#gonna go do that with 'chronicles of the necromancer' right now

[violetcomplains]

Does anyone else here go on goodreads to look up books you didn’t like and then filter to the one star reviews to bask in the salt? I sure do. 

[veliseraptor]

Hi, Lise......I can't help but want to ask (if you don't mind), what are your favorite (that you personally like) books or movies/ tv series that contains lesbias and gays? Thanks if you want to answer.....

wow I completely forgot this ask was sitting in my inbox and has been for a long while. and uhhhh the thing is here that I actually...feel like I don't have a separate category in my head, so much, for "media that has queer people in it" and "media that doesn't"? which like. feels weird to say, but when I get questions like this, or requests for recommendations, I always...struggle to parse these things out. and also to parse out, for instance, "books that read as having queer elements" from "books with explicitly queer characters."

but I guess if I'm gonna try...most of these are going to be books, with a few exceptions.

BOOKS

Doctrine of Labyrinths is a four book series that comes stamped with a whole list of content warnings (rape and child abuse chief among them, probably) but is also one of my favorite series of all time, so, you know.

The Masquerade series by Seth Dickinson also comes with a big "IT'S SAD. IT'S SAD AND DARK" warning, along with content warnings for serious societal homophobia, but is another one of my favorite series of all time. it's not that I hate happy queer stories or anything, I just tend to like stories that aren't happy

The Locked Tomb Trilogy by Tasmyn Muir which you've probably heard about by now, but honestly I think the common tagline of "lesbian necromancers in space" really doesn't...cover it? It's funny, it's weird, it's unique in terms of setting, story, and magic system, it's doing some very interesting things and I can't wait to find out where Muir is going with it. it's very much stylistically not something that's going to work for everyone, but I would recommend giving it a go and finding out if it works for you.

I loved the series by Lara Elena Donnelly that starts with Amberlough, but that one's definitely Rise of a Fascist State and therefore might not be everyone's cuppa right at the moment.

Oh, Imperial Radch by Ann Leckie is very queer, not in terms of, like, "these characters are explicitly gay" but more in terms of what she's doing with gender. I don't know that I'd say it's a central part of the book but it's an important enough piece of the worldbuilding at least that I'd put it here. I don't actually remember, textually, but Machineries of Empire also feels very queer to me in a similar sort of way. A queer theory sort of way, maybe? idk.

this one's a sort of...not for me exactly but it was cool rec, but The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon was very classic fantasy in a lot of ways, but gay, and with some fresh twists on old tropes.

COMICS

The Wicked and the Divine by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie. look, it's just really good and not just for the queer. I need to do a reread from the top.

TV

I am really enjoying Motherland: Fort Salem actually, which I feel like people either aren't aware of or watch the first couple episodes and get turned off, but. one of the three main characters is lesbian, and sticks her hand down another girl's pants in like. the second episode? maybe even the first one, I don't remember.

Person of Interest doesn't introduce its gay until later in the series, but if you're anything like me as far as what you want in relationship dynamics you're in for a treat.

Yes, it is an animated children's show, but She-Ra and the Princesses of Power gave me such a gift it still makes me emotional because I'm going like. is this what it feels like to get what I want, canonically, in a piece of media? wow.

look, I'm putting The Untamed on here because (a) it is based on a gay webnovel and is pretty fucking gay considering the limits of censorship, everybody in the cast knows it and is playing it, and (b) some of the secondary relationships come off, I would argue, even gayer in the live action, probably because there are actor people putting them right in front of your face. (because the discourse is what it is: censorship isn't progressive, etc., but this is my list and I'm putting MDZS on here too.)

THOSE CHINESE WEBNOVELS I WON'T SHUT UP ABOUT

like, seriously. I mean, look, they take some work getting into because reading works in translation that come from a culture that you (general Anglophone you) may or may not be familiar with on one level or another actually does come with having to learn some shit and get used to some new things about genre and style, and reading webnovels maybe even more so, but as far as I'm concerned it's worth it.

so far the ones I've read are (titles in English, with common abbreviation, mostly from the Chinese) Heaven Official's Blessing (TGCF), Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (MDZS), Scum Villain's Self Saving System (SVSSS), The Husky and His White Cat Shizun (erha or 2HA), and (still finishing but at this point feel pretty comfy recommending) Clear and Muddy Loss of Love (JWQS).

there are several others on my list that I've had recommended and just haven't gotten to yet. my favorites personally are probably TGCF and 2HA, but I'm pending a reread of MDZS with a different translation to do my final assessment there and JWQS is giving me a lot of very good shit.

(I feel like I have to mention, because I'd be remiss if I didn't while I'm talking about ~personal preferences~, that the Coldfire Trilogy is astonishingly queer in my memory for one of the central relationships although it's been years since I read it, admittedly, and the Lymond Chronicles which is a series I love dearly is also incredibly queer, particularly for a series written in the 60s, and is like. juuuuust barely shy of having a canonically bisexual protagonist. and does have an explicitly lesbian secondary character, though fair warning, she, uh, does have it pretty rough.)

there's also some books that didn't make it on here even though they have queer characters because I felt like the queerness of those characters was not really key to the story, for instance the Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin, which is fantastic in its own right and I would recommend to everyone, but didn't quite feel like it fit this post.

I'm almost certainly forgetting stuff, but I did my best.

[necroarchy]

ARTHAS’ RP PLOTTING CHEAT-SHEET!

Want new-and-exciting plots for your character? Long to reach out to more of your followers, but don’t know where to start? Fear not! Fill out this form and give your RP partners both present and future all the of juicy jumping off points they need to help you get your characters acquainted.

Be sure to tag the players whose characters YOU want more cues to interact with, and repost, don’t reblog! Feel free to add or remove sections as you see fit. Template here.

Mun name: Frost

OOC Contact: Ask/IMs. Discord if we’re close.

Who the heck is my muse anyway?

   Arthas Menethil is the Lich King of the Scourge, which means that he is the tyrannical god-emperor of various undead creatures (zombies, ghosts, wights, vampires, and Frankenstein-esque monstrosities just to name a few). He was originally a heroic, benevolent man before falling to evil and deciding he liked it down in the dark.

   In addition to his Scourge, he is worshiped and obeyed by an assortment of organizations of various living beings, and even a certain pack of werewolves. He is the most powerful necromancer in the world, and has aspirations of killing everyone to raise them as subjects for his kingdom of the dead.  

Points of interest:

Fall of the Lich King happened, wherein he died after Frostmourne was shattered. Bolvar was the Lich King for a while. Kel’Thuzad eventually found and stole Arthas’ body before resurrecting his lord, and they gallivanted around Azeroth during the Cataclysm, trying to find the shards of Frostmourne and stay out of public sight. Eventually (in MoP) they make their way back to ICC, kill Bolvar, and Arthas is the Lich King once more.

My portrayal of Arthas borrows heavily from Rise of the Lich King in addition to Warcraft III and Wrath; I more or less ignore what Chronicles says about him, because I prefer the way that Rise explored his struggle between humanity and inhumanity and it gives me a bit of content to work in regards to building up an idea of who Arthas was in life, and how that stays with him in death.

The Lich King is a god(ish) and Arthas has the ego, power, and cult to back up that mentality. He can and has murdered dozens of heroes with little more than a wave of his hand; is capable of resurrecting ancient, powerful entities to serve him in undeath; grants “blessings” upon those who earn his favor; and possesses an empire of slavering monsters chomping at the bit to do absolutely anything he says. ‘Human’ is not the word for what he is anymore.  

And Arthas was once a man; no matter how hard he has ever tried, no matter what he’s done to himself or to anyone else, Arthas is still plagued by the vestiges of his humanity, which often manifests as him taking a special interest in certain individuals: Jai.na, Andu.in, adventurers, and (negatively) Syl.vanas for instance. As a result, his reactions to people are sporadic: he might show surprising lenience or tolerance for acts of defiance and opposition should the perpetrator tug on the right heartstring.

Arthas has a daughter whom is generally his Deathlord in the pertinent verses. Her status as his daughter is relatively common knowledge post-Wrath of the Lich King, and is a contentious spot for him.

What they’ve been up to recently:

WARCRAFT: Arthas has been (quietly, quietly) aiding in the repulsion of the Burning Legion from Azeroth, for he despises his old demonic masters and has no intention of losing his world to them. He is also busy reestablishing the Scourge as a power to be feared, and returning Northrend under his control. With the conclusion of Legion, he is now focused upon rebuilding his kingdom after the Burning Legion trashed it again and also I’m paying zero attention to what’s going on in Battle of Azeroth so idk any way to really integrate him!!! Also we’re gonna just ignore everything that kickstarted Shadowlands because fuck that noise.

SWTOR: Darth Necrolis, once a promising Jedi Knight, now an insidious Lord of the Sith, seeks out the eldritch knowledge of Darth Nihilus and even the Emperor, Vitiate, in his quest to obtain immortality. Although, gifted with the frightening ability to bind Force ghosts to himself, one wonders if his search is redundant at this point.

Where to find them:

WARCRAFT: Northrend in general, and Icecrown in particular, are the Lich King’s usual haunts, along with other Scourge strongholds such as the Plaguelands or Naxxramas. He may also wander through areas of present note because he’s a curious lad. (Aka the current expansion’s region: Broken Isles for Legion, Pandaria for Mists, etc., etc….)

SWTOR: While Necrolis can generally be found nearly anywhere in Imperieal space, Dromund Kaas and Korriban are perhaps the safest locations to catch him. He may also be within his citadel on the wintry planet on Northrend.

Current plans:

WARCRAFT

RESTORE THE SCOURGE: We trashed his kingdom last time we took a gander through Northrend, and he’s hard at work not only repairing what we broke, but reinforcing it. To that end, he seeks to otain new resources and sources of power. Azerite, for example…

CORRUPT THE KNIGHTS OF THE EBON BLADE: Particularly from Legion onward, the Lich King has his eye on Acherus and its denizens, subtly setting in place plans to turn the world against him and leave them no recourse but to return to the Scourge.

KILL EVERYONE: Self-explanatory.

SWTOR:

CRUSH THE REPUBLIC: Jedi are nerds and he WILL stuff you into a frozen space locker.

OBTAIN IMMORTALITY: He’s going to end up devouring a planet a la Vitiate, I feel.

BIND MORE FORCE GHOSTS TO HIMSELF: More ghosts = more power = good.

BECOME THE NEW EMPEROR: You’re not a real Sith Lord if you’re not trying.

Desired interactions:

SCOURGE AND CULTISTS: What’s a king without his kingdom?

ALIVE: I don’t write a lot with or about Arthas prior to his fall, and I really should. It’s a fun exercise in trying to show those hints of the boy who will be king, and the boy who might not have.

DEATH KNIGHT: Back when he was still on Ner’zhul’s payroll and edging the line of being a little too human in his monstrosity.

POST-RESURRECTION: OR Arthas “Matthias Lehner” Menethil wanders around Azeroth trying not to get caught out as Arthas Menethil whilst hunting down the erstwhile remnants of his shattered sword.

THWART HIS PLANS! I don’t think I have any real developed antagonistic relationships on this blog which is a shame.

SWTOR - LITERALLY ANYTHING: Pls, I’m begging you, indulge my SW love.

Offered interactions:

MONSTER DAD: Arthas adores inhuman abominations and eldritch beasts, whether they were Once a Man or were never mortal to begin with, and he’ll adopt (”adopt”) any and all at the drop of a hat.

DEAL WITH THE DEVIL: For the low, low price of your immortal soul, all your dreams can come true if you just make him an offer. Or, better: he makes the offer to you.

ANNOYING BYSTANDER: Arthas loves to just show up and talk shit at everyone around for no apparent reason, it happens in canon and it happens on this blog all the time. Let’s see you try to kill that big evil demon while the fucking Lich King is off to the side reading a magazine and criticizing your talent choices.

“JOIN” THE SCOURGE: Fight the Lich King! Die to the Lich King! Get resurrected as an atrocity against life by the Lich King!

Current open post/s:

   No.

Anything else?:

    I’m very slow and prickly, but in the way that grandfather spider in Spirited Away was, so don’t worry too much about it.

Tagged by:  reposting ‘cause it’s been a while

Tagging: this was. a lot.

[fairyscribbles]

Where Wind Soothes - Travels (Sehun, pt. 7) [Chronicles of the Wolf series]

Hello Darlings! 

How crazy it is that holidays are supposed to be days of peace and yet I still feel like I was so busy I didn’t do everything I want?! I wanted to reply to your beautiful asks (Merry Belated Christmas to all of you loves <3) and work more on making the page a bit...more organized---- but nothing!

It might be because I got game time for World of Warcraft....

Well, nevertheless! our 100th part belongs to Sehun! <3 I hope you enjoy it! I will be posting another story right after this, so I hope you enjoy this short chapter!

If you need to refresh your memory, last chapter is here! 

-

You held your hand out for the bags, and reluctantly, Sehun handed them over. He couldn't exactly keep them on while he was shifted, but at least his was fairly light, and you could wear one over the other on your back to keep the pressure to a minimum.

You followed him and the others outside, your legs slightly shaky. You didn't know what to expect from this trip, and you were a little scared. Bora didn't seem bothered at all- quite the contrary, she looked excited with the small grin on her face and almost skipping step. When all of you got into the small clearing in front of the house, Sehun turned to you with a small frown.

"You...better turn away, ___."

"What? Wh-oh!" Only then you noticed Tao stripping behind Sehun, handing over his shirt to Bora before reaching for his pants.

You were used to seeing naked bodies. As a healer, this was normal, but for some reason, you found yourself blushing and turning around anyway. Especially when Sehun and Baekhyun stripped off their shirts and reached for their pants as well.

There were noises behind you, and even Bora held her breath as something with the air of complete magic happened behind you. It only took a few moments, and listening in, you could visualize the shifts - the rearranging of bone and flesh into a completely different form.

"Okay, ___..."

You turned towards Bora's voice.

And you couldn't help but to gasp. The small clearing in front of the house was suddenly crowded by the three large bodies. Bora was standing close to the midnight black wolf, apprehensively running her fingers through his fur. Tao rumbled, nuzzling up into her fingers and folding himself as low as he could. The chocolate brown wolf moved closer to Junmyeon and with the way he spoke, you could clearly say the wolf was Baekhyun.

Which meant that the last wolf with snowy white fur, carefully approaching you, was Sehun.

His muzzle moved up, and you confirmed it when your eyes met warm amber. He looked... worried..? You smiled, and you didn't even have to bend to reach the top of his head as he sat back on his haunches and allowed you to pet the fur on his head gently.

"So soft..." you whispered, making the wolf rumble proudly. "Are you sure you'll be okay carrying me? I can walk... the offer is still up..."

The wolf's head shook decisively, and you sighed. It was defeat that Sehun heard, and he eased down low to the ground, offering you his back.

"Here you go, ___." Junmyeon was behind you, helping you get on Sehun securely.

"You should always sit like this, and when he runs, hold him around the neck." Junmyeon instructed you, his hand on your back giving you stability.

"He wouldn't hear you if you asked him to slow down, but if you choke him a bit, he'll know what to do." Sehun barked out a laugh and you smiled slightly at Junmyeon's attempt to ease the atmosphere a little bit.

"Sehunnie? Does it hurt?" You asked him, leaning down a bit closer. Sehun whined, leaned back and licked the side of your neck, making you squeal.

"It doesn't." Junmyeon basically translated for you and Sehun shook with little growls of laughter.

"___-sshi? Are we ready to go?" Bora asked, already mounted on Tao. The girl looked very dangerous like this, big bow on her back, sword at her hip and a big black wolf as her mount. It brought you peace. With this group, no harm can come to you.

That thought helped you give Bora a firm nod. "Yes. I'm ready."

"Okay. Tao..?"

The large black wolf gave a rumble.

"Baek!"

It was Junmyeon's authoritative voice that rang out next, and the brown wolf darted out to the front of the group in response.

"Remember, before nightfall, okay? Be careful, all of you."

The wolves gave yips of affirmative, and when Sehun rumbled, you knew to lean low and wrap your arms around his neck.

"I'll see you in a few days."

Baekhyun punctuated Junmyeon's farewell with a brief howl, and before you could even let out the yelp that built in your throat, Sehun was already taking off after Baekhyun, with Tao and Bora bringing up the rear.

Baekhyun set up a pace that didn't let you get accustomed to the speed of the wolves and so the only thing you could do was hold on for dear life and trust Sehun that he wouldn't let you fall no matter what. You turned your head and watched Bora, who rode Tao like she has done it a million times, one hand burried tightly in Tao's midnight mane and the other resting on her hip. To be able to draw her bow quickly, you realized after a while and the rumble from the white wolf under you had you renewing your grip on him.

You rode for many hours without a break. The wolves seemed tireless, pushing on without any problems and you must've travelled a long way, because you slowly started to see the landscape change. The forest wasn't as thick as before, the green wasn't as vivid and soon enough, Baekhyun broke through the patch of woods onto a small plane and you could see just how close you got to the mountains that were now looming dangerously over you. The sun was chasing behind you, already low on the horizon. You should stop soon, and just as you thought of it, Baekhyun slowed his pace to a careful prowl, as if looking for something. With a victorious yip, he turned right, into a gathering of pine trees thick enough to hide away in, and he turned to look back at you, barking out. Sehun folded himself as close to the ground as possible but even so, Bora was there to help you get off, smiling at you.

"How are you feeling, ___-ssi?" She asked, turning you around so you could give the wolves some privacy as they shifted back.

"I'm okay, how about you?" Bora nodded, looking out at the mountain.

"I feel alright, too. Here...is the first ingredient we need to find?"

"Yes, in the caves under the mountain." Bora looked at you, frowning.

"But those are crypts, ___-sshi...very old, I might add..." you sighed, pulling out the small book filled with little notes.

"I know...but they hold two of the five ingredients we need...deathbells and then...umm..." you listed through The old pages, biting your lower lip in thought. When you came across the white moldy plant, you pointed your finger at it with a victorious "aha!".

"This. It grows near the old northern graves, but-"

"It's a re-animating plant." Bora stared at it with a frown.

"Excuse me?"

"I saw it before at the King's necromancer. It can be used to bring a body back to life, and in the wild it's so strong, it re-animates skeletons back to life. That's why those crypts are dangerous. Not only their entrances are so small, out of our group only you, me and maybe Baekhyun can get in, but also...it's pitch black and full of dead warriors who'll awake if we make a lot of noise."

You swallowed thickly. "O-oh."

Your mind was reeling. When you first saw it, you didn't realize acquiring it could hold so many complications along the way. Granted, you knew you could trust Bora, but you weren't sure you could protect her the same way if the situation required it...

Sehun was the first to emerge from the trees, fully dressed and stretching all his limbs. And when you saw the discomfort marring his features - the crease in his forehead, the frown on his lips, the stark paleness of his cheeks, you made up your mind.

"Sehunnie..."

You handed the book to Bora's graciously offered arms and ran to the youngest wolf, reaching for his face subconsciously. Craning your head back, you studied his face, picking up the forced smile he tried to pass by you.

"I'm fine..."

"You're not fine. I told you..."

He shook his head, and his hands covered yours before bringing them to his mouth automatically to kiss each palm. "We went much faster that way, didn't we? Now, come on. The sun's already low."

Tao spoke up from beside his mate - though you weren't sure when he managed to get past you. "That's... not gonna be easy to get to."

You turned to face them, but you scowled when the first thing Sehun did was reach for the bags. You swatted his hands away, making the young wolf growl.

"Yes... Bora -sshi explained it to me..."

"Let's talk about the plan after we set up camp." Baekhyun passed by Sehun and took both of the bags you were fighting about.

"Nobody is going in there tonight, anyways. So we should put up the wards before anything starts crawling from the mountains." You shuddered at the thought, but it only made you follow the short wolf faster. You brought some gels and ointments- maybe some kind of massage would help Sehunnie later on.

The group was then divided nicely into groups- Bora and Tao were circling the camp, Tao leaving some kind of protection spices and Bora setting up traps that would catch non-magical intruders. Sehun was appointed with the task of setting up the tents and you and Baekhyun were supposed to start the fire.

"Once we get this set up, we'll eat."

You nodded, working quickly to set up the rocks around the pile of wood. It was getting colder already, too. The fire would help warm you up as well as help with food.

And as soon as that was taken care of, you'd tend to Sehun. You glanced over to the youngest wolf, whose back was to you as he worked diligently to set up the tents.

"___?"

"Y-yes?"

Baekhyun chuckled. "Are you worried about him?"

You blushed, but there was no point in lying. "Yes. He looked like he was in pain earlier, and I don't want to be making it worse before I can make it better..."

Baekhyun patted your back reassuringly.

"Don't worry, ___. Sehunnie has been through a lot. A little feather like you won't be any problem for him." You smiled at the wolf who tried to cheer you up, but it just didn't work. You saw the silver streams down his back. You knew how wolves reacted to it. You just couldn't believe Baekhyun's words. Luckily, you brought in the ointment that you first gave him. Maybe it won't help much, but it will be something.

"It's nice..."

"Huh?" You blinked at Baekhyun.

"To see how you worry about him." He kept talking, thankfully focused on the fire so he couldn't see your blush. "I'm gonna be honest with you, usually when I see it, it just makes me sick to my stomach. But you... I like how you show you care for him."

You weren't sure exactly what he meant by all that, but you just nodded along. "I... suppose..."

"It's even more honest because I can tell you feel guilty about it sometimes..."

"Wh-what?"

Baekhyun laughed, and you gasped when you saw the light that sparked from his fingers. It was hard to look away, even when the light sparked so bright, you thought it might blind you.

Before you could even understand what was going on, the light was gone, and in its place, a small spark of fire was left behind.

"Oh!"

Baekhyun flashed you a grin. "Awesome, yeah?"

You couldn't even nod. You just stared at him, mouth open. Then he burst out into laughter, and your forehead scrunched in confusion.

"I'm just kidding~ That was just for show." He showed you the match between his fingers. "I just lit it with this. Chanyeol's the fire person. I just thought I would distract you..."

You frowned. "But you still... did that thing..."

Baekhyun leaned down, blowing at the small flame and feeding it, coaxing it bigger. "Yeah, a little trick of mine..."

"So, you control..."

"Light." Baekhyun confirmed, once he was happy with the flame he got going on.

"I know, not as cool as Sehunnie's or Tao's, but..."

"N-no, light is really cool, too!" You opposed, making Baekhyun look up at you in surprise.

"Light is very useful, for everything...and I'm sure it can help in battle, as well..." Baekhyun grinned, patting your back.

"Thanks, ___. It's actually quite helpful for hunting and tracking. I'm sure it'll help in the crypts, too."

"The tents are up..." Sehun came up from behind you, muttering as he settled beside you.

"How are you, noona? Still warm enough?" You smiled at his concern, nodding.

"How about you, Sehunnie? Your back?"

"I'll live." You frowned.

"That doesn't sound super positive..." you muttered, and Sehun chuckled, flinging an arm over your shoulders to bring you closer.

"I'll be okay, noona...don't worry about me~..."

You wriggled in his hold. "I brought the ointment. Can I..?"

"When we go to bed," Sehun said with a nod. "Meanwhile, food..."

Baekhyun shook his head. "Food over pain, huh?"

"I'm fine, hyung," Sehun muttered, poking your cheek to ward away your worry. "Don't listen to him," he told you. "I'm okay."

Bora came by, and she settled at Baekhyun's side. A few minutes later, Tao came to settle beside her, just as the eldest wolf unwrapped a foil package he'd fetched from his bag and set it right above the coals.

"Fish~" he announced happily, fetching another foil package. "Subin fixed it for us. She said it'll probably cook quickly. Made my bag smell though."

He wrinkled his nose, but he was smiling, and the three unwrapped arrangements he'd set on the fire were already starting to sizzle.

The sun was already down, making the chill in the air a bit more prominent. You moved a bit closer to press into Sehun. He wrapped his arm around your shoulders, bringing you to his warm body.

"Are you cold?" Sehun asked, looking down at you with a small frown. You smiled, shaking your head.

"I'm fine, don't worry..." Baekhyun scoffed, handing you the already heated meals.

"Your fiery passion for each other is heating even me up. Go on. Dig in."

Sehun sighed at his packmate before offering you a plastic fork. "Here, ___ noona. You first."

He held out the wrapped fish for you, and the aroma instantly made your mouth water. There were two in the foil, so you assumed you could each have one, if you could even finish an entire one by yourself. Baekhyun handed Sehun a bowl of rice on top of that, and Sehun was quick to offer it to you. "Eat up."

Your forehead wrinkled. "You won't have any?"

"I will," he laughed. "After you."

You noticed Tao holding out the hot foil for Bora as well. But Baekhyun, with his smaller roasted fish, settled to eat right away.

You blinked. "Is this a wolf thing?"

Sehun just smiled at you and nodded. "Yes."

Not having the energy to argue in the cold, you poked your fork at the food, taking some fish before adding in some rice and popping it into your mouth.

"Mm... Subinnie sure knows how to cook."

"I know. Kyungsoo loves it," Baek laughed.

"He'll probably get fat very soon." Sehun commented and Baekhyun burst in laughter.

"Don't let him hear you that or else he'll make sure your back injury will he the mildest thing you've ever experienced." Baekhyun told his younger brother and Sehun laughed, shaking his head.

"You're right..." Tao soon enough joined in on the conversation, which left you and Bora able to eat quietly. You were right- the fish was more than enough for you, and soon enough, you were handing him over the foil with one and a half fish left, making Sehun look at you in question.

"Are you sure you don't want any more?" He asked, eyes set on you in a way you were certain he would know if you lied. You nodded, smiling as you pushed him the foil.

"Yes. All I did today was let myself be carried. You need it more than I do."

He raised an eyebrow. "But you're sure you're full?"

You nodded, genuinely satisfied with the food you had. "Yes. I'm full," you laughed. "Now eat."

You didn't have to tell him again. Sehun dug in, taking his share of the rice with a happy sigh. "Mm~ I'm gonna get fat from all this good cooking."

"Hn... ___, do you cook?"

Sehun threw a glare at Baekhyun for his question, but you didn't seem to hear any suggestion in it.

"I do cook, but I'm not sure how good I am at it..." you answered with a shrug and a smile.

"I'm sure Sehunnie will find out for us." Baekhyun winked at you and Sehun growled.

"Not that you'll ever know, hyung..." Sehun mumbled over his full mouth and you chuckled, shaking your head. Bora was also handing over her plate to Tao, who was obviously unhappy about how little his partner ate.

"Baobei, try to eat at least half of the fish..." he murmured, pushing it back. Bora just shook her head, frowning.

"I'll feel sick if I eat more..." she murmured and Tao groaned.

"I feel like I'm not taking good care of you..." he muttered but either way he dug in.

"Why do you eat so little, Bora-ssi?" You asked, surprised. She smiled back at you.

"I had a strict diet since I was little, so it's hard for me to eat a lot..."

"I keep trying to get her on a new regimen, but she's stubborn."

"Your 'regimen' involves overstuffing me until I'm a fat panda, Tao." Bora deadpanned. "Not the same."

The wolves snickered together, but Bora seemed unfazed. Tao wrapped an arm around her waist before pecking her cheek lightly.

"I love you, baobei. Even if you became a fat panda, you'd only be more fun to cuddle with..."

Bora gave him a dull look.

"If I would be a fat panda then this mission would be a failure. Obviously I'm the best choice for this mission." Tao's smile disappeared and he frowned.

"You're not thinking of going down there alone..."

"No. ___-ssi will accompany me." Your heart stopped at the mentioning your name and Sehun snarled next to you.

"Of course after I clear every room. I'm sure we'll only have to get to the first hall to get to the things."

"Why wouldn't we go with you?" Sehun grumbled, his arm shooting around your waist.

"Because we'll be quicker, and lighter..." Bora sighed. "And probably quieter..."

Tao growled, and Bora just flashed him a look which clearly said "I told you so."

"No."

"Tao..."

"No," Sehun echoed beside you, and you just flashed him a surprised look.

"Sehun?"

"The entrance is barred." Bora looked at Sehun, almost hissing.

"There is only one opening there, which I remember was tough going through, and that's when I was younger." Sehun opened his mouth to oppose, but she didn't let him.

"And even if you used your powers to blow it down, it would just open the crypts full of thousands of dead warriors and endanger local villages. No." Bora shook her head.

"It's either me and ___-ssi and we use the buddy system, or I go alone."

You weren't sure how useful of a buddy you would be to the clearly seasoned warrior, but you shook your head. "You're not going alone."

Bora gestured to you with a nod, smiling. "See? She's brave enough. Just let us go and get it over with."

Sehun looked towards Bora, then you. Clearly, he was torn, but he couldn't seem to build an argument against it.

"It's a good plan," Baekhyun spoke, and the two younger wolves turned to him with matching scowls.

"Don't look at me like that. You two would be a walking catastrophe if you went." Baekhyun swallowed the food he was chewing, gulping it down with some water.

"Bora can take care of the skeletons before more rise. Also, the skeletons are blind, right?" Bora nodded and Baekhyun shrugged.

"I can light it up there if the skeletons can't see. It won't be as horrible as you over-protective wolves picture it."

"So you want us to just sit here?"

"Well, you can stand guard. If we need backup, then you can come. But otherwise, you'd be more helpful staying put."

Bora swiped at the scowl on her mate's face. "Stop doing that. I'll be fine. You know that better than anyone."

Tao mumbled something in a foreign language as he pulled her into his lap, arms wound tight around her.

"Alright, I think I had my dose of sappy moves from you two runts." Baekhyun dusted off his knees as he stood, throwing the empty tray away.

"I'm going to go catch some sleep. You should head inside, too." He turned to look at you and Sehun.

"The temperature is dropping quickly. Make it warm inside before the frost comes." Baekhyun's choice of words was eerie, and it made you shiver. Sehun had his eyes on Tao and his mate for a while, before he followed Baekhyun's example, throwing the tray away and grabbing your hand, leading you inside the tent. He stayed by the entrance, making sure he closed it securely so no wind could penetrate it and by the time he turned around, you had the sleeping bags already pulled out, and you were staring up at the wolf as you opened the bigger dosage of ointment you brought.

"Off with the shirt and on your stomach."

[theonyxpath]

I’m going to get a lot of use out of the blog title this week, so stay with me.

First, it pretty accurately describes the Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e Kickstarter that is entering its last week today. Like most of our KSs, it had a great week and has slowed down to a walk right now, but we expect that it will also pick up the pace as we head towards the last days and run wildly towards the finish like the majority of our KSs have done.

So far, it’s been doing great and has achieved nine Stretch Goals – most of which are building the Memento Mori companion book, but there’s a lot more in store!

Geist has always had an extremely dedicated community that has come out and made this a very fun KS, and they’d love to add more folks to their Krewe. So, if you want to know just why we always had Geist questions thrown at us at every panel going back to when Eddy and I first started the “What’s Up with WW?” panels, this is your chance to find out! It’s the kind of game line and setting that gets into your head – in a memorable and thought-expanding way.

      Scion: Hero illustration by Darko Stejanovic

    Speaking of getting into your head in a good way, how many of you are listening to the Onyx Pathcast podcasts?

(I am the king of segues!)

Well, there’s now another way to enjoy Dixie, Matthew, and Eddy as they delve deep into our game lines and interview noted creators, and generally have an infectiously good time. We have put the first couple of the Pathcasts up on our YouTube channel. Here’s the link to the first one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3-jNUV5-hM 

Impish Ian Watson took the audio, and added art and graphics so that you’d have something to feast your eyes on as you listen to the Terrifying Yet Terrific Trio explore the secrets of Onyx Path, its creators, and its games. This last Friday they interviewed Eric Minton, one part of our excellent Exalted 3rd development team, and got him to talk about the thrills of developing new Ex3 projects. They even got some Lunars and Exigents tidbits out of him!

Marvelous marketing info aside, they really did a great job interviewing Eric, and you can tell they were all having a super time of it. I don’t know about you, but those sorts of audible and infectious good spirits makes me want to listen all the more when I check out a podcast.

This Friday, they’ll be talking about the connection, for good and for bad, between video games and tabletop RPGs. As creators that have worked in both spaces and as gamers themselves across a wide swathe of video games, it should be a blast and pretty insightful. And as always, you can download and listen on PodBean, or any of your favorites podcast venues: https://www.podbean.com/site/Search/index?v=onyx+pathcast

    Changeling: The Lost 2e illustration by Pat Loboyko

    Returning to our blog title this week, I’m gonna touch on one of our new game lines coming out that has walking dead, running dead, all sorts of dead. Plus human survivors who are turning them into really dead dead.

Of course, I’m talking about Dystopia Rising: Evolution, which is a Storypath System powered RPG set in a post-apocalyptic future where zombies are just one sign of the terrifying way the world has changed.

We’ll be demoing DR:E at Gen Con in less than two weeks, and since we are sharing our booth with our licensors from Eschaton Media, please come by. Because if Eddy Webb or any of our crew can’t explain Dystopia Rising, our booth-mates can!

If you’ve never heard of Dystopia Rising, beyond my very brief synopsis above, it is best known for being a hugely successful and compelling post-apocalyptic LARP setting that has spread not unlike an undead virus throughout the US and the world. In fact, I first became aware of DR because of encountering scary armor and weapon wearing Mad Max refugees wandering around several Vampire LARP venues.

They just looked intense, and really communicated that they were working out a huge and personal story as they gathered together with cobbled together costumes. They, and the setting, do a great job of convincing newcomers of the depths and potential of this wasted world of theirs.

We then met the Dystopia Rising creators at further conventions, and when Mighty Matt McElroy brought me into a Starbucks with them “just to get to know each other”, I knew he sensed that this was a group of folks we could work with in presenting their world to our Onyx Path community. As Eddy Webb, who is developing the project, says:

“The Eschaton folks have been great partners. I’ve worked on a lot of licensed products, and it’s very rare to find a partner that is so open to new ideas and collaboration. Some of the give-and-take we’ve had has been fantastic, and I think it’ll make the final product better as a result.”

If you are counting, this is our first new license after the WW one, as I consider our Creator-Owned projects to be only kinda-licenses, and we took a while to find the right project to do this with. The folks on the other side of the dotted line are a huge part of that, but also, we had a few more reasons for why this is a good idea:

  Honestly? Zombies. As Mirthful Mike sez: “At last I get to do up some real zombies!”

  Because the post-apocalyptic, zombie/mutant genre is really a new space for us to play in, we also thought it was a great third place to use the Storypath System. We’ll demonstrating even more of the system’s range in adapting it for this existing game world, and from everything I’ve seen and heard so far, it is passing that test with flying colors!

  The setting. Post-apocalyptic, but with a setting-based reason why the world is so messed up, and with a setting-based reason as to why survivors have both survived and have a hard time pinning down just how long it has been since things all went to hell. This gives both creators and players a massive chance to explore the world that is left, and to interject the themes and historical “facts” they want to include without contradicting the world we are building and which is already being played.

  Like I mentioned, we’ll be demoing Dystopia Rising: Evolution in our booth and elsewhere, and soon after we all get our collective heads together after Gen Con, we’ll be running the DR:E Kickstarter campaign. We hope to have a lot of interesting rewards based on the many years of the setting that have run, and a few fun treats in store that focus on our new game line!

    Scion: Hero illustration by Luciano Komorizono

    So here we go, into a new game, a new setting, a new license, and a new world to join our already successful and amazing universe of games. Like we surely must say, Onyx Path is really made up of:

Many Worlds, One Path!

  BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER:

ONE WEEK LEFT for the Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition Kickstarter and we’ve achieved nine Stretch Goals so far, even though this period traditionally is a very slow time during our Kickstarters. Thanks to all of our backers out there spreading the word! We are in good shape to be able to make a great looking hardcover edition, and get that into stores, even while we’re giving backers first look at the complete text and other fun benefits: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/geist-the-sin-eaters-2nd-edition

Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition includes all the rules you need to play as one of the Bound: Five Burdens reflecting the cause that pulled you back from the grave, five krewe Archetypes for building your own mystery religion, and the Haunts, Keys, and Ceremonies that provide the Bound with their macabre powers.

It also includes the Chronicle of the Dead, featuring the Sin-Eaters’ struggle against the all-consuming Underworld and a variety of terrifying threats. In addition, for the first time in the Chronicles of Darkness line, ghosts are presented as playable characters.

Chapters include:

The Quick and the Dead: the five Burdens (the reason a Sin-Eater comes back from the dead and what draws a particular geist to them) and krewe Archetypes (the common cause that draws a krewe of Sin-Eaters together).

The Road Back: On death and coming back, and why Bound make the Bargain, including possible consequences.

One Foot in the Grave: Character creation, with sections on both geist and krewe creation, Anchors, Merits, Synergy, Plasm, Abilities, Haunts, Keys, Ceremonies, and Mementos.

Old Laws: the core Chronicles of Darkness rules, with special rules for playing Sin-Eaters, as well as information on subsystems for krewes, ghosts, and the Underworld, including Avernian Gates.

Antagonists: villains for your Geist chronicle, including Reapers, Eaters of the Dead, necromancers, enemy Bound, and Kerberoi.

The Quiet Places: Setting information and story hooks for playing your Geist chronicle in specific times and places in history., from 16th-century Brazil to modern-day Edinburgh, Scotland to Mobile, Alabama in 1910, as well as information on Dominions.

Ghost Stories: Storyteller advice and information for running a Geist chronicle, including designing Remembrances, how to set theme and mood, story seeds, and various ways to play out the end of a game.

Appendix: The Absent: This Appendix details the Absent, playable ghosts, including Memories, new Merits, and a collection of possible ghost characters to expand on and use in your chronicle.

Appendix: Conditions and Tilts: Geist-specific Conditions and Tilts, including ephemeral Influence Conditions and Manifestation Conditions for ghosts, as well as Haunt Conditions and Tilts.

    ELECTRONIC GAMING:

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is both rolling and rocking!

Here are the links for the Apple and Android versions:

http://theappstore.site/app/1296692067/onyx-dice

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onyxpathpublishing.onyxdice&hl=en

Three different screenshots, above.

    ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue you bought it from. Reviews really, really help us with getting folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Endless Ages Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage II (Kindle, Nook)

Mage: The Ascension: Truth Beyond Paradox (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: The God-Machine Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Mummy: The Curse: Curse of the Blue Nile (Kindle, Nook)

Beast: The Primordial: The Primordial Feast Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Masquerade: Of Predators and Prey: The Hunters Hunted II Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Poison Tree (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Songs of the Sun and Moon: Tales of the Changing Breeds (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Requiem: The Strix Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Forsaken: The Idigam Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Mage: The Awakening: The Fallen World Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Beast Within Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: W20 Cookbook (Kindle, Nook)

Exalted: Tales from the Age of Sorrows (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Tales of the Dark Eras (Kindle, Nook)

Promethean: The Created: The Firestorm Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Demon: The Descent: Demon: Interface (Kindle, Nook)

Scarred Lands: Death in the Walled Warren (Kindle, Nook)

V20 Dark Ages: Cainite Conspiracies (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Strangeness in the Proportion (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Requiem: Silent Knife (Kindle, Nook)

Mummy: The Curse: Dawn of Heresies (Kindle, Nook)

      OUR SALES PARTNERS:

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there!

https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

    Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://theonyxpath.com/press-release-onyx-path-limited-editions-now-available-through-indie-press-revolution/

And you can now order Pugmire: the book, the screen, and the dice! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=296

      DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

The Christmas In July Sale continues at DTRPG.com! There are just so many bargains on all of our game lines that you need to check it out in order to believe it.

  This Wednesday, we will release the next set of creatures for the Hundred Devils Night Parade: Aurochs and Walkure, and a new antagonist for Adversaries of the Righteous: Adeimantus!

      CONVENTIONS!

This is the last full week before Gen Con 2018, which is during the first week of August, in Indianapolis, and things are nuts getting ready for it. In addition to our booth presence, be sure to check out the games and panels in the Gen Con Event Schedule.

From Fast Eddy Webb, we have these:

Eddy will be speaking at Broadleaf Writers Conference (September 22-23) in Decatur, GA. He’ll be there to talk about writing for interactive fiction, and hanging out with other writers who have far more illustrious careers. http://broadleafwriters.com/3rd-annual-broadleaf-writers-conference/3rd-annual-broadleaf-writers-conference-speakers/

Eddy will also be a featured guest at Save Against Fear (October 12-14) in Harrisburg, PA. He’ll be running some Pugmire games, be available for autographs, and will sometimes accept free drinks. http://www.thebodhanagroup.org/about-the-convention

If you are going and want to meet up, let us know!

    And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM FAST EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Tales of Excellent Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Witch-Queen of the Shadowed Citadel (Cavaliers of Mars)

  Redlines

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Spilled Blood (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

Wr20 Book of Oblivion (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

Changeling: The Lost 2nd Jumpstart (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Adventures for Curious Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

CofD Dark Eras 2 (Chronicles of Darkness)

Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

  Second Draft

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Aeon Aexpansion (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

C20 Players’ Guide (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

In Media Res (Trinity Continuum: Core)

  Development

Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

Fetch Quest (Pugmire)

CofD Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Dystopia Rising: Evolution (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

Dog and Cat Ready Made Characters (Monarchies of Mau)

Night Horrors: Shunned by the Moon (Werewolf: The Forsaken 2nd Edition)

  Manuscript Approval:

  Editing:

They Came From Beneath the Sea! Rulebook (TCFBtS!)

  Post-Editing Development:

Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)

GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)

M20 Gods and Monsters (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Night Horrors: The Tormented (Promethean: The Created 2nd Edition)

Guide to the Night (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

  Indexing:

    ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

Trinity Continuum 

Geist 2e – Waiting for KS to end before getting rest of art.

The Realm

M20 Gods and Monsters – Working on it.

Ex3 Dragon Blooded

VtR – Guide to the Night 

Dystopia Rising: Evolution – KS art contracted.

  Marketing Stuff

Gen Con Signage

  In Layout

Fetch Quest – Met with Eddy…. got a good idea of what new art we’ll need. Gonna do the shirt up this week and we can get that SG out of the way.

Scion Hero – Layout about done.

Scarred Lands Trilogy Novels – Converting to PDF and PoD.

Promethean Night Horrors: The Tormented – Files with KT.

  Proofing

  At Press

Scion Dice – At fulfillment shipper.

Monarchies of Mau – Backer PDF links to backers this week.

Monarchies of Mau Screen – Printing.

Cavaliers of Mars Screen – Printing.

Wraith 20 Screen – Printing.

Wraith 20th – PoD coupons for backers this week, PDF/PoD on sale to public after GenCon.

Scion Origin – Backer PDF out, gathering errata.

Cavaliers of Mars – Printing.

  TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: Last full week of work before Gen Con, the black hole of productivity for our industry. So, feels good to know things will get done this week before we’re sucked in!

[thataspdfeel]

that book list I promised

//rubs my grubby hands together happily

Boy howdy do I ever have some book recommendations. This would’ve been posted earlier but mobile decided to go fuck itself. Just a heads up, this is gonna be long

I mostly read series because tbh teen fiction is some of the best. It tends to take the most risks with both style and characterization. (Granted, it also tends to fall risk to some of the worst tropes imo like abuse stalker creepy guy is hot cause he loves protag)

Anything Garth Nix has ever written in his whole life. He’s one of my favorite authors and tends to stick to series. Keys to the Kingdom is 7 books and the first is Mister Monday and you read in order of the days of the week. No really. You’ll see why. His Old Kingdom series is 5 books and a short story so far and starts with Sabriel. It’s about necromancers who keep the dead down rather than raise them. Like I have the biggest boner for this series it’s not even funny

Terry Pratchett is my absolute favorite author of all time (besides Shakespeare) and he’s written over 50 books. You don’t have to read them in any particular order but he does follow characters across books sometimes. I recommend starting with Monstrous Regiment, Small Gods, or Going Postal first. If you want to start in chronological order, I think The Colour of Magic was written first

If you’re patient, read the whole Lord of the Rings series from The Hobbit onward. Tolkien sucks his own dick and describes clouds for a whole page cause he’s a world builder kind of writer. I haven’t had a chance to try the series again but I remember enjoying The Hobbit. Just know this is a very tedious option and may result in more boredom

Less boring is The Chronicles of Narnia but there are a few books that are just an absolute bear to get through. I recommend this right after lotr because these stories are a result OF THE SAME DRUG TRIP because Clive Staples Lewis (no really that’s what CS stands for) and Tolkien were college roommates. And because Narnia is a fucking fun place to visit

George RR Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire cause it includes more detail than Game of Thrones and because I’m always a slut for kingdom musical chairs and dragons

Speaking of dragons, The Inheritance Series which is Eragon etc because it’s like lotr for people who can’t stand reading about a cloud for two pages, almost entirely action. Plus, in one of the books, they (Eragon and Saphira) do a couple of really stupid, slightly offensive things to the elves and admit their mistakes which I thought was cool cause it feels like sometimes protagonists don’t apologize in books

Chris D'Lacey also writes these REALLY COOL books about dragons called The Last Dragon Chronicles where these ladies make dragons out of clay and I’m 90% sure The Fire Within is the first book. There are at least 7 and I really need to catch up

Angie Sage writes about a boy named Septimus Heap who’s the 7th son of a 7th son and those books start with Magyk and there are at least 6 maybe 9. They’re fucking awesome and full of magic and adventure and I’m pretty sure he gets a pet dragon somewhere

Suzanne Collins also writes a lot of great stuff but I REALLY like her Gregor the Overlander series. Think Alice in Wonderland with a guy and no drugs and it’s awesome

Anything Rick Riordan has ever written in his life. I love love love the Percy Jackson series and he also wrote Children of the Lamp which is the bomb dot com about djinn children

Douglas Adams has a whole Hitchhiker’s Guide series and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is the first and it’s just bonkers and loads of fun. Basically earth gets blown up and the protagonist has to deal with it. An absolute riot

James Rollins writes the Blood Infernal series about vampires and were-beings not just werewolves. The first book is Sanguine and the protagonist’s best friend is a werewolf. The first two books don’t have much to do with each other aside from being in the same universe but book three picks up at the end of book one and ties them both together. I’m pretty sure there’s sex

I’d also recommend anything Edgar Allen Poe or Shakespeare ever wrote. I know that’s more Classical Canon or whatever the fuck but honestly? Delightful. Same sentiment for Stephen King

I can’t remember the names of all the series I’ve read but these I definitely do. So onto individual books!

I, Coriander by Sally Gardener set in 17th century London and has to do with a fairy world if I remember correctly

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine about a really ugly inn keeper’s daughter and it’s kind of a retelling of Snow White (She wrote other stand alones but I haven’t read them. Based off this, though, I’d recommend them)

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie about a girl who immigrates from Nigeria(?) to the US and it’s just really really good

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe set in Nigeria(?) right when colonialism happens. The first part is pre-colonialism and then it gets into the beginnings of it and all this happens within the lifespan of one man. Trigger warning though for mentions of abuse, explicit child murder and explicit suicide. Like it’s a good book but it’s gonna be a rough ride if you don’t know what you’re in for

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez is good, if tedious. It’s a Latin American book so the story is circular and told in spirals. I literally have no other way to describe it. Also don’t ignore the family chart at the very beginning because people get the same names across generations and it’s absolutely hellish. Trigger warning for incest, I think rape, definitely abuse, and a baby gets eaten by ants at the end which is more gross than anything

Black Rain by Kuroi Ame is about the bombing of Hiroshima. I’m pretty sure that’s all the trigger warning you’re going to need

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie is a collection of short stories about various Native American characters living on a reservation

Black Elk Speaks by John G. Neihardt is about a Blackfoot medicine man who finally talks about his life but it’s less interview and more John interpreting things so this needs to be read a little critically

Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions by Richard Erdoes is a book where a Sioux medicine man talks directly to Erdoes from a Native perspective about various things from sex to politics. Was a joy to read honestly. Very enlightening

Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo basically entails the way of the bushido or the samurai code more or less. Kind of technical but I enjoyed it

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause is about the werewolf protagonist trying to fit into her pack and figure out how to be a teenager. There’s at least one graphic mention of death (I think). It could also be suicide) so heads up

The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause is a vampire romance set in the 90′s and has absolutely nothing to do with the other book and was definitely something I loved. The protagonist watches her mother waste away from illness so avoid if that’s not something you can handle. Apparently, there are more stories (which I’d LOVE to read) and I’d recommend them just based off the two I have read

The Spook’s Apprentice by Joseph Delaney was amazing and I’ve just found out it’s a series not just a stand-alone so I know what’s going on my to-read list. It’s about an apprentice to The Spook who puts down evil things that hide in the dark. Kind of spine-tingling so if you don’t do horror, don’t read when it’s dark. It’s not horror-horror but if it’s not your thing, definitely read during the day

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner is the only thing Faulkner ever wrote I can possibly stand. It’s a short story and the time is out of order but I still liked it

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is also a short story and my absolute favorite

Also not a book, but I greatly enjoy the Puritan poet Anne Bradstreet but not everybody does because 1 early American literature and 2 Puritan but that’s something if poetry is up your alley

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell is about the life of a horse set from the horse’s perspective. No seriously. With I statements and everything. I thought it was very interesting. (I was also like 8)

White Fang by Jack London is by wolves. I don’t remember much more than that because of how long ago I read it but it was probably decent since it stuck in my mind

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman is about a prince’s whipping boy which is a thing because you can’t spank a prince directly so you have to punish somebody else. V interesting

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl was very enjoyable. I like Roald Dahl anyway but the concept of a chocolate factory was awesome. I also read it before I saw either movie and before the remake

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is pretty good but skip the epistolary at the beginning and read it after if you want to spare yourself some headache

Dracula by Bram Stoker is a classic and just really fun and I can definitely see why it’s a classic

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman was really interesting and honestly, I’d read anything that man writes after I read that

The Help by Kathryn Stockett is even better than the movie but there’s abuse mentions in it like even more so than the movie. If you haven’t seen the movie, heads up for graphic depictions of miscarriage, racial violence, and I don’t remember if the one death mentioned is graphic or not but it’s a heavy book

I’d have more but I can’t remember their damned names right now and it’s bugging me. I also have obscure video game recs because I’m one of those indie freaks. They tend to really draw me in

Also, if you like manga, I’ve read like idk how many series but a shitload and the day onemanga shut down was the day my soul died

Anyway, I hope this is fine. It isn’t even the half of what I’ve read. Like I spent almost all of my childhood reading and I enjoyed most of it. I just wish I could remember book names. Their stories are floating around in my head, just not their names. If I remember any more, I’ll probably add to this list