#cozy maps

[dndsettingsinfo]

Small Trade Warehouse [31×25] by Cozy Maps

[mienar]

remnants of where we have been

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[sun-e-chips]

Watching a movie in your hotel room

Vote and you shall receive!!! now you have both Waterspark Moon and Sun!

(So what movie are you watching? 👀)

[ash-and-books]

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands Moodboard/Aesthetic

I absolutely adored this sequel in the series and can't recommend the overall series enough, it's everything you could want!

[bsptourist]

ttt_snowed_in

created by lennrrrd

[nordsea-horizons]

Happy October 1st🎃🍂🌾 im starting my new halloween-themed island Grimwood today👻

[cozylittleartblog]

certified autism post

[maskedchip]

i wanna share this too bc i am impatient!!! GRAAAHH

[boxofthings]

dare i say shadow!roach with ur gravesroach thoughts?

omg I was literally just thinking of this hdjshfjiwid you have no idea how excited I was to see you say this, Santi!! This could be SUCH an interesting sub plot

I'm just thinking of the aftermath of Roach's almost death where he's picked up by Shadows and specifically being looked after by Graves

I understand Graves is a cocky backstabber, but his relationship with his Shadows genuinely does seem pretty wholesome, I can imagine if he got a new recruit he'd be a very attentive mentor ( I rewatched the scene in MWII where Graves keeps calling out to his downed Shadows and urging Shepherd to send backup for them, like he def cares for his men)

I was also thinking of having Graves be the one to teach Roach ASL because oof think of that extra internal conflict when Roach has to choose between helping the 141 and staying loyal to SC and specifically the man who helped him adapt to military life post-injury ughhhh

Literally, any Roach-centric pairing has me in a chokehold. Angst for days, I love it.

I feel like this could go either two ways:

Graves genuinely does care for Roach's wellbeing (as seen in canon with his actual shadows) and develops a close bond while helping Roach recover from his injuries (could lead to some interesting dynamics between Graves, the 141, and Shepherd)

or, Graves is fully on board with Shepherd's plan to use Roach as leverage against the 141 and only pretends to form a bond with him (just more trauma for Roach lol poor guy)

either way, they'd lead to some good conflict

and if you factor in the whole GhostRoach focus of this AU, I think adding a GravesRoach sub plot would be extra juicy (think of Ghost's reaction when he finds out Roach is alive and all personal with the commander of SC)

[heart-select]

i just want a cozy farming survival sim but u play as a beaver

like consider

You are a beaver

(and it's not a bunch of personified construction beavers like a civ game. u are just a beaver)

It's a third-person game, and u can swim around ur made ponds well but are slow on land

u start of building up ur own dam in a small stream. being weary of predators and also ur stamina/food

It's slow going, but u meet other beavers along the way. the damnslowly gets built, stick by stick, pebble by pebble

seasonal cycle much like farming games but its u just storing food up for winter

u get a taste for wood and ur other companion beavers also have their preferences

Decorating ur Lodge (during winter most likely)

There are other animals in the area u can talk to, befriend, or scare away

u gotta dig ditches and stuff to get to more of forest areas if u wanna expand more.

its a grindy brain empty game and ur just living ur life as a beaver

sound mechanics where u r v aware of Running streams (incase ur dam needs reparing), tree sounds so they dont fall on u while ur eating, possible predators etc

work with other beavers so u can lessen work load like doing dam repairs or lodge building/expansion/repairs

random events like new visitors (friendly and not so friendly) or even wildfires

Im just... I was watching a beaver video and I genuinely was surprised for all the living habits and stuff they do, no one has thought to do a cozy grindy game abt em thats not civ like. they have like all the staple farming sim stuff. A Home, an area, and a whole bunch of shit to do before winter/year end.

[lastseenleaving]

US vs UK covers

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Emily and Wendell Have No Chill...On Opposite Ends of the Chill Spectrum

Ok, the more you put faerie and academia up next to each other, the more I see similarities between the two that both the academics and the fae would probably be extremely pissy about, from the strict hierarchical structures to the arbitrary rules and the extreme danger of falling in love with them. And yet I'm also EXTREMELY here for it. So let's talk Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands.

THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW THE BREAK. BE WARNED.

Emily and Wendell are on the same page about when it is appropriate to go absolutely feral, but they would NOT agree with that. Emily can shake off the otherlands, random faerie assassins, and absolutely godawful living conditions during fieldwork but cannot handle other humans. Wendell can shake off *actively dying from faerie poison* and entirely too credible accusations of academic misconduct, but literally cannot handle a lack of coffee.

So naturally Wendell is panicking every time Emily gets too near the otherlands without him and Emily is absolutely losing it every time Wendell ignores common sense and uses his magic which exacerbates the effects of the poison. Literally these two are falling over each other to try to protect each other. It's wonderful--I wouldn't change a thing.

I also want to just double down on academics being JUST as terrifying as fae, because in the first book Emily didn't HESITATE before chopping a finger off to break an enchantment and in this one she didn't think twice before dropping the same poison that is killing Wendell into his stepmother's cup. This woman is absolutely terrifying in her determination and her ability to do the thing she has decided is absolutely necessary. Like, Emily Wilde is a terrifying force of nature and a damn fine scholar and the level of personal and professional jealousy I feel over this fictional character knows no bounds.

So beyond Emily and Wendell being just AGGRESSIVELY in love with each other in the most academic way possible, this book is fun because we get some resolution to the mystery of Danielle De Gray's disappearance, which was heavily referenced in the footnotes of the last book, and is one of the great dryadologist mysteries. I absolutely adore the fact that Emily is so determined to find out what actually happened to this academic in whom she sees herself. It makes her success so much greater and it makes the "don't meet your heroes" disappointment so much funnier when the real Dani catastrophically crashes into the De Gray that Emily had constructed in her head. It's funny and heartbreaking and honestly the fact that Dani then sort of...adopts Emily as a researcher in her own vein is awesome. Academic respect and mentorship is...a weirdass combination of doing it yourself with imagined mentor figures and deeply flawed people who just wanted to learn everything about something niche and specific and are really cranky about being saddled with students.

Which brings me nicely to Farris Rose. Rose is...a stodgy old white man academic in every sense, and he starts by threatening to have both Emily and Wendell fired for academic misconduct and fabricating research. He ends up with one ear on backwards and offering to mentor Emily in her academic career. He is also like...the absolute chaotic evil scholar, because he is VERY cool about ethical lapses if they get him on the expedition of the century. And he is also VERY comfortable lecturing Emily on her personal life. Even after she is pretty clear that his commentary is not terribly welcome.

The number of academic friendships that begin in open conflict is astounding, and honestly the "bitter enemy on the basis of their scholarship to grudging allies to actual friends" pipeline is VERY fun to watch. It's a special hell to live, but watching it is delightful.

Emily also grudgingly gets a student in this book! And after all the crap she gave Wendell about how he treats his grad students in the last book, she could possibly have been less brusque and less ornery with her dang niece!!! Ariadne is literally a ray of sunshine though, and she and Wendell get along like a house on fire to the point where he makes her a scarf for protection in the field. She and Emily uh...have a bit of a journey in terms of getting on, because Emily prefers to be on her own, and she like...intellectually loves her niece, but it takes some time for her to respect Ariadne as a baby researcher who is enthusiastic and learning. Their journey to understanding each other is really sweet, and I enjoyed it. I also love that Uncle Wendell was Uncle Wendell for Ariadne long before Aunt Emily actually accepted his proposal. That was just adorable.

I also really appreciate the cliffhanger that this book left us on. Emily and Wendell are going back to the Silva Lupi, but they literally do not know what they'll find. The assumption is that Wendell's stepmother is dead, but like...we don't KNOW that, and I wouldn't be surprised if she found some crafty and utterly hellscape-y way to avoid a terrible death by faerie poison. Especially since Wendell himself has hammered home the "there are no absolutes in faerie stories" message. So I might actually die waiting for book 3, but when it comes out, I will 1000% be there to read it.

[crispapples]

The art in this book>>>>

Under the earth, over the sky

-Emily Mccosh

[profitezbien1]

What lights my fire during this dark season is the future we will share. The big travelling dreams. Taking eachother on an unforgettable journey. Remember to bring a map and camera

xoxo

[bsptourist]

gm_countrycabin_sunset

created by Don Poncho

[jessread-s]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

✩🧚🗺️Review:

Emily and Wendell’s latest adventure is utterly enchanting!

“Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands” picks up shortly after the first installment, following genius scholar Emily Wilde and her colleague and former rival Wendell Bambleby as they seek out the door to his realm.

To my excitement, this book continues to read like a journal but with more of Emily’s personal feelings recorded alongside her academic musings. Many of those feelings pertain to her relationship with Wendell as it further progresses. I absolutely LOVE that their romance is a slightly more prominent aspect of the storyline because their banter, devotion to one another, and dynamic is not only highly entertaining, but is what makes this novel shine.

I also really enjoyed Emily’s character development in this one. She is the same brilliant scholar we all know and love, but as the stakes get higher, she gradually lets down her walls and learns to listen to her heart in addition to her mind. It was a joy to see her embark on her own quest, cleverly outsmart those in her way, and make some new faerie friends along the way.

I eagerly await book three in this magical series!

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