devotion to her father's cause of saving millions of lives. There could also be a comparison to Myand'r selling Kory into slavery for what he thought was the greater good, and Bruce abusing Dick into joining Spyral for what he thought was the greater good. Interesting, interesting. Much to think about.

👀 You'll have to tell me what happens in your book when you finish it. I hope the older brother and the wife get divorced. Now I'm curious if they're religious because, depending on the religion, that could keep them from wanting to divorce. Although, if the older brother is suggesting that his wife and little brother have a baby together, how religious can they possibly be lmao. And what if the little brother does get the wife pregnant 👀 ? Are the brothers going to fight over custody of the child 👀? That would be wild.

[meancaroline]

That Time I Took Down A Cult, by Rebel Carter

Ratings:

GoodReads Rating: 3.57 ⭐️

My Rating: 3.5 ⭐️

Spice: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Purchasing:

On Kindle Unlimited?: Yes

Kindle E-book: $4.99

Paperback: $17.15

Length:

379 pages

Review:

Buffy Martinez (yes, that is her real name) is a Blossom in the Cult of Wrath. She has been trained her entire life to smile, keep sweet, and be the perfect wife for her eventual husband.

And while it might've been smart to think about that whole "Cult of Wrath" thing, she doesn't; can't really, it's her wedding day, and after all, stress is bad for the bride! But before she joins her fellow Blossom brides, they're all getting married today, the local Witch of the Woods issues her a dire warning. A warning she really wished she'd listened to, as now she's on the run from would be murderer/fiancé.

But help comes to Buffy in an unexpected form: Wrath, the god her cult worships. Except, he's not a god, he's a demon, and, as Buffy quickly learns, there's more going on with her cult than she could ever imagine.

Also, she and Wrath are married now.

Will Buffy and her beau escape the clutches of the cult? Or will greater powers force Buffy to submit to them once more?

One thing about Carter's story that surprised me was the blasé attitude toward the cult. Usually, in stories about cults, the MC finds out they were raised in a cult and wrestles with that throughout the story. Buffy knows she's in a cult from page one. She's not defensive about it, she's not worried, she’s just in a cult and fine with that. Though there is dialogue referencing other cults outside of Buffy's, we don't have enough information to know if cults are the way of world in this universe.

Another thing that caught me off guard was Carter's use of secondary characters. People that Buffy and Wrath help throughout the book don't just disappear. They are used to flesh out the landscape of Sweet Tooth, and I think most, if not all, of them come back in the climax of the story. I wasn't expecting that for this story and it was refreshing to see.

And while there isn't a big "OMG I'M IN A CULT" moment I expected from the story, I think this book could be somewhat cathartic for someone who was in a cult/strict religious community. Buffy is a pretty neat character, who, though terrified at first, doesn't run from the actions she has to take, and actually revels in what she has to do to save her and her friend's lives. It's interesting to hear her inner monologue compare and contrast her thoughts from before and after finding out her cult wasn't the cheery place she thought it was. And that maybe she isn't the person she was raised to be.

Those thoughts, however, are a bit disjointed at times. I think Carter should have done one more once over of the story to give it that final bit of polish that would have made the story shine. As, there were instances where I had to stop and reread a few sentences to figure out what was going on.

And, don't be fooled by the spice rating: though "That Time I Took Down A Cult" deserves its four flame rating, the spicier romance takes a backseat to the "taking out the cult" stuff. It's more of an action oriented romance than a romance with action on the side.

Overall, Rebel Carter's "That Time I Took Down A Cult" was an enjoyable read, and fun way to end my 2024. If you like action, demon romance, and quests for bloody vengeance, put this on your 2025 TBR!

[layingeggs]

I hadn't seen this before!

This is, what, my third readthrough of Boku wa Mari? My third and a half? But until now I've only read digital scans. This is my first time reading it as print media.

Isao Komori. Is violently forced into the body of a younger girl that he's stalking and infatuated with. He refuses to ever once interact with her/his own naked body. He even bathes and uses the toilet blindfolded. He claims it's to protect her innocence from his male impurity.

And all of that is finally brought to an end in a chapter titled "The Time for Confrontation".

It's simple enough. Mari's body is having a period because of course. Isao can no longer 'preserve her virtue'. Isao now has to look at this body and interact with this body, simply to keep it clean and healthy.

There's all kinds of allegory and subtext here. And we can read even further into this scene when additional context is revealed later in the story.

But I want to focus on the art. The author has chosen a double page spread, to represent this emotional hurdle that the protagonist is overcoming. To give more space on the pages to this moment so to convey its importance.

But it's a double page spread. In digital scans, you see the whole thing. You see all of and every detail. But in print media...

Here I will put the image below a read more link for depiction of period blood.

Print media is in a book, right? And books have spines. So when you open the book, the pages are flatter towards the end and curve inward at the middle.

The vagina is of course, between the legs. So we have a clear view of the legs which aren't really what we're supposed to be looking at, and an obscured view of the vagina. Which is the thing we're supposed to be looking at.

And I usually read with books at a 90 degree angle as well honestly. I don't like bending the spine when it's still new. I've read and reread this story before, but the book itself is new to me and so I want to be careful with it!

At that 90 degree angle, you can barely see anything here. I really had to open the book out to show what I did in the picture.

I'm not sure if this detracts from the story or is clearly a part of it. Isao is finally looking at Mari's vagina, his own vagina. But still there's that mental block there? Still his eyes may be looking at it but his brain is looking elsewhere? He's just gritting his teeth and bearing through it for as long as it takes to clean himself up and then cover it up again and put it out of sight out of mind?

But there are other moments in the story where important parts of the image become obscured by the parts of the pages sinking into the spine of the book. And in those scenes, it doesn't make nearly as much sense for Isao or any other character to be dissociating.

Also, even if the author did this intentionally, this work was written well into the digital age. The author fully well understood that many people would be reading this work digitally rather than physically. Many shops these days selling manga also have a website, and the website also offers a pdf download as well as ordering a physical book.

(As well as piracy of course.)

So the author surely must have known that some readers would have received the distorted vagina, some would have received the undistorted vagina, and some both.

But then, perhaps we should read into that as well? Maybe there is meant to be an ambiguous dissocation in this scene? With how dense this story is with various queer and trauma allegories, maybe a certain fluidity in the text allows different interpretations to gain greater strength?

But how exactly would that look? Maybe the distorted vagina is part of a trans male read on the character? Isao has invented the narrative of protecting Mari in order to escape his dysphoria as a trans boy? Perhaps the undistorted vagina is part of a trans female narrative? Seeing the vagina is acceptance of a femininity that Isao has been ashamed of until now?

I mean, I've met trans women who have vaginas and are traumatised about it and trans men who have vaginas and love it, so I'm not sure it can be neatly delineated that way.

Bottom line. Vagina got bent by the spine. Completely changes the emotional feel of the scene.

[kroosluvr]

My entire life I have been so bad at reading manga or comic books or anything like that, because I just want to read the text and I never stop to appreciate the art. Then I saw one of your VioletFox comics, the one they're walking on a bridge discussing their pursuits of gymnastics and painting. I remember getting absorbed in Yusuke's wall of dialogue, and then the beat panel of Sumi silently crying hit me like a gut punch. That one image affected me more deeply than the whole moving block of text I had just read. I went back and reread the comic, and I saw that every facial expression, even the panel layout, was telling a whole complex emotional story underneath the text bubbles.

Now every time I see one of your comics I end up reading it twice, once for the text and once just to look at the artwork. The dialogue you write gives the characters so much more depth than they ever got in the source material, and your art style is so evocative and fills every scene with more emotion than the words can convey by themselves. And I've started doing this with other comics I like as well. It's stunning to see how much I've been missing, but my enjoyment of them is so much greater now.

I dunno, this feels like one of those things that's obvious to everybody else and I'm only just now figuring out because I'm autistic. But I've been reading comics online for at least fifteen years, and yours are the ones that finally made me look at the artwork as more than a backdrop for the story being told in the dialogue. Thank you for using your art to feed my Persona brainrot, and thank you for making me better at appreciating comics as an art form.

oh my god thank you so so much for such a lovely comment ;--; this is the first thing i read after waking up and I WAS CLOSE TO TEARS UUAUHHH im so amazed and so honored that my art could have this sort of impact on anyone,, ;o; <3333 LIKE IM SERIOUSLY SPEECHLESS IM SO FREAKING FLATTERED TO RECEIVE THIS LEVEL OF PRAISE FOR MY WORK!!!!!!! my latest persona comics and stuff is straight from the heart so when people also connect with it or resonate on a deep level i feel so so happy....

the violetfox..!!! AHHH that comic carries such a deep weight in my heart........ sumi and yusuke carry such complicated feelings abt their passions and they had no one to talk to abt it (before akira) (but i want them to talk to each other and share notes ehehe...) im so happy that one could resonate with you... //w// i really like drawing facial expressions!!!!! that one is kind of old so now i look at it like TCH.. I COULD DO BETTER..... but art is all abt improving every day amiright ehhewhe

im so SO happy you enjoy my dialogue too!!! ////w//// not a writer by any means..... but it really does come straight from the heart eheh.... so if the shoe fits amiright //w//

but seriously im so happy to hear this, thank you so much for telling me LIKE IM GONNA THINK ABT THIS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE IM SO SERIOUS. im so so amazed and happy that my art could help you also enjoy other art/comics/works.... i didn't know i could have this sort of impact ;w; thank you again so much!!!! I WILL KEEP DRAWING FOREVER (AND PERSONA FOR A LONG TIME IM SURE!!!!) thank you again for your lovely comments waaaah my heart so warm... please have a good day/night!!! //w//

(sorry my reply is so not eloquent compared to yours IM CRYINGGSJDFSD AAA

[machaonreads]

Fic rec 1 : MCU

Although I still like nothing more than to dive head first into a new fic and to discover a new author's unique take on a fandom I love, I will start this blog by writing a few words about fics that I have read, reread and then read again : fics that were so good that they helped me through difficult times, and fics that were just so, so good - to the point that they ruined my sleep and destroyed my productivity at work - for the greater good, of course.

Among this trove are two works by WilmaKins : Whatever Makes You Happy and To Have My Time Again...

Both these amazing fics are fix-it stories for the post-Civil-War arc of the Avengers narrative. Both have the huge merit (to my eyes) of allowing Tony and Steve to make compelling cases for themselves, before putting these characters in situations that will force them to overcome their differences through mutual understanding.

Furthermore, the stories they tell are full of twists and their plot is really captivating. That in itself would be enough to render them exceptional.

But the main reason that these fics stayed with me long after I had finish reading them is the depth of their psychological analysis. Rarely have I read such a detailed and intelligent account of a honest exploration of the self. And yes, we all know that people are lying to themselves, that their are deluding themselves, that they can be and will be unreliable narrators of their own lives. These fics are not forgetting that. But, sometimes, adults are able to achieve emotional maturity. Sometimes, they are sincere in their quest to find what the hell is wrong with them and to better themselves.

Of this WilmaKins gives us two wonderful exemples - and a trail to follow in time of self-doubt, perhaps.

(The author assumes a dislike of Natasha that I do not share in the least, as she is one of my favourite characters in the MCU, but even she is granted a complexity that makes her depiction very acceptable in my books.)

[alliluyevas]

have you read/watched Under the Banner of Heaven? curious for your thoughts on it! If you already posted about it in the past pls feel free to link me

Thank you for the question!!! I have in fact both read and watched Under the Banner of Heaven. It was actually the first Mormon-history book I read way back in spring of 2021. I had just watched a Hulu documentary about FLDS and I wanted to read more about modern-day Mormon fundamentalists so I checked it out from the library and was hooked! I wanted to find out more about the origins and history of Mormonism, having had my interest piqued by the book, and the rest is history. I haven't reread the book since and I definitely know way more about both historical and modern Mormonism now, so it would be interesting to reread and see if it holds up. (One quibble: after reading about the 1988 Singer/Swapp siege more recently, I don't know why Krakauer didn't include a discussion of this event in UTBOH. It would have been a natural fit with his discussion of Mormon fundamentalist violence.)

I saw the show, on the other hand, when it came out and I knew way more about Mormon history. I thought it was fantastic. Very strong acting, writing, directing, deeply compelling, etc. I think the addition of Andrew Garfield's and Gil Birmingham's characters and the storyline about Jeb's faith deconstruction and Taba's Native American perspective really added a lot of depth. I also liked the way that their stories and the story of the investigation were woven together with both the recent history of the Lafferty family and the 19th century history of the church.

I would say that my primary issue with the show is that Allen Lafferty is written much more sympathetically than I find the real-life Allen, who was aware that his brothers had made death threats against his wife to a much greater extent than is portrayed in the show and did absolutely nothing about it. I think Allen bears a greater degree of responsibility for Brenda and Erica's deaths than the show would lead you to believe, and I know that Brenda's parents and siblings feel/felt that way, while the show depicts him going to stay with them in the final episode. (Also, while I don't know if Allen's religious struggles as depicted in the show are inaccurate to what he was going through at the time, he and his current wife are very much orthodox LDS, to the point where his wife has a Youtube channel with the two of them giving testimony, which I feel like doesn't really reflect well on him given like. everything.)

Edit: oh, and one issue I have with the historical flashbacks is that it kind of lampshades the conspiracy theory about John Taylor being in on Joseph Smith's murder which I think was kind of irresponsible of them because it's literally fringe nonsense and my behated.

[littlestsnicket]

Hi! I'm really late to the ASOUE fandom, so I'm happy that there are still some great fanblogs around. I loved reading through yours. I wanted to ask what you think of the Netflix series and the movie in relation to the novels. Apologies if you've already answered this question!

Also (and slightly related) do you have any Jacques Snicket headcanons for the book or the Netflix character? I never really noticed him in the novels but I loved him (probably Nathan Fillion) in the show.

Thank you <3

welcome to asoue fandom! i’ve been a fan of these books since they were first published and didn’t get involved in fandom until after the netflix series had finished, so it’s never to late, and i’m glad you enjoyed my blog!

i have talked about my thoughts on the netflix adaptation (i forget which tag i used, i was trying to use a consistent one for that at some point…), but i love talking about adaptations and how they work and i’m always happy to talk about it some more!

i saw the movie when it came out, and i don’t remember feeling very strongly about it one way or another, which says something because 2004 would be around the peak of me obsessively rereading the books so i should have cared a lot. i mostly remember really liking violet’s costume in an objective, aesthetic sense and also feeling it was deeply deeply wrong for the tone of the books/how things looked in my head. i’ve only rewatched it once since then with lemony snicket’s commentary track, which is just absolutely delightful, so i’m afraid i don’t have much to say about it.

i think the netflix show is a good adaptation with some things i will go to my grave mad about. i love the visuals, it’s the exact right amount of fantastical and timeless. it’s the right amount of funny while still having moments of intense seriousness. i love the musical numbers in season 2. i love what they did to change the vibe of this being a tv show so it shouldn’t exist in a world driven by books like the books do. i love the addition of the recurring adult characters.

since you asked about jacques snicket, i really love how they re-conceived that character to be a suave, james bond-y, spy type. i think it serves the rest of the changes they made really well. i enjoy his relationship with olivia and larry the waiter. i love the dynamic he has with olaf. i will die mad that they didn’t give him a unibrow. we deserve otherwise conventionally attractive jacques snicket with a unibrow. it’s thematically important damn it!

book!jacques snicket, who we only really get to know through his letters in the unauthorized autobiography and quigley’s memories, will always be the jacques snicket of my heart, but i can love both.

also still mad about the opera night. it is absolutely thematically critical that the viewer not know what happened, and what you gain isn’t enough to offset that. also wish we had gotten more morally grayness from vfd. i really love how the organization is introduced in season 1 and 2, but it never got to evolve into being about how kind, well meaning people can do horrible things either because of their own flaws or because of intractable circumstances, and we all have to live with that because it’s part of the human condition.

i don’t have any netflix!jacques head canon, except that in the fictional version of the show that i got to have input in, olivia learns that he’s done really difficult to rationalize things from the snicket file and that puts her in a much more similar to book!olivia’s mindset when the baudelaire’s meet her at the carnival.

i have lots of book!jacques head canons. i think i’ve talked about most of them before but these are my favorite: 1, jacques looks almost exactly like lemony but is several inches shorter and 2, jacques is the least committed to vfd of his siblings, and he will always put the safety of the people he loves (but especially lemony) over the greater good.