#dragonbreath book

[therealhawkball]

The fannest of all fans when it comes to Ursula Vernon's nowadays-partially-obscure book series, Dragonbreath! Being the only fan(/hj) of the series, I did a funny and recreated the album cover of Demon Days (by Gorillaz) with these...lizards...reptiles...yah (This is my 3rd version btw)

Credits to @ohapossum for ze designs and color inspiration! (I really liked that drawing because it showed them in a new light, and in color! :DD)

And @ursula-vernon for making da series that changed me (in a good way obviously)! XP

(May make an alt version that's more or less in the series' art style)

[book--brackets]

[skautism]

parents will be like “why are you a furry” like they weren’t the ones that paid for warrior cats books and tmnt dvds

[importantwomensbirthdays]

Ursula Vernon

Writer and illustrator Ursula Vernon, also known by her pen name, "T. Kingfisher", was born in 1977. The author of over forty books, Vernon is known for the popular Dragonbreath series. In 2015, she won the Nebula Award for Best Short Story for "Jackalope Wives", and in 2017, she won a Hugo Award for Best Novelette for "The Tomato Thief". Vernon won the 2020 Dragon Award for Best Horror Novel for The Twisted Ones. In 2023, she won the Hugo Award for Best Novel for Nettle and Bone. Vernon has also been nominated for the Eisner Awards and the World Fantasy Awards.

[ad-hawkeye]

(personally)i would say its around 2nd anni ssr maybe a little worse (lol)that i remember being baffled that they made luke’s free sr better written like?&?& hello why is the freebie better than what i might have to spend money on only way i can explain without wanting to burst into rant is that it feels like they wanted to appeal to the crowd that REALLY want domineering ceo energy from him and that art was more of the focus(the artermrosa art was cute but it is not a good distraction rip) i lied about ranting the sparklers bit was so annoying “oh you guys have to play a mouth to mouth candy game because you and another couple want some sparklers oh you cant just share/split the box because its considered bad luck” they’ve done artemrosa pda before and it wasn’t mid so whats going onnnn with this stupid “oh bad luck”excuse🫠

i definitely agree on his anni sss it could have been wayyy worse but i will take “if hook of love was more boring and instead of deer it was moving in” if that means we avoid mid atleast things are looking better for him imo would say that dragonbreath and beyond were all decent-good

SHIIIIT THAT'S A SCATHING REVIEW. and the worst part is i believe you entirely. i don't even need to read the card to sense the rancid vibes coming off of this summary alone.

see, the thing that absolutely baffles me about the people who are begging for Daddy Dom CEO Artem, and hoyo catering to those people, is like. if i wanted a Daddy Dom CEO i would go play literally any other otome. like literally any other one.

i picked the 29 year old virgin who gets his romance advice from a book for a reason. i feel like im wording this bad but like. if you make artem a daddy dom boss guy that just straight up. isn't artem anymore. that literally isn't his character.

if anything artem was a SUBVERSION of the daddy dom boss trope. he always emphasized being equal partners with rosa. he was utterly incompetent with romance or intimacy. he always respected rosa's boundaries and was extremely careful not to cross any lines.

i haaaaate ooc fanservice so much. i don't even hate fanservice, but if you're gonna have it, i just want it to be in character omfg.

ALSO HELP. i forgot it was named hook of love, but the way i knew EXACTLY what card you meant the SECOND you mentioned "boring" and "deer" HAHA. GOD YOU'RE SO RIGHT. oh the accuracy hurts so bad on that, oh my god hook of love was boring as all hell. i can't even remember what happened in it after the deer feeding.

though it is good to know things are all looking better?!?!??! i might act up once this all comes to global. a fair warning.

[therealhawkball]

I'm glad you also read those books as a kid. That art style in those books are probably what gave off the vibes, as someone that was addicted to those books.

I think my goth/scene and vaporwave awakening was a memory of me sitting next to a teen scene girl at a laundromat while she checked her phone and read Danny Dragonbreath. I was, like, eight? Seven? Ish? Either way, she's probably what caused this hot mess right here and I'm grateful for it.

[thestarsshinebrightcomic]

4.19.198 - Fahrenheit 451

the return of everyone's favorite comedy duo!

(Myu smiles at Topaz, and prepares another dragonbreath on Opal. It’s used as a transition to cut back to Gamma in the library. She is holding an open book.) Gamma: “When two pokemon fuse, they protect each other’s Cores with the benefit of being able to share magical abilities.” Well, basic stuff! But it’s a start.

[spuddlespud]

Manuscript Search/Find the Word Tag

Tagged by:

@primroseprime2019 💜: walk, surprise, allow and impress

@blind-the-winds 💜: young, yearn, yelp, yellow, and yes.

@eccaiia 💜: happy, hurt, head, hour, and hole!

@winterandwords 💜: thought, though, through and tough

I tag: @aohendo @inkspellangel @talesofsorrowandofruin @ahordeofwasps @bardic-tales @untethereddreams @theglitchywriterboi @junypr-camus @frostedlemonwriter

Your words are: run, rain, real, road

Walk

So when Charlie just walked up to her and said with a smile ‘You’ll never guess what happened last night!” Andi knew she was in for some tale of the miraculous, some fresh nonsense.

Surprise - A Workers Guide to Demonology

I'm the first to admit that I detest most things about this human meatsack I'm lugging around, but it has a nice belly, a belly that can hold plenty of sustenance for my soul-devouring spirit. I'm surprised that I'm starting to feel somewhat...protective of this body. It almost feels like it's me that's been insulted by the titters around the office and the insolent humans eye roll.

Allow - A Short Way to an Angry AI

"Language!" Despite having the foulest mouth of any sentient being Riley had ever known, Sadie took every little opportunity to chastise her crew for the same faux pas. She said living beings should know better. AI's had a lot of shit to remember and deal with, as well as stupid crews putting them in stupid situations, they could be allowed a little swear every now and again, as a treat.

Impress - Dragonbreath and Skelefellas

Saph was just having a peaceful morning minding her own business and  polishing her knife collection when Skully clattered into the room. The  necromancer wasted no time in sweeping Saph’s mini workshop half off the  table and replacing it with an impressive pile of papers and books. It  was only thanks to Saph’s well developed reflexes that she managed to  save her magic polish from a tumble to the floor.

Young - Contained World Potions

So, young apprentice, whatever you do, don't you dare open the Contained World.

Yearn - none

Yelp - Untitled

Erika's sword swung down, meeting the knights shield with a clang and following through with a kick to his kneecap. The other knight let out an undignified yelp, only just managing to keep his balance.

Yellow - Old Inn Door

Mabel pushed the sheets of her body, revealing her old yellowing slip. Her hair stuck up in a sweaty clump on her forehead, leaving her jealous of Robin's short cropped hair.

Yes - A Worker's Guide to Demonology

Her malleable little human soul is no match for my domineering spirit. Even a level 1 demon would be able to...Harry! Molly! Yes it's me can you hear me?"

Happy - The Familiarity Between the Owl and the Pussycat

Séamus burst through the window twittering and going on and on about Midnight and all the uncouth things the cat had done. Bathsheba tuned most of it out, focusing on the herbs she was trying to organise into the correct order on the wall. She let out a low hum every once in a while to keep Séamus happy as he twittered on.

Hurt - A Worker's Guide to Demonology

"How dare you refer to me, the burner of galaxies, the tamer of snakes as 'it'?!"

"Ah look you've hurt its feelings now"

"It!?"

Head - Untitled Werewolf WIP

John's pale skin looked washed out under the fluorescent light of the office. His head was in his hands.

Hour - A Short Way to An Angry AI

As funny as the 'your majesty' caper had been, Celeste could tell it was starting to get on Riley's nerves. They'd been stewing in their room for the last two hours after the burnt toast and toilet incident, and when a crew consists of two humans and an AI there isn't really any space for long term disagreements. That's how disasters happened.

Hole - A Worker's Guide to Demonology

The other one, in a holey tshirt and scruffed up hair, seems more amused than concerned. "Feeling a bit worse for wear?"

Thought

But the fears and the sins of you alive humans are just another thing entirely. Another dialect almost, as your species is very clever at distracting yourselves above ground. I suppose your brains only have room for a limited number of thoughts at a time.

Though - A Short Way to an Angry AI

"It's nothing you haven't said before, Sadie," Celeste admonished, before turning to Riley.  "She has a point though, it was a bit insulting."

Through - A Short Way to an Angry AI

"Riley....Riley." The ever calm voice spread throughout the room, cutting into Riley's sleep. Fucking AIs!

Riley rolled over with a groan, pulling their pillow over their head. "Sadie, power down."

"'Sadie, power down'" the mocking voice repeated "You disabled that command remember. You said you we're fed up with missing your wake up call."

Tough

“Go fuck yourself”

“I’d rather fuck you”

“Tough, I’m too busy doing monster things”

[therealhawkball]

We Are Still Lizardz

Dragonbreath has got to be one of the best series' I've ever come across and I've been obsessed with it for a long time now. I wish they made like a Dragonbreath series or cartoon because I would definitely be involved with it :D

[book--brackets]

[nightzap]

Looking at your old FE3 LP, its an interesting game, there's alot of stuff in both books that didn't make it into the various remakes!

It's got some pretty cool stuff like the growth-boosting star shards and Starsphere, which really lets you use anyone well if you want to. FE12 turned these into flat stat boosts, which is so much more boring.

I also like the way Manaketes work. Rather than having each fight consist of Tiki transforming, attacking for one Dragonstone use, and turning back into a human right after, like all the manaketes in later games, instead you have Tiki use the Dragonstone during Playerphase and then she remains a dragon for several turns. It's a little overpowered in the manner that you pretty much never run out of Dragonstone uses with just the two Firestones and one Divinestones you get for free, without even needing to buy extra stones in the secret shop in chapter 14, but it makes more sense than rapidly switching ten times in a minute because the manakete fights multiple enemies in one enemy phase.

The weight system, while generally annoying due to the absence of a mitigation stat (in particular, like 95 % of the enemies have zero attack speed because they are weighted down, with the only enemies you will ever have trouble doubling past the early game being some heroes in Chapter 20) it does provide an interesting way to nerf 1-2 range: Javelins and Dragonbreath attacks all have 20 weight, so you can never double with them. If you want ranged attacks, you gotta use bows and magic, no juggernauting here! Unless we're talking about my thicc 16 defense Merric. It also prevents Tiki from being totally overpowered. She can still easily OHKO enemies with low max HP since her attacks pierce defense, but she can only do one hit, and the few enemies that do actually have 3+ speed can deal huge damage to her. Very unlike some later Manaketes, who are total onerounding machines who can kill just about anything as long as their very limited dragonstone lasts.

I guess I've been gushing about FE3 for a while now due to your ask. Thank you!

[ilikereadingactually]

Thornhedge

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

GOSH. i went into this knowing nothing, and having read none of the author's other work aside from Dragonbreath and Hamster Princess (written under the name Ursula Vernon). and listen, i love Dragonbreath and Hamster Princess, i sold a lot of them when i was a bookseller, i still recommend them for friends' and coworkers' kids. but i was not prepared for Kingfisher's grownup writing! @digger1649 never steers me wrong, and he's been telling me i will really like Nettle & Bone, and suggested i request the galley of Thornhedge, and now here i am in that extremely pleasant dreamy state where my heart is so full of love for this book above all others.

this is top tier galaxy brain fairy tale retelling. roles are twisted around, not in a way that makes the story's origins unrecognizable, but in a way that gets my brain whirring wondering what's going to happen next. even when it became clear what the "twists" were, i was shocked and terrified at just the right times, i fell in love with sweet and sheltered Toadling, i fell in love again with gentle Halim, i cried buckets as usual, i want to go to sleep with my face just above the surface of the water in a swampy tangle of my magical pond creature adopted family. it's a story about persistently choosing kindness and love even when it doesn't change evil, it's a story about perspectives, and it hits me personally really hard right now at a time when i feel like i'm starting to emerge from a long holding-pattern-rut.

this is also a quick read, i think technically a novella, which is such a lovely bite-sized delight in my reading life and i'm glad there are more novellas around than there used to be!

the deets

how i read it: an e-galley from NetGalley! excited to pick this one up when it comes out! it's so nice to feel a little bit like i'm on top of what's new and good.

try this if you: dig fairy tales and changeling stories, delight in a sweet and good and unassuming main character, get weepy about found families, or ever just wanted to be a toad so that life would be simpler.

some lines i really liked: another one where i have to resist the urge to just reproduce the entire book here

She learned that her ideas of beauty were wrong and of no use to anyone. In her world, the Eldest was the most beautiful, swollen with power and secrets and the deaths of her enemies. Duckwight was beautiful, with her patience and her quick, many-jointed fingers. Reedbones, who had enormously long, thin arms and who could swim side to side like an eel, swifter than a kelpie could run, was beautiful. Toadling, who was small and slow and could not breathe water, did not consider herself beautiful, but it hurt to learn that she was homely and her family were considered among the most hideous of Faerie.

---

"Next?" said Toadling. "I'm supposed to hurl this mixture of moly and salt in your face," he said doubtfully. "But that seems quite hostile." "Do it." She closed her eyes. She felt an absurd smile on her face and couldn't quite stop it. He still could not bring himself to hurl the mixture. She felt salt and herbs patter gently on her cheek. It did exactly nothing.

---

The moonlight was silver and the grass dense as fur. Toadling sat by the banked fire, watching the hillside shake itself and become a hare with eyes that held the moon.

pub date: August 15, 2023!

[therealhawkball]

That one Dragonbreath book

[bootstraplemon]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Dragonbreath : Revenge of the Horned Bunnies, Ursula Vernon, good condition.

[annarellix]

A House with Good Bone by T. Kingfisher

In this ordinary North Carolina suburb, family secrets are always in bloom.

Samantha Montgomery pulls into the driveway of her family home to find a massive black vulture perched on the mailbox, staring at the house. Inside, everything has changed. Gone is the eclectic warmth Sam expects; instead the walls are a sterile white. Now, it’s very important to say grace before dinner, and her mother won’t hear a word against Sam’s long-dead and little-missed grandmother, who was the first to put down roots in this small southern town. The longer Sam stays, the stranger things get. And every day, more vultures circle overhead…

Book page: https://titanbooks.com/71418-a-house-with-good-bones/

My Review: I think this is book is a sort of love child of Tennessee Williams and classic horror tropes adding a good dose of contemporary horrors in the mix. It starts as a sort of going-back-to-your-parent's-home and finding that something is different, your mother behaviour is not the usual one. There's a sense of dread because some horrors are not paranormal but belongs to reality and as your mother gets old you can have to face a lot of fears. There are memories, there's some weird moments and there's a sense of dread and subterranean fears in crescendo. There's the family dynamics and they can be as horrific as any monster; they made me think of Tennessee Williams even if with different themes. If you expect a slasher or a gory horror beware that you must wait. You will get a good dose of horror and it will keep you on the edge while you're felling your adrenaline spiking. I had fun in reading this book, T. Kingfisher is an excellent storyteller and i liked Sam's voice as she's self-deprecating and brining a sense of dread at the same time. Sam's well rounded and relatable character as her mother.  My favourite was the grandmother, a sort of anti-hero and villain at the same time. The vultures, the insects and the house are the non-human characters. There's also another one that I won't reveal as it would be a spoiler but was quite terrifying for a keen gardener like me. A gripping, well plotted, entertaining, and truly terrifying at times. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Titan Books for this arc, all opinions are mine

The Author: T. Kingfisher is the adult fiction pseudonym of Ursula Vernon, the multi-award-winning author of Digger and Dragonbreath. She is an author and illustrator based in North Carolina who has been nominated for the Ursa Major Award, the Eisner Awards, and has won the Nebula Award for Best Short Story for “Jackalope Wives” in 2015 and the Hugo Award for Best Novelette for “The Tomato Thief” in 2017. Her debut adult horror novel, The Twisted Ones, won the 2020 Dragon Award for Best Horror Novel, and was followed by the critically acclaimed The Hollow Places. Website: https://www.redwombatstudio.com/ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7367300.T_Kingfisher Twitter: https://twitter.com/UrsulaV Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ursula.vernon

[flipface4]

This is gonna be a stretch but...

Is there anyone here who has read the Dragonbreath books by Ursula Vernon? I read a few of the books as a kid and loved them. I wanna reread the series, but I can't find a way to read them online without spending over $100 for the series. So I ask Tumblr, the place I have found obscure fandoms of books I read as a kid before, is there a place for me to read these books for free?

(also I already checked my local library, they're unavailable.)