#goddamn am i a sucker for this premise though…

[wereshrew-admirer]

i was looking through fatt pinup week stuff from last year and i’d completely forgotten i had already done “pseudo-academic boyfriend lured into swamp by a barefoot animal-transforming ex-farmer” … they’re even wearing the same clothes (<-not a surprise, my costume design is laughable)???

which is very funny, but also an accurate comparison of how i imagine their relationship dynamics…

[soursoppi]

Btw, if you ever have more mxtx or bnha recs you’d like to share just know,,, you reccomend such nice stuff and I would not complain 💕👀

Most of the BNHA fics I’ve been following haven’t updated in some time ;_; but I don’t think I’ve done a general MXTX rec so I’ll do that haha!

Talking to myself by velithya

(MDZS: XiCheng hints) Short but HITS HARD ;_; Basically a young Jiang Cheng gets a visit from his future self, and he gets to hear the words he so badly needs but never hears from his own family.

Status: Short one! Seems to be a series? Either way velithya always writes such good stuff ;_;

A Bit of Ruthlessness by jirluvien

(MDZS: XiCheng) Similar in premise to The Beginner’s Guide to Moving On (which has been deleted ;_;) but paced better and with punchier dialogue imo! I love the character voices in the letter writing, there’s a nice balance between the humor and the drama which is what I like best.

Status: Finished! At 110111 words it actually feels like a surprisingly fast read!

Ah, it all makes scents now~! by theWanderingHeart

(MDZS: Xicheng) If you like the soft fluffy parts of ABO but could do with less of the spicy stuff or angst- this is the ABO!AU for you! I’ve also done some art haha for Jo’s adorable ABO series! Very cute and funny hehe

Status: A series! A fluffy ABO series!

Poison in Your Veins by 2501987

(MDZS: Xicheng) An AU where Jiang Cheng is raised by his mom as the heir of Meishan Yu instead! Features mildly spicy JC and besotted LXC! Pretty interesting premise, and the first act of the series seems to be done, with hints for more!

Status: A Series, with the first act wrapped up! Probably with more to come!

tsundere sect leader gets papapa (times five)! by oh_fudgecakes

(MDZS: AllCheng) An all out glorious PWP that features JC getting the d every which way possible by WangXian and the 3zun. The only non-Xicheng spicy that tempted me enough to continue reading. Features some tender Xicheng moments if you’re a sucker like me hahaha.

Status: WIP! But goddamn is it juicy.

the blackest of rooms by cwnran (manatsuko)

(SVSSS: BingLiu) Basically a retelling of the original SVSSS where Liu Qingge becomes Luo Binghe’s Teacher instead. My FAVOURITE SVSSS fic tbh. Because of the perfection of the pacing and the writing. It is not a very light story though it does have a happy end!

Status: Finished! Pretty short, but it made me cry ;_;

Dual Cultivation series by acernor

(SVSSS: BingLiuShen) EXTREMELY SPICY. But also very cute follows LQG’s slow acceptance of the “feelings”. I am completely unable to read BingQiu now because of the glorious tsundere sexiness that is Acernor’s Liu Qingge, I keep waiting for them to woo LQG instead.

Status: FINISHED! Acernor writes a lot of tasty spicy stuff, my favs are her BingLiu(s) hehe

A War God From Another World by 月氣 (TheUmbraphage)

(SVSSS: Eventual BingLiuShen, currently LiuShen-ish) Liu Qingge is the one transmigrated this time, I LOVE THIS. The character voices feel really IC, and the world-building is really good (i.e authentic). It feels like something MXTX could have written! It’s fairly early in the story but still an extremely entertaining read!

Status: WIP, early in the first act and I’m crying a little because it’s been some time since the last update. But still a good read.

Same Deep Water As You by krypkaktus (Regndoft)

(TGCF: HXxSQX) Post-canon Beauty and the Beast-esque slowburn!!!! Beautifully written, slow, tender and full of healing ;_; I love the catfishes so much.

Status: 14/90..... it says haha... recently updated at least! Just take it a chapter at a time!

Returning Earth《天地緩緩 》 by iskendaris

(TGCF: HXxSQX) Exploration of He Xuan’s and Shi Qingxuan’s relationship from how they might’ve met, to what they might’ve felt for each other. An in-depth character piece, also very spoilery. No healing, mildly spicy, very nice world building and lots of pain.

Status: WIP! But the world setting does feel very authentically Ancient China-ish! I love that!

making a home to come back to by macdotexe

(TGCF: LQQxQR) Post-canon! Lang Qianqiu and Qi Rong figure out how to parent Guzi together! Slightly spicy, and very cute! I love the domestic-ness in this, and the slowly building UST between LQQ and QR haha.

Status: WIP, been a while since the last update but it’s still a satisfying morsel

So Says the Shapeshifter by foxflowering

(TGCF: LQQxQR) Post-canon spicy! Lang Qianqiu has Qi Rong in his hands at last, but before the spicy must come the character dissection (kinda literally lol)! This fic fleshes out Qi Rong’s character and motivations beyond the scraps we get in canon, really like the dialogue in this!

Status: Fairly short but fulfilling read!

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

I read a post you made recently and am very curious about who you ship Tom with?

Oh boy.

So, I should first state that while I write and live in this world we call the Harry Potter fandom I am a very strange person who isn’t too ship oriented. At least, I don’t think I am. Despite all appearances, I’m mostly here to write about Tom Riddle and even more Tom Riddle (only one Tom Riddle in a story? ADD A HORCRUX AND HAVE THEM BAR FIGHT!)

It’s always so strange to me that people genuinely go into writing a story with the basis being “I want to write X ship”. That’s not the way I think or start a plot. Now, the plots I come up with may happen to end up a certain ship, which sometimes is indicative of my preferences, but tell me to come up with some random Tomarry slash story and my response is “I have no idea”.

So, that’s the shipper mentality, onto the actual ships.

I’ve written a number of fics that are technically Tomarry but I don’t know if I’d call myself a shipper. I’ve written an explanation of why I’m more of a fake shipper than anything else. It really comes down to that it’s very easy to be flexible with Harry’s character/his position in society, I’m a sucker for redemption and stories about love, and with adjustments here and there to the characters you’re almost guaranteed a very good and creative story.

But if you look at what I write very few line up with traditional Tomarry tropes or even approach the pairing in a standard manner. You can’t really be a Tomarry shipper if you have Harry dump Tom, the pair don’t speak for twenty years, and Tom ends up marrying and falling in love with Harry’s mother. Such things are not done.

Still, of the more mainstream Tom Riddle/X fics, Tomarry to me is the most legitimate (I also have a giant rant on why I think Tomione is garbage). 

I wouldn’t call myself a shipper though, I just wear a Tomarry shirt and have somehow been mistaken for an expert.

Now, that said, I do ship Tom Riddle/Lily Evans.

Yes, you read that right.

In writing October I somehow convinced myself that that is the single greatest pairing since sliced bread. I have gone and actually searched through the entire Ao3 pairing tag (which is only like 30 fics but still) for this goddamn pairing. I have tried to convince others this is the greatest pairing since sliced bread. I could write novels on how this is the greatest pairing since sliced bread. While I don’t necessarily think of plots based on the premise “I want to write X ship today” somehow all of the plots I muse about but never get to writing end up Tom Riddle/Lily Evans.

It’s a disease. There is no cure. I’m sure this very paragraph has caused several readers to vomit in distress.

I could go into why, but that would triple the length of this post, so I won’t.

TL;DR

Tom Riddle/Lily Evans is where it’s at, yo.

[wordssometimesfail]

I really am here having a wholeass crisis over Kevin Can F**k Himself (only censoring it because the show does).

The season finale was SO GOOD, my heart was racing the whole time, the fucking almost-confession and the last scene were goddamn genius points to end the season on, if this shit doesn’t get renewed I will RIOT. If you were intrigued by the premise but never got around to watching it (or didn’t know it was out), HIGHLY recommend giving it a shot.

(Some wanky, spoilery shit below the cut)

But I’m also a bit bitter, because based on the almost-confession scene, it really does seem like they’re setting up PattyxAllison as endgame, or at the very least implied endgame (I know they’ve already made it explicit that Patty is queer, but you STILL never know). Which, on the one hand, awesome! I love them together, their relationship is beautifully built, and I’m always a sucker for problematic Crime Couples.

On the other hand, though, that really does sour the fact that the ONLY TWO POC in the cast are their respective love interests. Sam and Tammy are interesting characters with interesting roles to play in the drama, but if PattyxAllison is endgame, then they’re inevitably going to be written off in some way. They’ll get derailed, or killed, or put on buses without even the dignity of a resolution. And like... fuck. Goddamn. Again. It frustrates me, as much as I’m otherwise enjoying the show and DO actually want to see PattyxAllison happen, it’s fucking tiresome.

[spockandawe]

HEY THERE, you have me interested in The Untamed but I'm a little lost as to where to start, there's both a 50 episode normal version and a 20 episode special edition, which should I watch/start with? Also WHAT does your svsss tag stand for? I'm seeing "The Untamed" and "Chén Qíng Lìng" and "Mo Dao Zu Shi" and "Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation" thrown around as synonyms or related pieces of media, but nothing with svsss!

Sure thing!!

Okay, to start with, I’d definitely go with the 50-episode version. It’s a Lot, and there is some padding added to the story compared to the original book, but twenty episodes seems really, really short to do justice to the central plot 

(a quick skim of google tells me that the special edition leans harder into the original novel’s gayness, which the show has to be coy about, because china. i think there are expanded scenes featuring the two leads, which is awesome, because their acting is AMAZING, but that just means the plot scenes are even more compressed. I saw at least one person recommend that you not do the special edition unless you’ve consumed the story in at least one other more standard format already)

Also! Iirc, the show is available on youtube and netflix, among other platforms, though those two are wonderfully accessible. However, comma, I do hear from people fluent in chinese that the subtitles sometimes are inaccurate in unnecessary/unfortunate ways. From what I hear, viki has the best complete set of subtitles (I think there may be fansub projects in progress, but I am not at all in touch with those. I still haven’t watched the show myself).

And the general summary of my current webnovel fixation! There’s this webnovel author who goes by mxtx, who currently has three complete books out, which have all been translated into english. Then after I finished those, I started branching out into other authors and webnovels, though I’m not too deep into that end of the pool yet. I’ll break each book into a separate paragraph for clarity. 

Oh, and. Each of these books is explicitly gay, and set in ancient fantasy china, in a wuxia/xianxia setting, which I’m not too familiar with myself, but I believe it functions a lot like how authors will use ‘ancient fantasy europe’ as a playground where they don’t necessarily need to match up to established countries/cities/etc, but they expect readers to recognize certain conventions, like I’d be able to recognize a western author writing a basic feudal setting, or recognize witches and wizards, without them explaining the whole thing from the bottom up. Since I’m not familiar, it raised the difficulty level a little for me to get into the genre, but the webnovel translators tend to use footnotes and I picked up a lot as I went on.

(if you are interested in any of these, novelupdates.com is a good central resource collecting links to various fan translation projects)

So! Mxtx. Her earliest book is The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System (SVSSS), which is also the shortest and most linear of her books. The general premise is that a guy who’s been hate-reading this (straight) stallion harem webnovel with a dark protagonist. He goes to bed, and wakes up in the novel, as the protagonist’s dickbag teacher, who is doomed to eventually die horribly. He wants to not die, and is also a decent human being, so the book follows the “original” novel derailing from its intended path, and accidentally getting super duper gay. This one is about to come out in donghua form, but I think that may be its first non-book adaption.

Her second book, which was adapted into The Untamed/Chen Qing Ling (CQL), is also known as The Grandmaster Of Demonic Cultivation/Mo Dao Zu Shi (MDZS), which really manages to be the hardest of her books to summarize. Wei Wuxian, the grandmaster of demonic cultivation, dies. Thirteen years later, he wakes up in someone else’s body. Most of the world would like him to stay dead, tbh, but he’s a good egg, and he and his old friend(????) go forth and solve a necromantic mystery together, and also there is romance-romance and ten million family feelings. This one gets nonlinear, with several extended flashback sequences, and the story STARTS at about the midway point of the plot. This has been adapted into an audio drama at least once, a manhua, a donghua, and now a live action show, so it goes by a million different names in its various formats.

Her third book, and the LONGEST, is Heaven Official’s Blessing/Tian Guan Ci Fu (TGCF), and oh my god, it’s so long, and I love it so, so much. This gets into high fantasy much  more than the other two, including the idea that as people develop their cultivation and powers, they may eventually achieve immortality and ascend to the heavens. The story follows Xie Lian who achieved immortality and ascended to heaven! And then fell. And then ascended! And fell again. Eight hundred years later, he ascends for the third time. He meets Hua Cheng, the ridiculously powerful ghost king, who most of the other immortals are terrified of. But Hua Cheng seems to like Xie Lian! And Xie Lian thinks Hua Cheng is a sweet boy! (hua cheng is a sweet boy, but only for xie lian). This also has extended flashback sequences, but is a more linear story than MDZS, I think. Also it made me cry, which, wow, rude. I love it so incredibly much. This also exists as a manhua, but I think it’s still being published? I haven’t read it yet.

NOW. Mxtx is working on a fourth book, but it’s not out in chinese yet, never mind english. But I needed More. I was getting some SVSSS vibes from this one other book, which, *wobbly hand motions*, but I am enjoying the hell out of this book purely for its own sake.

Meatbun is an author with other books that I haven’t read yet, but I am currently in the middle of The Husky And His White Cat Shizun/Er Ha He Ta De Bai Mo Shi Zun (Erha/2ha), which is at this moment being adapted to a live action tv show called Immortality. There are MANY warnings that go with this book, though the google docs translation files do a good job of placing warnings at the front of every document and in front of relevant chapters. The general premise! Mo Ran basically conquered the entire world, put down all resistance by force, and was a super powerful but Kinda Dumb emperor. As part of this, he took his old teacher, who he despised with a burning passion, prisoner, and abused him a Lot. The story starts as rebels try to mount an assault on his palace, and Mo Ran’s cousin gets impatient with how slowly things are moving and runs ahead of the group. He finds that (suicide warning:) Mo Ran has... taken poison, and is in the middle of dying. This doesn’t stick. He wakes up as a teenager, apparently having traveled back in time, and starts living through events again, with the knowledge of his past life. It took me a while to warm up to this story, but ohhhh my goodness, it’s so TASTY. The translation for this one is ongoing, and I am in AGONY waiting for further updates.

So those are the ones I’m currently into and mostly blogging about! I also read Dreamer In The Spring Boudoir, mostly because feynite wrote an SVSSS fic set in the universe of that novel, which was good in some ways, left me cold in others (and the original novel is straight, with a society with rigid gender roles, so making it super gay in the fic made the setting much more interesting to me). Meatbun has other writing, which I haven’t sampled yet, but I am definitely interested in doing that sometime soon. 

Sorry, I know this is a LOT, so if you have any other questions feel free to ask me!! I got into these mostly via being interested in the untamed, so I read them as 1) mdzs, 2) svsss, 3) tgcf, 4) erha, which was an order that worked well for me. But if someone was looking for a general order to read them in, independent of that, I might suggest 1) svsss, 2) mdzs, 3) tgcf, 4) erha. They’re all really good, and scratch different emotional itches, and each of them has at least a few characters who sucker-punch me RIGHT in the goddamn heart. They’ve been a HUGE help for me dealing with the restlessness and/or apathy of quarantine, so I’ve been evangelizing them to pretty much anyone who will listen to me, hahaha

[spnfanficpond]

December Angel Fish Awards

Every month all of you fantastic writers work your asses off to post some truly incredible stories. Our Angel Fish Awards are the way for all of us, as a community of writers and readers, to lift each other up and give praise to those who have captured our attention and deserve a few kind words.

The monthly Angel Fish Awards are peer-nominated, meaning ANYONE IN THE POND CAN NOMINATE ANY POND MEMBER’S FIC. While the Pond was founded to support the Guppies, everyone in this community deserves to be showered with love and feedback, and we hope that by opening this up as a Pond wide system, we’ll be able to share the love as far as it can go.

NOTE: WE’VE BEEN HAVING OCCASIONAL PROBLEMS WITH ASKS GOING MISSING. Please use the Submit button when submitting your nominations and make sure you’re signed into Tumblr or your URL won’t show. (If the form asks for your name and email address, then you’re not signed in.) If you like, you can also send a message to Michelle or Mana to check and make sure we got your submission.

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, HERE ARE DECEMBER’S ANGEL FISH AWARDS!

Nominated by @princessmisery666​

Gone (oneshot) by @there-must-be-a-lock​

@impala-dreamer​’s end of year quickie challenge was a great one but this on by @there-must-be-a-lock​ stuck with me. So much emotion in under 500 words :) 

Why Can’t There Be A Santa (oneshot) by @risingphoenix761​

This was kinda heart breaking and fluffy and sweet all at the same. I love me some fluff!! 

Who’d Have Thought (oneshot) by @firefly-in-darkness​

Daisy got me all hot and bothered with this one and then unexpectedly pulled my heart out of my chest!! Love a surprise ending and a bit of smut!! 

Nominated by @flamencodiva​

A Series of Firsts (series) by @fictionalabyss​

I love her story a series of firsts! it is amazing to see the ups and downs and the alternate endings.

Wayward Hearts (series) by @foreverwayward​

This has to be my all time series re-write! I think Brittney captures the story so well and is able to weave Riley into the story as if she is actually a part of the show! Brittney does a good job in her storytelling and the romance between Dean and Riley is so innocent and pure! 

Moonstone (series) by @impala-dreamer​

This is one of my favorite stories by Beka! it was one of the first ones and it wasn’t the last I have read of her work. I love the dynamic and the story she wove in. I’m also always a sucker for a hero and protective Dean. 

His Property (series) by @negans-lucille-tblr​

This is an amazing fic! I love the bdsm and the way Dean is set up in this! It is a great and hot story as well as a well woven story of angst and unrequited love in the underlying reading. The twists and turns of this story also have you on the edge of your seat! 

Nominated by @wildfirewinchester​

About A Boy (series) by @percywinchester27​

The series is amazing, and it perfectly encapsulates Dean’s character. It also has enough hints here and there where you always think you know what’s going on (sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t), and then there’s a twist and you get to find out whether or not you were right! The idea is so original and I’ve never read a fic with the same premise. I’m always so excited when I see there’s a new part and I always have to read it right then and there.

Nominated by @sorenmarie87​

Five Minutes (series) by @idabbleincrazy​

This fic started out sweet, moved into angst and somehow rounded out with its ending.  I won’t spoil it for those who want to read it but it was worth it :)

What Hurts The Most (oneshot) by @iflostreturntosteverogers​

Carrie is great with writing angst and this fic, even though it was for a challenge, managed to do that with only 500 words.

Flip (oneshot) by @luci-in-trenchcoats​

It’s no secret that I love A/B/O fics but I think this is the first one that I’ve read that involves body-swapping.   

Nominated by @manawhaat​

Who’d Have Thought (oneshot) by @firefly-in-darkness​

Ok, the smut is lovely. Smut is always lovely, but what earns this a nom is the last fucking line. I was slapped in the face, hard, with the goddamn feelings. And as much as I hate that, I’m also a SLUT for that shit! 

A Different Kind of Therapy (series) by @saxxxology​

JESUS CHRISTO. There are only three chapters out right now but the whole premise behind this is just FASCINATING! I’ve read about different kind of meditative sex therapy, but the way this unfolds is really unique and honestly, I feel like this should be a fucking thing in the real world. It’s definitely worth checking out. 

Nominated by @lovetusk​

I’d like to nominate Special One (oneshot) by @evansrogerskitten​  & The marvelous lands of Sam’s chest (oneshot)  by @focusonspn​ for the simple fact that I am a Sam girl and a total sucker for not only Alpha Sam, but also his chest hair. Yum.

Nominated by @impala-dreamer​

Renegade (oneshot) by @princessmisery666​  

Very nicely done!! The descriptions were lovely and I heard Billie’s voice so clearly!

Bite Me (oneshot) by @maddiepants​

OMGOMGOMG me toooooo!!! This is just perfectly delicious and naughty and… sames. Sames… the TEETH!!!!!

Ghost Rider (oneshot) by @squirrelnotsam​ 

I LOVED THIS SO MUCH! Such a clever idea! Like, of course he would attach himself like that! And he’s still so …DEAN. protective and sassy and Y/N is perfect. I loved this a whole bunch!!

Nominated by @thegirlwhorunswithwinchesters​

Strong leader type having to physically fall down in order for people to see they’re exhausted (oneshot) by @imagineteamfreewill​

I decided to start the new year off right by finding my way back into the world of tumblr spn fics after an unplanned hiatus. And what better way to do so than by spreading the love through these amazing awards? This is the first fic I came across and I immediately fell in love. Anything that emphasizes how amazing and hardworking Sam is - and how he deserves a break and all the love in the world - is something I’ll defend with my life.

Vision of Love (series) by @princessmisery666​

Second fic I wanted to put a spotlight on is this prequel to an amazing series by an amazing author. I remember reading parts of this before I went MIA and I cannot wait to finish the series and find out what happened now that I’m back. For now, I’m reveling in the wonder that is this fluffy prequel.

The marvelous lands of Sam’s chest (oneshot)  by @focusonspn​

If this isn’t a mood, I don’t know what is. It’s hot, it’s sweet, it’s everything I’ll ever need. Yes, it is indeed so good that I felt the urge to rhyme.

Unstoppable (oneshot) by @evansrogerskitten​

Talk about sexual tension. I love the idea of the reader hiding her true nature and the consequences that had. On top of that, the author’s writing is amazing as always.

Christmas Gone Wrong (oneshot) by @peridottea91​

Next up on my mission to spread the love is this fun little domestic oneshot. I love the bickering and the jokes. Also, now I’m craving cookies.

Masterlist by @pink1031​

I was so excited when I saw this author on the new pond members list, meaning I could nominate her. She’s an amazing writer and I couldn’t possibly pick just one fic to nominate, so I went for the entire masterlist instead. Besides a talented writer, she’s also just an absolute gem who works hard and deserves to be recognized for it.

Nominated by @slytherkins

Recompense (oneshot) by @thoughtslikeaminefield

Pretty tasty. Kinda makes me want to piss Dean off. (But that might just be my inner Brat talking.) <3

Nominated by @thelittleredwhocould​/ @samsexualdeancurious​

Old Man (oneshot) @manawhaat 

This fic is a companion/sequel/alternate ending to one of my own fics and I LOVE it. I was so excited when Mana came to me with it. Some good old fashioned Alpha!John/Omega!Reader smut. So, so good.

Lucid Lies (oneshot) by @manawhaat 

Fucking love this fic. So, so good. I’m a sucker for a good djinn-related story cos they’re the perfect vessel for the best angst and this is no exception.

Maybe (oneshot) by @manawhaat 

Read this if you want to cry cos this has ALL the feels. All of them.

A Bed is a Bed (series) by @saxxxology​

I think this one is inspired by a play and Saxxy was texting me when she planned it out. So, so good. Saxxy does a great job setting the scene and unf the smut. *heart eyes*

About a Boy (series) by @percywinchester27​ 

I’m in loooooove with this series. I’ve never been big on young!Winchester fics but the premise of this is so good and the payoff is even better. I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

A stranger in need (oneshot) @percywinchester27​ 

I love the AU in this fic and I’m not gonna tell you what it is cos that would give everything away! This is just so good. Sam is such a sweetheart and I just adore him.

Caught (series) by @thecleverdame​ 

I’m just dying for the next chapter of this fic! The concept pulled me in immediately. There’s only two chapters on Tumblr so far but omg I just. Love it.

This is How (oneshot) by @mrswhozeewhatsis​ 

Angsty angsty angsty angst. Love it. I’m not the biggest Amelia fan but I this peak into Sam’s thought process and feelings at the beginning of s8. So good.

Thank you all for the awesome work and great feedback!

As with the BFAs, these are not actual awards! This system is set up so everyone in the pond has a chance to share the love and promote a fic/author that has grabbed your attention. The more people that participate, and the more everyone remembers to submit their own fics after posting, the better this will be :D

THANK YOU ALL AGAIN, KEEP UP THE AMAZING WORK, AND AS ALWAYS, HAPPY WRITING!

[dvk2]

I’ve read all but one of the fics you recommended lol. Blue bird is probably one of my top favorites. I wasn’t really one for the strangers au for Bakudeku but that one was just done really well.

Also I’m a sucker for slow burns, so if you have any more of that type of fics to recommend, I’d love to read them.

GODDAMN IT im sorry :((( at least one of them u havent read but hvhdhdhvkbjfjv :((( i feel bad bjvhvjv

and i feel the exact same about bluebird!!! in bakudeku fics i much prefer to have them be childhood friends bc i think its one of their strongest aspects but bluebird was just way too good to not love!!!

this one is a slow burn, soulmate and university au with bkdk meeting again after a long time, though it’s quite popular so you may have already read it, this is a rly nice canon fic w slow (ish) burn, this is one where deku has amnesia, this isnt a slow burn but it is incredibly cute and has a unique premise so id recommend it

since u were asking for recs i sort of presumed u hadnt read many, if ure quite invested it makes this a lot more difficult overall kvjv

other than that i cant think of much ;; its very late at night where i am so my brain is a little frazzled , and i only started bookmarking fics recently so i just dont have very many bookmarked..

im sorry there werent many new ones :(( i really feel bad now :((( its quite hard to find good bakudeku fics bc so many of them r just abo sex trash and its such a waste of a ship w so much potential but ANYWAY i digress, sorry again that i didnt really have anything new for you ^^’

[redredribbons]

@ckret2 SAME I enjoyed it far more than I expected! My only gripe is that I wish more time had been spent on like, actual character moments instead of explaining the mechanics of the Tony Stark AI conquest but this is superhero comics, lol. It also got me thinking of another post I made awhile back about how, in some versions of canon, it’s taboo for symbiotes to form close emotional bonds with their hosts. Given that symbiotes are immortal and would have to live through repeated anguish of mortal beings they love dying, again and again until oops, one Symbiote’s grief was so intense it tore the the universe apart. I can kind of understand the taboo. And yeah, watching Venom carry the torch for trillions of years, never giving up in the face of impossible odds, and then finally deciding the ultimate sacrifice was worth it to re-create the whole damn universe so humans (and Eddie) could exist again— even though Venom knew this would mean its own end and that it would never meet Eddie in the newly created universe. The whole premise is preposterous but also SO GODDAMN ROMANTIC, I am a sucker for it through and through

@kitausuret My main thought on this is, I wish that Marvel Comics had coherent canon about... anything involving Venom and symbiotes??? Each Venom writer basically seems to cherry-pick whatever tidbits of previous canon strike their fancy, and then add a generous coating of Shit They Themselves Just Now Made Up (Venom’s god-powers in this issue being a PERFECT example lmao), that future writers might utilize, or actively retcon, or just pretend never happened. Marvel’s editorial standard for Venom seems to be “whatever sounds cool and badass at the moment”. THAT SAID, it hurts so much when your favorite character not only gets a shitty death but is then forgotten about wholesale and/or posthumously disrespected (this is what happened to my fave in Transformers and... yeah). Marvel should get their shit together and tell a consistent story about Flash’s role in Venom’s life, not to mention all the associated lore about the Klyntar hive mind— you deserve that (well, fans In General, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say especially you!)

[elliepassmore]

Persephone Station ARC Review

4/5 stars Recommended for people who like: sci-fi, crime rings, soft-hearted mercenaries, multiple POVs, kickass women, aliens, AI, space operas, LGBTQ+ Review of the NetGalley ARC This book has such a good premise and it does, by and large, deliver. You've got a hostile planet, mercenaries, honor, aliens (and the question of who is actually an alien), and the powerful antagonist. It does come across a bit differently than I'd been expecting, but I found myself enjoying it and was sucked into the world and the characters. The book isn't predictable, though there are a few moments where it is, but again, by and large, the twists were well projected without being predictable. Somethings I will say is that the beginning is a bit messy, the ending was kind of 'eh,' and I would've liked a bit more of an explanation for some things. For the beginning, Leicht introduces a bunch of characters and narrators within the first few chapters and it was difficult to get a feel for who everyone was and which narrator was talking. It got better after the first 5-6 chapters, but that beginning did make it difficult to attach to any of the characters due to skipping heads. Also, on a related note, the book is kind of slow for the first 30% or so. The ending was decent enough, I do think that it was a little too easy to get one over on a certain AI, but my main problem with the ending is the deus ex machina bit we had with the ship at the end. *SPOILER* Like, how in the world did Lou manage to wake up from her edge-of-death coma and wake up well enough to fly a goddamn space ship? It just didn't make sense to me, especially since we didn't get any explanation, not even a quick like about the Emissaries healing her. I was also confused by why Rosie wanted Kennedy to tell the authorities that Angel, Lou, and Enid had killed Archady, it didn't seem to serve the plot at all. *SPOILER END* Other than those things, I thought the book was pretty good. Like another reviewer, I did think there would be a sequel, which I think would be awesome, but it did wrap up in a way that doesn't really require one. Angel de la Reza is the main character and the captain of the mercenary team. She has a bit of an interesting tug-and-pull between honor and duty, where she was raised with a rather strict sense of honor but also works as a mercenary for hire, which doesn't always align with those senses. Regardless, she does her job well and is loyal to her boss, Rosie, and to her friends, Lou and Enid. She's relatively no-nonsense while still being funny, which turned out to be a nice combination, particularly when paired with the rest of her crew and the general weirdness of their mission. I definitely liked her narrative chapters the most, which is probably good since she is the main narrator. Rosie is one of the other narrators, though even seeing into their head it's hard to get a read on them. For the most part they seem to be going for the humane, 'right side' of things, though they are (potentially) a crime boss, so they do veer into questionable territory a couple of times. I also liked Rosie as a character, except for that one scene I already referenced in the second spoiler above, and was intrigued about their story. I also liked their cat, I thought that was a nice, cute touch. I think it could be interesting to get a prequel story focusing on Rosie (and, okay, fine, maybe also Vissinia, but I found her a good deal less interesting). Kennedy is the last narrator and is another one I'd be happy to see a book about, prequel or sequel. Kennedy Liu is the daughter of the famed Dr. Liu, who worked in AI and xenobiology. Kennedy makes an interesting character because she's an AI in a lab-made human body (not a spoiler), and thus is constantly connected to the rest of the internet and her AI sisters (with whom I believe she trades body time with). She and her sisters are the first (?) AIs with emotion and so she has this interesting balance of straight analytical logic and deep-seated empathy. One of my favorite combinations of this is her running numbers in her head as a self-soothing technique; it's definitely something a computer would do, but the motivation behind it is so entirely human, I though Leicht did a fantastic job balancing the two. Lou is a non-narrating main character and pilot with Angel's crew. She definitely acts as comedic relief while still being sensible and useful. I think Lou was definitely the funniest of the characters, she's got such a 'fuck-all' attitude about things, but is rather hard core about the things she does want to care about. She's supportive of her friends, but still willing to call them out on their BS. Enid is sort of a member of Angel's crew as well. She has her own ship and the two of them work together on occasion, though she's not officially a member of Angel's team on Persephone. Enid is the kind of character who is largely grumpy, but in a way that comes across as light and humorous rather than annoying. Very much like the friend who is Not A Morning Person. Her main running plot is that she has a secret that she is, at first, unwilling to share but then the group keeps getting into situations where it's rather inconvenient to be doing any kind of non-topic-related sharing. I liked her a lot and though Leicht did a good job subtly showing her contamination-based OCD without falling into typical tropes. The Emissaries were interesting, even if their tactics were sometimes frustrating. I, of course, am a sucker for hidden cities and people. Blame The City of Ember , it was a formative influence. While it seemed like they could've circumvented their problem re: Vissinia sooner by simply doing what they ended up doing at the end of the book, I also understand why they chose not to and think Leicht did an okay job integrating that 'but logic says...' with the Emissaries' reasoning. I will say, though, that this part of the plot did feel kind of messy, but perhaps since Angel and co. are mercenaries, it isn't meant to feel too personal/informative and that stuff was all supposed to come from Rosie, which it did for the most part. Overall I think Persephone Station is a good book, particularly once you get past those first several head-hopping chapters. The characters were all well-rounded and there are a couple I'd like to see more of in Leicht ever decides to write another book in this universe.

[sieben9]

Guess what I’m watching! (It’s SGU)

Men in Black—you’re doing it very nearly right

I’m doing this in a sort-of parallel watch with @celticheartedfangirl and before anyone wonders: yes, I am about 95% here for Rush. The remaining 5% are “for the Stargate stuff” but if it was mainly for that, I’d finish SG-1 first. And watch Atlantis. You get the gist. Rush is an massive asshole and I completely fell for the damn opera music scene. Like a sucker. ...still want to punch him, though (Someone get this man to eat something and to take a goddamn nap) I can see why this character has so much crossover potential.

Also, that is a lot of characters. I think I’ll need a chart to keep track of them all, actually. (So far, I have, Eli, Guy From Sense8, Sad Politics Girl, Boss Guy, Nurse, Permanently Annoyed Colonel, Shouty Guy, Civilian Lady, and Rush.)

The episode is a competent setup of the premise and the character relationships (I’m especially fond of the budding rivalry/mentorship between Eli and Rush) and the character death definitely established a tone. Current main question: Are Rush and Boss Guy going to murder each other at some point?

(Btw, I’m not planning to do consistent impression posts like with OUaT; this is more in the vein of “well, since I’m here already…”)

[badanimereviews]

winter 2019 anime review so far!

Now I’ve watched at least two episodes of each show of this season (that I have chosen to watch) and I must say that I don’t think this is too bad of a season. Without giving too many spoilers, I’ll share what I think about them so far!

Boogiepop wa Warawanai: animation’s great so far. It’s spooky but really interesting. I love the op, I just listen to it on repeat for an hour. Sometimes the story is a bit confusing, but that might just be me, as I get confused when shows. books jump ahead/ back in time without much indication. I’m able to figure what’s going on eventually, though. It’s really, really good.

Dororo: at first I thought it would be more of a show for younger audiences, cause the main character is a little kid, and personally, I never really enjoyed series whose protag was younger or waaay older than me. But nope. It’s not!! It’s a dark samurai kind of thing! And I love that! It’s freaky! Baby Hyakkimaru is frickiden terrrifyying I could get nightmares from that sunovabish. But animation is great and the op is great and I’m suuuper excited for it~

Egao no Daika: imma be honest, I didn’t think I’d like this show at all. It didn’t have a really enticing premise, actually, I’m not sure why I decided to watch it at all???? But I did. And ho. It’s… completely different from what I expected. No spoilers, but it’s— like- it pretends to be a cheery and simple mecha anime about a princess. then it kinda gets a bit dark. and it’s good. and i really like the character designs.

Endro~! : i’m a sucker for cute magical girl shows. it’s really, really cute *squeals* i can’t contain my heart at the cuteness it just **screammmmamammams**** guilty pleasure? probably. but it’s cute. did i say that already? i like the character designs and the voice acting~~

Grimms Notes the Animation: i’m always a little skeptical with video game adaptations, but some have actually turned out to be really good. this one though, as it is from a video game, has nice, detailed character designs, of which i am a sucker for. animation, meh, story, meh? but it’s not horrible. i might drop it, if it doesn’t pick up cause it’s a little slow but oh well.

Mahou Shoujo Tokushusen Asuka: hmm. i thought this one’d be bad as well but i thought i’d try it just in case, so I’m glad that I did. the animation is okay, could be better in some aspects, but the action scenes are really nicely choreographed. and magical girl rapture is Hot i mean Hot i love the character design! it seems like something i would design!!!! i like how it’s delving into the darker aspects of battling monsters? i’m seeing some ptsd action going on. can’t say i hate it. it’s more realistic than most others of these kinds of anime.

tate no yuusha no nariagari: i think i already wrote about this, so if i’m repeating myself, oopsies. but this is important to reiterate!! this! show! is! fufkkcing! amazing! i read the manga! one of my fav mangas! animation is great! character designs are nice! specially older raphtalia! Hot! I love the action! i fucking love naofumi! i named one of my own characters after him! it’s so great!!!!! the anime is definitely doing the manga/ ln justice. i can die in peace. So GODDAMN GOOOOOOOOOOOd if you aren’t watching it you fucking should or i will, boil your teeth. thanks for tuning in.

(accidentally posted this on my other blog -_-)

[veliseraptor]

If Lise recommends it, i've thought, than it may be good - so i've looked up the Wheel of Time series. But i find the premise offputting, since it's a magic world in which i couldn't use any magic at all. But since the plot seems dull (it does, from just the premise,) then it must be the characters that you like, i'm thinking. So, the question is - which characters do you find sympathetic there, and why?

well, I personally do not find the plot dull - I’m a sucker for epic scope narratives, and while on the surface Wheel of Time is very “good vs. evil, one big battle for the end” there are a lot of ways in which it’s...more complicated than that? and also expands way beyond that to encompass all of these other stories and narratives and things happening. I mean, there are fourteen books before the actual Last Battle, and things happen in those fourteen books. 

but that aside - yeah, probably it is mostly the characters, because I’m always most drawn to the characters in basically any story. and my faves here, though this is of necessity an abbreviated list (because there are a lot of characters, and my reread has made me very “I love everyone in this bar”) are:

Rand al’Thor: my depressed fuckup child. I wrote recently about why I like Rand so much even though on the face of it he’s the Big Damn Hero, which isn’t usually the type I’m drawn to, and it’s because he’s also a Big Damn Mess who fucks up a lot of the time, is very far from perfect, and really fucking suffers along the way. Like, there’s a lot in Rand’s story about the price of being a Chosen One, and a whole bunch of other stuff I find really interesting. 

Tuon: problematic fave Tuon, who is, like, probably one of the ultimate in problematic faves but I love her so much. She’s canny and sharp and very, very capable, I love her pragmatism and determination. She’s also one of the very interesting characters I’m planning on talking about in a future essay on cultural relativism in this series.

Min Farshaw: like, there’s certainly criticism to be leveled against Min about the fact that the vast majority of her arc is about her relationship to Rand, and that’s entirely fair, but I love her. She’s down to earth but also incredibly smart (she develops a taste for fuckin dense philosophy, which I kind of love), she’s perceptive (and not just because of her foretelling abilities) and just has a great big heart. love her

Egwene al’Vere: I wasn’t a big Egwene fan on my first read - didn’t hate her like a lot of people do, but didn’t love her either - and this reread has made me really love Egwene. She has a lot of qualities that are often seen as negative ones - she’s ambitious, for one, and that’s very apparent from early on, and she absolutely has a ruthless streak that also becomes apparent early. But she takes those supposedly negative qualities and boy does she make hay out of them. I still am meaning to write an essay about the way Egwene and Rand’s development parallels and contrasts against each other - the three male ta’veren get a lot of attention as “main characters” but I think overlooking Egwene especially as a very main character is a mistake.

Mat Cauthon: he’s very “trickster cad” trope on the face of it but what I like about Mat is that, like so many of the characters in this series who have a base trope, he transcends it. I almost used for his Onion headline “Man Beginning to Realize He Stands For Something” and I definitely think that’s some of Mat’s arc - he spends a lot of time trying to avoid his responsibilities but when they fall into his lap he picks them up and deals with them. And he deals with them really well, too. It’d be very easy for Mat to be a stock scoundrel type character but he is a lot more complicated than that.

Nynaeve al’Meara: Nynaeve “I will fight the whole goddamn world to get what I want” al’Meara, accept no substitutes. Another one I didn’t appreciate enough until this reread, Nynaeve is just...a delight. She’s determined, stubborn, a little temperamental and very hard-headed, and I love her. She’s a healer, but again she’s not limited to just being that. 

but also Aviendha, and Moiraine, and a whole bunch of Forsaken - I love a lot of characters in this series, is what I’m saying. 

Wheel of Time has its flaws, certainly, but if I’ve realized anything in this reread it’s that I still really love this series. maybe it’s just my nostalgia goggles. but maybe also it isn’t.

[elusianknight]

Can you recommend any good tv series, movies, games, books (anything) that has happy lesbians with happy endings? :>

Ooooh okay!I don't watch many movies, but one that comes to mind is Carol ( (2015) dir. Todd Haynes lmao). It has a happy ending, no one dies, it's Very Gay and honestly #aesthetic. Books: like, anything by Malinda Lo, she's a lesbian Asian YA author who writes great books! Ash is my favorite, it's like a lesbian retelling of Cinderella but I hesitate to reduce it to such simple terms. Huntress is a prequel to that in the same world but centuries before. She has another series called Adaptation but I haven't read it, but I'm sure it's good. Bi protag with a lady love interest I think?Wildthorn by Jane Eagland is also very good! Again I think it qualifies as YA but honestly it has rather dark themes. Takes place in Victorian England where our dear protag is wrongly thrown in an insane asylum. It is very gay, and ends very happily, much more so than you'd expect from such a dramatic, dark premise!Sword of the Guardian by Merry Shannon was fun to read, too. I'm a sucker for medieval fantasy of any kind so if it had lesbians, I'm frickin there. MC is a butch lady who masquerades as a dude and ends up as a princess's bodyguard. They fall in love and there is drama. But an ultimately happy end! Not YA, by the way. Also, the writing and world building is not the best, but even a writing snob like me really enjoyed it. The Thousand Names is another amazing book! It is the first book of the Shadow Campaigns series, and of the two protags, one of them is a (freaking delightful) lesbian named Winter Ihernglass (what a cool name, right?). It's an incredibly well-written fantasy setting with rich worldbuilding, magic, and also guns... It's amazing. The story keeps you on the edge of your seat, through fierce battles as well as politics. The other main character is also very likable. Also, though the series hasn't ended yet, Winter has had like 783 Prime Death Opportunities™ and yet she's still alive and well, so like, yay for (dare I say it?) plot armor. Lesbians don't get that very often lol.Games: Dragon Age is what first comes to mind here. Fun little story: I bought DA2 when I was like 13 or so and my baby gay self was absolutely in love with the adorable bi elf Merrill, but yanno... I was still Totally Straight™. Anyway, don't start with the second game in the series, because nothing will make any goddamn sense. Start with...Dragon Age: Origins- the first of the Dragon Age games, and personally my favorite. In all three games, you make your own player character however you like, and there are multiple romance options. In DAO, your female romance option as a lady is Leliana, a charming bisexual bard who is just A+ and my favorite character of the whole damn series. The game itself is great and while you CAN net yourself a tragic ending, you have to do very specific things to get there--as in, a happy ending is VERY achievable. I have only ever gotten some ultra gay happily ever afters. Dragon Age 2 has two awesome bi ladies to romance (the aforementioned Merrill and the amazing pirate queen Isabela). People rag on the game a lot but like, don't worry, it's not as bad as anyone says it is. It has its flaws, but it tells a good story with great characters. Dragon Age Inquisition is the latest installment of the series and has, as your available female romance options as a female main character, a brilliant bi lady named Josephine who is your amazingly skilled chief diplomat, and a delightful lesbian named Sera who I love with all my little gay heart tbh. This game has a LOT to do in it, and as for the endings, some Drama™ happens but as for your relationship, they will remain happily together. The lady main character and Sera even get... gasp... MARRIED. Yup, that's right, you get a Big Lesbian Wedding. It's fucking awesome. Also, Sera ends up with a cute girlfriend if you're not in a relationship with her so like... The lesbians are always happy. And Josephine's romance is really cute! I know I mentioned Sera more bc I've romanced her more, but seriously Josie is like a Disney princess. You literally participate in a duel to win her affections until she stops you mid duel because she's afraid of her love getting hurt. It's so fluffy and cute omg.If you've been following me tho, all that dragon age stuff is probably old news lmao. So here are some more games!Mass Effect: another Bioware game, your main character can be gay! Though there is a lot of Dramu and World Shattering Stuff and the ending is not exactly happy, so I can't really add it to the list. But you can be gay and happy throughout the series. It's just hard to get a good ending, and even the happiest ending is ambiguous. Dragon's Dogma: this is one of my favorite games ever. It's so much fun, another medieval ish fantasy RPG, but the gameplay is amazing. There's a romance system that isn't very in depth, but still relevant to the story, and there are no restrictions based on gender, so you can be a gallant lady knight and rescue the damsel in distress and also smooch her if you're so inclined. The whole game has about 0 differences based on gender do honestly that's pretty cool. As for endings, you can get a happy ending with your character and their love interest. You can also get some not-so-happy endings but it's all based on player choice.Life is Strange is another game whose ending isn't all that happy, but the two main characters, based on player choice, can be in a relationship (implied enough that it IS canon) and both live. There is a shit ton of drama and trigger warnings tho. But really it is an amazing game.In the same vein of Dragon's Dogma, there's Skyrim, where like you can kinda do whatever you want in the game, and one of those things is that you can marry characters regardless of gender. There are some characters who you can't marry because of plot or whatever (in Dragon's Dogma there are only... 3 characters you can't romance iirc whereas there are more in Skyrim) but yeah, you can still be a big ol lesbian. I have never finished Skyrim bc like, again, you kinda just do whatever you want, but the ending is kinda inconsequential in that you can keep doing whatever you want after the main plot is over. So yeah, never ending lesbians. Sweet.I should honestly be able to think of more examples but for the moment I'm having trouble D: @soothinghymn @orlesianwardens what gay games am I forgetting hereTV Shows: I'm not a big TV show watcher here, but there are some good shows w lesbians. Steven Universe comes to mind. Yes it's a kids show, but it is a damn good one. There's drama but it's also very feel-good, and one of the characters is literally a lesbian mad up of two smaller lesbians who are madly in love with each other. Like, shit, that's just awesome.I'm a dork so I'll also give you anime recs, so in that regard I'd recommend Shuumatsu no Izetta/Izetta the Last Witch. It's kind of a spoiler that they get a happy ending, but hey, whatever, they do. The main couple doesn't kiss or anything but it is HEAVILY IMPLIED and there are no other love interests for the characters and they share an amazing bond and just love each other so much, it's great. The show is sliiiightly violent and takes place in like an AU of WW2 which is weird (one of the characters, Izetta, is a witch, so it's like an ~alternate history~ situation where a witch is involved in the war) but the show is still very enjoyable, great soundtrack too.Madoka Magica is kinda iffy, bc while it's my favorite anime of all freakin time, the show has a bittersweet ending. It is relatively happy? And kinda sad? The show is filled with tragedy, but I guess that's kinda the point. And then the follow-up movie is more despair, so... yeah, probably doesn't count as happy.A notable mention is Yuri On Ice, also. It doesn't involve lesbians, but the main couple is gay and they ultimately have a happy ending. There's some inevitable drama but the show is about ice-skating, so while it may seem like the world is sometimes ending, everything turns out okay in the end and no one, like, dies or anything.Anyway, I can't think of much else at the moment, but feel free to ask for more! Maybe I'll be able to come up with more examples later lol.

[irrationallyoptimistic-blog1]

this month: 6 books

all the light we cannot see by anthony doerr

the glass castle by jeannette walls

a wrinkle in time quintet by madeleine l’engle

wicked like a wildfire by lana popović

a darker shade of magic by v.e. schwab

zero repeat forever by g.s. prendergast

see below the readmore for brief descriptions and my thoughts on each book !

purchased:

yes, i know it’s almost christmas. yes,  i know i asked for pretty much just books for christmas. but i still bought some ! these are books that weren’t on my list, but called to me while i was looking around.  i ordered them a day or two before i left for maryland and by the time i got home, there they were ! in addition to the ones below, i also ordered the other mrs. walker by mary paulson-ellis. it’s supposed to come in january, so i’ll talk about that one then. everything in this category i ordered from amazon, the og online bookstore.

all the light we cannot see by anthony doerr:

so i’ve been hearing about this one for a while -- mostly from booktube. at first i remember thinking that maybe this wasn’t the book for me, but goddamn does that title sound good. it ended up being on sale on amazon, so i picked it up and decided to give it a try. reading the blurb now, i’m actually super into it? if i had just seen it on the shelf at a bookstore and read the back, i totally would have gotten it.

it’s set in world war ii era france, and centers on two kids on opposite sides of the conflict (if kids can even be on sides) who come together in “the walled citadel of saint-malo” (i LOVE walled citadels btw, always a sucker for those) and learn how to live in a world tainted by such an immediate tragedy.

this is definitely on the to-read list, but it’s not as high as the other (million) books on there. it’s one of those books where i’m going to have to wait for the right mood to strike to read this one.

the glass castle by jeannette walls:

another one i’ve heard a lot about. i think the first place i heard about this memoir was from a teacher in middle school who had just read it, and even then i was captivated by the premise. i never had a chance to pick it up until now when goodreads suggested it to me while i was doing some late-night book-shopping and i decided it was finally time.

jeannette walls writes about her family -- her parents’ inability to provide or nurture, and later their inexplicable refusal to accept help from their now-adult children.

honestly, this blurb alone really resonated with me. my dad moved around a LOT when he was a kid because his mom couldn’t hold down a job or make payments on the houses, and walls’s early childhood seems really similar. also, a major point in the blurb is the close-knitness of jeannette and her siblings. i have three sisters and after a #unfortunateseriesofevents (the hashtag is not silent) in our childhoods we’re all super close and would do absolutely anything for each other.

all in all, i’m super excited to read this memoir. it seems fascinating, and i’ve heard the writing is incredible. i am expecting to cry during this one. (UPDATE: read it. loved it. will post a review later.)

a wrinkle in time quintet by madeleine l’engle:

oh, madeleine l’engle. i read i think the first three books when i was a kid and never managed to make it to the last two. i reread the first one mayyybe a year ago? but never tried to go on to the other ones. i absolutely loved meg and identified really heavily with her, and this was one of those books that really defined my personality as a kid.

now, i’ve had some good and some bad experiences rereading books i loved as a kid, especially series. the phantom tollbooth held up, while the chronicles of narnia did not. turns out the whole thing is just the bible but with lion jesus. but i think this one’ll go over well. if i do read it soon, it’ll probably be all in a row during this break. it’s the kind of thing you’ve got to read all at once.

gifts:

every year i ask for books. every year my mom’s like “no, are you sure? don’t you want something other than books?” every year i’m like, no. just books. this year i went a step forward and provided her with my list of books i’ve been meaning to pick up. she delivered. thanks mom. just a note: the way i put books on that list is i see them (often on booktube !) and think to myself, huh, that looks neato. it’s not a hard list to get onto, so sometimes i don’t actually know anything about the book. it’s a fun guessing game.

wicked like a wildfire by lana popović:

first: love her name. like, as a whole. it’s a lovely name. second: love the cover. it’s a lovely cover. that’s probably how it got onto the list.

iris and malina live with their mother in a small village in montenegro. just like the rest of the women in their family, they have what they call gleams: iris perceives fractals in flowers and renders the designs in glass. malina hears the moods of people around her as though they were music. their mother jasmina has forbidden them to reveal their gleams. iris and malina of course decide that life is not for them. and then their mother is attacked and the girls unleash a curse on themselves. it happens.

reading the blurb, it definitely appeals to me. i’m really really hoping it focuses on iris and malina’s relationships with each other and their family, because no love interest is really mentioned in the blurb? and like, i know that there’ll probably be some kind of romantic subplot. but i’m hoping it’s minor, because everything else sounds far more interesting. also curious where the title comes from? the second book also has a fiery name, so. fire probably plays some kind of role in the series. probably. 

a darker shade of magic by v.e. schwab:

my best friend loves ve schwab. for almost a year she’s been recommending her books to me. i finally caved. well. i already had it on the list, my mom buying it for me just propelled it up my tbr.

kell travels between londons. grey london (mundane, ruled by a crazy king), red london (where magic is life and life is magic), and white london (slowly being destroyed by a magical war). he also smuggles things to and from these londons. where he doesn’t go, where no one goes, is black london. so when he ends up with an artifact from black london, it’s not exactly a great find. running into delilah bard, who robs him, then saves him, then makes him smuggle her between londons, doesn’t exactly improve the situation.

this sounds great actually ! i trust my friend’s taste, it just usually takes me forever to get to her recs. by this point i should really know that she’s got my number when it comes to fantasy books. smuggling? yes. what sounds like a very well-developed political and sociological system? yes. i’ll probably get to this one sooner rather than later.

zero repeat forever by g.s. prendergast:

uhh to be honest i did not remember putting this one on my list. neither the cover nor the blurb ring a bell. probably made it on there during a late night booktube viewing when i was avoiding studying for finals.

raven and her fellow campers can’t do anything. they’re trapped at a summer camp of all places when the nahx invade. raven is not exactly satisfied, but more forced, to remain helpless and without recourse. until her boyfriend is killed. on the opposite side, eighth has only one mission: to protect his partner. and then she’s killed. eighth and raven are on opposing sides of a battle that neither wants to be in. so why are they so strongly attracted to each other?

gonna be honest here folks. this book sounds very heterosexual. like, aggressively straight. like, i would not have picked it up at a bookstore after reading the inside cover. maybe it’s the men with numbers for names, but the tone almost reads like divergent to me? i’m not sure. just the vibe it gives off. i’m holding out hope that even if it is mostly focused on the romance, it’s well-developed, and the setting and plot are worth it.