#blake wrapped

[no-where-new-hero]

✣ Blake Wrapped: 5 Star Reads 📖

The first half of this post can be found HERE, and these were my 5-star reads for the second half of the year (in rough order). Tagging @batrachised, who was interested in recommendations!

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh I posted a lot about this when I read it because in my opinion it’s one of the best SFF novels I’ve come across in a while. It reminded me of DWJ’s Hexwood, which is already high praise, but it’s a fabulous character study with incredible dynamics. It’s another new book with truly horrible marketing, imo—the whole “queer sci-fi” angle gives the impression of a Gideon the Ninth rip-off, but there’s much more political and social commentary with fabulous world-building. Highly, highly recommend this one.

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan I loved the first book in this duology, but this one was exquisite to new heights. Even though it was never that overt, it did a lot of great meta-commentary work on the chosen one trope vs the doomed by the narrative trope, especially their intersection with gender expectations. The prose was simply gorgeous, occasionally philosophical, always sure-handed. I recommend the whole duology, though mostly so that you can get to this one.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson I picked this up in my library’s for sale room, and it was the best choice I made this year. I can’t believe I had been missing out on Jackson for so long. It’s a ghost story and a Gothic novel and a girl book and feels a bit like the shadow side of an LM Montgomery story. The language and characters are rich and strange and is so thoroughly a Blake Book of all time. I want to be able to write something like this someday.

Yellowface by R. F. Kuang The reports of its readability are true—I went through this in three hours. I get why people complain about certain elements in this, but it also lives up to the hype, in my opinion. I might be the target audience as an aspiring author (who got throughly traumatized by the portrayal of terminally online author culture lmao) but I do think those dynamics and circumstances are its strength, more so than the social commentaries on Asian American tokenization, etc.

How Long ’Til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin I don’t often read short fiction, but I was in the mood for some good SFF shorts to learn from, so picked this up. Jemisin is a master of form—her ability to depict a world in such a brief span, to make such deep characters with such clever scenarios is unmatched. Certainly, there are some better examples than others, but the best makes me wish there were a whole novel set in that world.

Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson This one is a slight cheat because it’s not Jackson’s best, but it’s also a Blake Book of all time, so how could I not give it five stars? I wish I had discovered it in college, if just to be able to be insufferable and call myself “irl Natalie Waite” everywhere. It’s such a Tumblr book too—the veiled queerness, the Plath vibes, the dark academia setting, the unhinged vibes. The prose is gorgeous and unsettling and is such a good portrayal of a character.

[torpublishinggroup]

TOR WRAPPED 2023

Books for every Spotify Wrapped listener class! 

VAMPIRE

Masters of Death by Olivie Blake

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Mordew by Alex Pheby

HYPNOTIST

The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu

Daughter of Redwinter by Ed McDonald

Spring’s Arcana by Lilith Saintcrow

ALCHEMIST

The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller

The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

SHAPESHIFTER

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

The Warden by Daniel M. Ford

Wolfsong by TJ Klune

FANATIC

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

The Fragile Threads of Power by V. E. Schwab

TIME TRAVELER

Kinning by Nisi Shawl

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab

MASTERMIND

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

Red Team Blues by Cory Doctorow

Exadelic by Jon Evans

COLLECTOR

The Wolfe at the Door by Gene Wolfe

Cassiel’s Servant by Jacqueline Carey

The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

[chaikachi]

"unburdened i surrender to a softer side"

a little bit of Blang for @bumblebyweek-blog

[avalencias]

unguarded, I surrender to the softer side

you can thank @kienava for this one 😌

[theosconfessions]

screaming into the void over them this morning. someone tell blake to buy his family a house so teddie bear and nellie can have their own rooms. also rivers muscles are purely to knock sid tf out if he needs to .

@ohsosims

[scattered-winter]

[thepalestrose]

This might be my favorite single line of the entire volume so far.

Something something what could Ruby ever do to feel like she's done enough? Something something while her team and Jaune should support and love her, real change only comes from within. Something something, measuring up to Summer Rose.

[remusfinglupin]

January Wrap-Up

- Alone With You in the Ether: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- 10 Things That Never Happened: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- The Atlas Complex: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- The Ghostkeeper: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- Gwen & Art Are Not In Love: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- Every Time You Hear That Song: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- The Only Girl in Town: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- The Henna Wars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- Playing For Keeps: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

[blake-me-up-inside]

Yeah, that makes sense. I have a LOT of RWBY on my main playlist lol

Bmblb is #17 if you were wondering.

[nympippi]

Okay mostly everyone voted yes on the brinney fanart and I might post more later but! I still hope y’all like these two I drew earlier today ^^

I feel like in any relationship Finn has he definitely lets them wear his letterman, and I find it very cute!

[justplainsimon]

Just got flashbanged

*pop artist*

*pop artist*

*pop artist*

*pop artist*

You are not Neurotypical.

*pop artist*

*pop artist*

[no-where-new-hero]

✣ Blake Wrapped: KDrama Edition 📹

Almost exactly a year ago, I watched Goblin for the first time and loved it, as I knew I would (I am so very much the target audience for that show it’s not even funny). And when I started retagging the gifs and stuff I had reposted from that time, I saw that I tagged something with “I’m not in a kdrama phase per se, but…” Reader, I lied. The kdrama phase was just waiting dormant for its moment to overtake my life. Here’s my rough ranking of what I saw this year.

#1: Coffee Prince (2007)

It’s a little dated, but it also has worn tremendously well considering its contemporaries, and the bones are flawless: great writing with well-rounded characters, a gorgeously evocative soundtrack, a lovable cast. It has recognizable tropes (rich boy/poor girl, second leads, deceptions, etc) but never feels cliche. Also, it’s incredibly queer. Yes, the endgame of the main pair is happily heterosexual but the male lead works through a gay awakening and the female lead is basically non-binary. Even the second couple challenge gender roles in a refreshing way. I’ve only seen it twice because of platform difficulties, but it has compelling rewatch value.

#1’ : Goblin/Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (2016)

This show is a masterpiece. It has its weak moments here and there (one dreepy song in the OST, the female leads could be fleshed out more, some of the mythology is spit and string), but it’s such a stunning production in the whole that you don’t really get stuck on that. The cinematography is some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen in any piece of film ever, the instrumental music is unmatched, it engages with deep themes, and the interpersonal dynamics are gorgeous (I love the three-of-us-in-this-marriage feel among the mains). It’s also incredibly moving, especially in parts that you don’t expect. I’ve seen this five times and I’m still not bored of it.

#1.5: Tale of the Nine Tailed (2020)

Considering how much I’ve yelled about this, you’d think it would be higher, and I think my overall complaint about it is that, on a craft level, it’s telling two stories: the overt story is an immortal romance, but the underneath story is about family and redemption, and that’s the story that’s the compelling one. Unfortunately, unlike the first two I listed, the theme and plot don’t always cohere as well as they could. That being said, the characters are top-notch, the cinematography and effects are great, and the atmosphere always feels just a little bit off to be properly otherworldly. It gave me my OTP and set off an obsession. I need to rewatch it and suffer all over again.

#2: Hidden Identity (2015)

Of course, this drama is flawed, as viewers always seem to like pointing out, but I also did watch all sixteen episodes in less than 48 hours during a school week, which tells you something about its gripping pacing and structure. The episodes are, well, episodic, but the cliffhangers are fantastic, the various threads build well to the final boss, and It was also just a really well-produced show? The cinematography and fight choreography were masterfully executed, the cast really made the most of their roles, and the theme music was addictive. I was also, of course, watching it for the Plot (Kim Beom).

#2.5: Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 (2023)

It’s hard for me to evaluate this objectively because so much of it was fan-service, but since I was the fan being serviced, how could I not like it? It lacked the chic sexiness of the first season, but it was full of sincerity and incredible characters making heart-breaking and meaningful connections with each other—the writing improved, thank goodness—and the mix of fantasy, historical drama, and western made for a really fun setting. I enjoyed the shortened structure of having only 12 episodes instead of the standard 16 since it seemed to hold the pacing to a tighter rhythm.

#3: Special Labor Inspector Mr. Jo (2019)

Would I rewatch this? Probably not. Did I enjoy the heck out of it the first time? Absolutely. It’s a sharp, smart satire whose virtue lies in its breezy ability to entertain as a tall tale while keeping the themes and social commentary incredibly grounded. It’s amazing how a show with such cynicism could also be such fun. The cast was excellent and the plot deliberately uses familiar tropes of rich families, hired gangs, and love struggles to push through its message: Power destroys. Heroism is kindness. Sometimes all you need is one very angry and very tired gym teacher turned bureaucrat to make life better.

#4: Boys Over Flowers (2008)

This should not be as high as it is, but there were moments I still haven’t stopped thinking about and want to see again, which means it must have had something going on, even though I’m not sure what it was. I could never tell whether it was being ridiculous and outlandish on purpose or the show runners really thought they were making serious television. Exactly two songs in the soundtrack were good, and you also had that theme song as proper paratextual warning, and the outfits were what conservative people probably thing Queer Eye is. I do see why people like it. It’s just the kind of liking you have to do while mildly intoxicated.

#5: That Winter, the Wind Blows (2013)

This one was melodramatic to the hilt, but somehow weirdly compelling, both through the elaborate ruse that sets up the plot and through the outrageous beauty of the two leads. This is the kind of overdramatic and indulgent nonsense you sometimes want in fiction, especially when its gorgeous to look at. The male lead goes around in suspenders and nice pants looking like a 1930s gangster. His sidekick’s hair and outfit anticipates David Tennant’s Crowley by six years. The female lead’s disability was pretty sensitively portrayed. Sometimes that’s all you can ask for.

Bonus (movies): You all know my thoughts about Flight. Also going to mention Hellcats, which was absurd but also deserves full points for having a main character come out as gay for her best friend).

[bawbawbridgie]

this is very much irrelevant to cursed child but i need to express my love and appreciation for The Lovers soundtrack.

original australian musical about ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. on repeat at the moment!! faves are ‘Chasing My Tail’, ‘Helena Follows Her Nose’ and ofc ‘Down to Love Finale’!!

[taylorsabrina]

THEY'RE THE SAME PICTURE.

[almost-born-in-1893]

hiii I saw you were doing the tumblr wrapped so i had some blorbs (if you don't wanna do this then that's totally fine, no pressure :) )

Father Mulcahy

Radar O'Reilly

Henry Blake

Ford Pines

Susan Pevensie

Hii :) Here's your tumblr wrapped ✨

(feel free to re-upload anywhere you'd like and do whatever you'd like with it - cc by)

[cannibalspicnic]

RITA CONNORS and NANCY McCORMACK

PRISONER | 1979-1986