#gotta love a good stroud book

[joons]

Joons I can't lie to you. I can't give up on Lockwood and Co even with Netflix cancelling it. I gotta believe that through the fandom being active and word of mouth we can get more fans and have some other platform take an interest in it. They can pry this show from my cold dead hands.

I do think that's a real possibility! Joe Cornish is a beloved creator with real connections, so I would love for someone to snap him up. And there is reason for hope not even just for our show but because of the unsustainability of the Netflix model and the industry-wide drive to force change on streamers that try to avoid compensating their talent correctly by leaving shows without any advertising support after they've been made.

Here's a good thread for how to communicate on social media and to other companies about the show. Staying positive is not only good for your own sanity but puts the best foot forward as the show's "representative."

At the end of the day, being a Jonathan Stroud fan is a blessing. We have so many great books that come out pretty frequently, we have a perfect adaptation, we have other adaptations in the offing, we have no drama. It's really an abundance of riches. But that's all the more reason why the show deserves to be cherished for how rare it is to have a series so surrounded by talented, thoughtful people who bring that positivity into the world. We were SO LUCKY to have the right crew behind it. Still pinching myself. They deserve to be rewarded for that dedication and love.

[scienceismygirlfriend]

Book asks: 4 and 17!

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

i had never read anthony berkeley until very recently (like within the past month!) and i have found i enjoy roger sheringham! funnier than i expected. also shout out to kate atkinson whose jackson brodie books are so well-written but they made my head and heart hurt a bit so i gotta consume them in small doses

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

so i already knew i loved The Amulet of Samarkand (Jonathan Stroud) because i read it over and over as a teen but i realized i hadn't actually finished the series so i reread the first two books and when i finally read Ptolemy's Gate i was like. damn ok jonathan bringing class commentary into a middle grade series. get 'em young

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

For the book asks, 1, 7, 14?

thanks for the ask!! referencing this post

1.book you’ve reread the most times?

gosh okay so honestly probably Animorphs (yes, the whole series--i used to reread All Of Them every 3-4 years, and i can't remember when i stopped but i know i'm Long Overdue) or the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud, because those were both childhood staples and i just. have had the longest amount of time to reread them lol.

as far as recent additions go: i'm up to 2 times through Murderbot and 2 times through Gideon the Ninth (i'll do a third this fallish as Nona prep, plus my first reread of Harrow)--both, i feel like, impressive, given how recently they came onto my radar.

7.is there a series/book that got you into reading?

wow i'm really gonna be a broken record about this ask game but: Animorphs is the first thing i remember Obsessing over (even though i'm pretty sure i was always a Reader Kid). it's also hilarious and telling to see the Animorphs influence in my writer life, but that's not what this is asking.

14.do you ever mark/dog ear books you own?

i used to be a dog-earer (because yeah right could i find a Bookmark ever as a child), but i stopped that as i started buying primarily new books over used--i like my library as pristine as possible, so i can come back to it Fresh Every Time. i do love the history in used books!! i like seeing what other people have marked and written and dog-eared, i just. don't. do that. in new books i buy for myself.

similarly: i've never been one to mark books up because i'm Really Bad at drawing straight lines, and it Bothers Me™. i also had a teacher in high school who Forced Us to mark in our books, and i did it so thoroughly that i rendered my copies unreadable, and that was irritating. i'll flag things with those colorful tabs (they gotta color coordinate with the book in question, though), and i'll jot down Fave Quotes and such elsewhere, but if i mark something it's in pen, and if it's in pen it's gotta be Good, and you don't get do-overs in pen, so i usually don't risk it.

thanks again for asking!!

[im-the-punk-who]

Hey, I was wondering if you have a book rec

!!

Okay so in full disclosure, I have a really hard time reading books. My brain sometime around six years ago just decided that wasn't its style anymore, so I don't read a TON. A lot of these aren’t going to be recent releases. However, here are a bunch of books I would absolutely recommend checking out! I tried to include a variety of genres but I have uh.....five bookshelves in my apartment so if you're looking for more of a certain genre let me know!

Theatre:

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead - Tom Stoppard

Waiting for Godot - Samuel Beckett

These are my two favorite plays - they're both absurdist, humorous, and have some fun things to say. They’re both by old white guys but like....I love both Tom Stoppard and Samuel Beckett DEEPLY and they have all of my love and respect.

Non-Fiction/Educational:

Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum - this is considered a 'classic' on the psychology of racism, and was particularly helpful for me as a white person in arming myself against 'reverse racism' thoughts and in dissembling my own prejudices. This is mostly a rec for other white folks, but Tatum also addresses 'having the courage to sit at the black table' as a way of claiming your own identity outside of the stereotypes the dominant society expects of you.

Daring Greatly by Brene Brown - Okay listen I just really REALLY love Brene Brown, she is a therapist most famous for her TED talk about Vulnerability and this is just...listen I really like to read this book when I am sad and feel like shit because it makes me feel strong. I reread this book at least once a year.

Imagined Communities by Benendict Anderson - This is an absolutely fascinating read on the rise of nationalism. It’s a bit dry and wordy, but the ideas and use of history as propaganda, spinning the story of a nation to pit it against or on the same side as other nations, and the ways in which these tactics shaped cultural history is just!!!! Amazing.

Gay New York by George Chauncey - This is just one of the most informative and interesting reads of queer history in New York that I’ve ever come across. It’s one of the ‘must reads’ of queer history and has so many interesting tidbits that I have to recommend it. It’s a bit old(published in 1994) but I still find it relevant and interesting to read.

Personal Fiction/Autobiographical Fiction

White Girls by Hilton Als - I went to a reading of this book when it first came out. It was so much fun and so eye-opening for me as a baby queer in NYC that I bought the book there. I wanna be really clear that Als does not pull punches and a lot of people don’t quite like it, but I love Als’ style of writing. The stories and essays in this book are amazing and funny and heartbreaking and informative of queer experience - particularly black queer experience - that I always feel like...honored? to experience through writing? This is one of those ‘you’re gonna suffer but you’re gonna be happy about it’ reads - it can be hard to face because of how very hard the pills are to swallow but like....gosh I just love this book and it’s interesting and hilarious and great.

Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins  - this is my tin hat favorite. It hits....ugh. This is one of those books that came out and like every government agency freaked the fuck out over it. It’s an interesting look into the quote-unquote dark underbelly of capitalism; how and why countries manipulate each other through economic policies. Super interesting read with a nice style of prose.

The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to become the Smartest Person in the World by A.J. Jacobs Okay so full disclosure I have not finished reading this, but I’m far enough through to rec it. This book chronicles the author’s attempt to read the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica from front to back, and it is just as kooky and hilarious as it sounds. I am very incredibly and deeply offended this author stole both my schtick and my initials, thereby preventing me from doing this exact thing. I read through the phone book in its entirety when I was three. I had it in me. Anyway, this is basically the author just listing weird interesting facts he’s read about and connecting them to his daily life, but it’s a fun read, and you learn a lot of totally useless facts, which is absolutely my jam.

When Skatboards Will Be Free by Saïd Sayrafiezadeh - HI I LOVE THIS BOOK. I’ve read it maybe three times over. It’s so fun and interesting. You may notice that a lot of the books I rec are very absurdist in their humor, and this is no exception. This book is full of the dry wit and just weird goddamn shit you could only expect from the child of a revolution that never came. You want to read a book about someone who Went Through Shit? Read this book. It’s funny and heartbreaking and just. AHHHH. Seriously I cannot recommend this enough.

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosch - FIGHT ME ON THIS. I love this book.....so much. Yes it’s technically a comic book but the stories are so INTERESTING and hilarious and full of exactly the dry absurdist humor I eat the fuck up. Also! Allie Brosch recently released a sequel of sorts called Solutions and Other Problems that I recommend without even reading it.

Poetry

Pansy by Andrea Gibson - IF YOU ARE NOT READING THE POETRY OF ANDREA GIBSON WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING WITH YOUR LIFE. I cried seven times reading this book. There are only like 14 poems. Please please read this to break your own queer heart :)

Bloodsport by Yves Olade - This is a tiny book full of absolutely devastating poetry. Most of it has to do with the grief of relationships, but like....gosh I love all of Olade’s stuff. (Also!! This is available as a pay-what-you-wish pdf!!)

Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón - This book focuses a lot on the author’s experiences of loss, and knowing that loss is going to happen. I’m completely devastated every time I read this.

Science Fiction/Fantasy

The Bartimeaus Sequence by Jonathan Stroud - So what if I am a dumb millennial I love this series. It’s another dry and deadpan humor, with weird additions and Stroud’s use of footnotes to absolutely crack me the fuck up means I gotta rec this. I just gotta. Four(I think?) books following the deeply unlikeable Nathaniel and his Djinn Bartimaeus, who just wants to eat humans and have a deeply enjoyable enemies to lovers plotline with his arch rival.

The Magic's Price Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey - Okay I know I’ve recced this before. I will rec it again. This was the very first series I ever read that featured a gay protagonist and I was. Devastated? Reformed? I latched onto Vanyel Ashkevron and I am never letting this depressed emo boy go. Try me, I bite. Seriously, this book was released in the 80s and yet it is still relevant, I still cry - god i LOVE this series SO MUCH. And, MERCEDES LACKEY actually invented unbury your gays, sorry I make the rule on that one. :) Also there are magic talking horses??????? Seriously please read this series I love it so much.

Fire Bringer & The Sight by David Clement-Davies - This is another series that was absolutely formative in my baby lexicon. These are books about magical animals and their inner societal workings and both books address the ideas of good, evil, darkness, compassion and good will, and destiny. I am obsessed with these books, they are some of the most interesting of the genre I’ve read, and so incredibly intricately written. LOVE these books.

Vampire Earth Series by E. E. Knight - The Witcher before it was cool. Sort of but like...there are schools of Cat, Bear, etc and it has COOL VAMPIRES I LOVE THSI SERIES. Basically, earth has been taken over by a race of alien ‘Vampires’ and follows a human involved in the resistance. The writing in this series is...wow. It’s so intricate and interesting and involved. I own the whole series because I love it so much, including the after-series hardback novels. I’m so messy and I love it.

Kindred by Octavia Butler - You know how people are like ‘YOU SHOULD READ OCTAVIA BUTLER!!’ ? You should absolutely do that. This novel is mindblowing and interesting and the pace and narrative are so so so interesting. Heartbreaking, god, horrific. Butler is an amazing writer and this novel, while my personal favorite, is not by any means the only of her books I would recommend. STORIES. STORIES!!!!!!!

Fiction

The Ballad of Barnabas Pierkiel: A Novel by Magdalena Zyzak - This book is so fucking good. It’s imaginative, funny, intelligent....it’s honestly one of the best fiction novels I’ve ever read. Again, dry, absurdist humor, this book sort of reminds me of Terry Pratchett’s style of writing.

The Call of the Wild by Jack London - This is a classic, a true classic. The social commentary of this book is so so good, London’s style flows and, personally, as a dog and animal expert, the anthropomorphisation of Buck and his fellow animals is just so well done. I love this book, it’s quite an easy read, and I reread it at least once a year.

Rolling the R's by R. Zamora Linmark - Okay. Okay okay!!!!!! I gotta take a deep breath about this one. This book is. Yuh. This is a bit younger leaning than the other fictions, focusing almost entirely on high school level characters, however the experiences and commentary is just so so good. Focusing on a diverse group of characters growing up in Hawaii in the 1970′s, this book addresses the intersectionalities of gender, sexuality, race, immigration, education, and how we define who we are. I’m obsessed.

A Separate Peace by John Knowles - A heartbreaking novel about war, innocence, adolescence, and how we hide from our truths. It’s...so good, this book hurts me a LOT okay. The prose is phenomenal, the story is poignant, and it feels like I’m ripping my own heart out with a fishhook every time I finish it.

The Toss of a Lemon by Padma Viswanathan - This is one of those books I half recommend because it’s so good, and half because of the deep wealth of knowledge it presents the reader. The author’s use of her own culture is just....goddddddddd. Intricate and interesting and so delicately included in the narrative that you can feel the love the author has for it. It’s a long read and it took me almost a month to get through reading every day, but god. It’s so soft and amazingly written I both wanted to read it all at once and take my time with it. This is another one that deals with the duality of humanity and how we connect with one another. Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!

P.S. Your Cat Is Dead by James Kirkwood Jr. - I love this book I love this book I LOVE THIS BOOK. It’s fucking hilarious, entertaining, I literally laughed out loud at every single chapter. Hilarious and poignant and surprisingly deep, this book literally follows the journey of a man in which literally everything that could go wrong does. It’s fucking hilarious.

I hope that helped and gave you some new books!!! <3

[takaraphoenix]

Hey! What are your favorite fantasy/fairytale books, shows and movies?

Well, that is a very broad question. So... let’s structure this and tackle it.

Phoe’s Favorite Fantasy Books!

I don’t read much, so that’s a very short list. Seeing as you’re on my blog, I assume you know I read and loved Percy Jackson and the Olympians so that. However, there are fantasy series that I love way more than that.

For one the Wicked Years by Gregory Maguire, my favorite author who I adore and worship. Takes the Wicked Witch of the West from Wizard of Oz and goes “but what if she was actually a restistance fighter trying to overthrow a corrupt government under their dictator, the Wizard?”. It’s amazing, I love it. Hardest recommend for the first two books. Been not too big on the third and fourth though, but that’s what happens when these things aren’t born out of being intended as a series but rather just... sequels... happening.

Golden classic that seems silly to even mention but I love these books - Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. I. Love. Them. I love Alice, I love the world, I love the fantasy. One of only three books that I personally allow to classify as modern fairy tales (Peter Pan and Wizard of Oz being the other two. I just... I do think that there is a difference between “fairy tale” and just general “fantasy book(s)”, but these three I do think deserve a place in the canon of fairy tale classics). Also, fun fact: my above mentioned favorite author wrote a third installment for this series for the original book’s anniversary, it’s called After Alice. (I own a signed copy. I squealed very loudly when I opened it.)

My favorite fantasy book series though is the Bartimaeus series by Jonathan Stroud. I adore these books. Yes, if taken as a singular book, the first installment of the Wicked Years, which works as a standalone too due to the series’ nature of having sequels instead of being an intended series, takes the crown, however as a whole, coherent series, including all books in the series, no fantasy franchise beats Bartimaeus for me. It is sarcastic, snarky, fun, filled with heart, totally lacking unnecessary forced romance, has a fascinating world, the writing is a great read. I love this series to bits and pieces.

Now, since you specifically said fantasy/fairytale, I’d be a fool not to mention William Joyce’s Guardians of Childhood, the book-series that Rise of the Guardians is... let’s say a sequel to? While not necessarily fairy tales in the traditional sense, having the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Sandman and Santa as its main characters, it does go very much into fairy tale elements. It’s a really fun read, I personally think that Joyce has a delightful and enjoyable style.

So, that’d be the five book series that I’d recommend for fantasy.

Unless you meant actual literal fairy tale books - then I will have to disappoint you, unless you’re German. Because being German, my fairy tale collection is... well... German. I got this one. Mainly, I admit, for the illustrations - Tony Wolf worked on the majority of them and I love his illustrations, he was the author and illustrator of my favorite children’s book series when I was a kid. Which, talking about fantasy, fairy tales and books, I will absolutely also recommend here. Their English name is The Woodland Folk and it is very adorable and also very scaring for small children because fairies die in it. I was very traumatized as a kid but I still loved it a lot.

Phoe’s Favorite Fantasy Movies!

Now, movies are... it depends on what movies you want; live-action or animated. I do feel that those are vastly different categories that set vastly different expectations. And then there’s the overlapping between fantasy and supernatural in many such movies.

Let’s start with live-action, which is going to be a very short list because I am really not huge when it comes to movies - I barely watch any movies and if, then they are animated in 80% of the cases.

Lord of the Rings. Yes, I know, book-people would have filed that in the category above, but look... I am not a huge reader. And the movies have pretty blonde Orlando Bloom. But I do truly love these movies, I try to rewatch them regularly but consider I less see them as a trilogy and more as one 12 hour movie, it’s always quite the time-commitment.

And, with this one I am never quite sure whether to count it as a movie series or as a mini TV series, but the way they were released on TV, they were a movie series - so The 10th Kingdom, which is basically Once Upon a Time before that came out and without the Disney. It’s about the grandson of Snow White ending up in modern day New York and getting the help of a waitress and her dad to take down his evil stepmother, who is trying to take over the 9 fairy tale kingdoms. I love this series so very, very much.

Also The Librarian, which is a fun fantasy relic hunting movie series. But more on that when we get to TV shows, because the trilogy has a tie-in series.

I do realize that actually the majority of movies in my fantasy/supernatural section are... in fact... more supernatural than fantasy. So, pathetically enough, that is... kind of it.

Now, animated movies is harder because I quite literally have a list with 360 animated movies I saw and liked to various degrees of which the majority would qualify as fantasy due to the nature of most Western animated movies. So I’ll try to “best of” as narrow as possible (seeing as I once successfully managed to narrow my favorite animated movies down to 65...). So, a shorter version of that.

Now, when it comes to fairy tales and animated movies, Disney goes without saying so I’m not even going to say it because it’s very obvious, we all know the movies, seeing the tales. I love most of them, especially their princess movies, with one huge exception. So let’s only name-drop Sleeping Beauty because I adore it, and assume you’ve already seen all other Disney animated fantasy and fairy tale movies and move on from that.

I am also morally obligated to say “Barbie movies” here, because they did a ton of fairy tale adaptations too and the majority of them are fantasy - but to keep it brief, here is a link to my ultimate Barbie movie ranking for more individual recommendations from the Barbie canon and let me also only name-drop my favorite - Diamond Castle.

Don Bluth’s Thumbelina, as well as his Anastasia are two absolute must-sees when we’re talking fantasy (and fairy tale in Tumbles’ case).

DreamWorks wise I love and adore Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, The Road to El Dorado and Rise of the Guardians.

Now we’re getting into what I like to think of as “deep dive” territory because they’re not mainstream, they’re not big names. But I still love them.

Naturally have to say Swan Princess (1994) - the first three movies anyway, I ignore those 3D animated chep looking sequels. But the OG trilogy is a very perfect trilogy, I adore it so very much.

Another total classic would be The Last Unicorn (1998).

FernGully (1992) is a beautiful tale about fairies and one of my absolute favorite movies of all time.

A newer entry here would be Epic (2013), which is also about fairies and was written by William Joyce!

And, even if it may sound silly. The original Care Bears movies. The three from the 80s. I love them a lot, I think they’re great fantasy fun, who doesn’t love a Care Bear they are adorable, seriously.

Phoe’s Favorite Fantasy Shows!

And we move on to our last segment of this ask. I like a lot of TV shows, so I will try to keep this to my actual favorites.

My absolute favorite is Relic Hunter, it is and always will be my favorite TV show. Even if it’s cheesy at times and only has three seasons. I love it a lot. It’s... very much as it says on the tin; hot archeologist and her nerdy assistant search for magical relics.

If you like that genre, you have to also watch The Librarians - the tie-in sequel series to the movies. More librarians! More magic! More artifacts! More fun. I really love this and I mourn that they cancelled it.

Naturally Once Upon a Time - fairy tales and fantasy and I just love this TV show. Skip the last season though.

And all-time classic for me is the original Charmed - three witch-sisters discovering magic together. This was... the first ever show I actually... really consumed, with everything around it. I was totally obsessed with this, I love it. Which is why I won’t touch the reboot at all, because there’s “I loved this thing. Now there’s a new version of it! Fun!” but there is also “I loved this thing, as it is, there is no need to make a new one, why are you touching this?” - and this one was so very near and dear to my heart growing up that it is definitely the second category for me.

Definitely gotta mention BBC’s Merlin, even if it’s very, very, very flawed. It’s still fun, the characters are lovable. It has a scary fandom... in that it’s still alive and thriving, even so many years after the show’s end.

Also Grimm, though more supernatural than fantasy, it is a fairy tale show. In a way. It’s dumb but fun, because the Grimms were actually not just scholars, they were monster hunters and now modern day descendants of them are still out there hunting the same Big Bad Wolves (who aren’t all bad). I don’t know, I love it, despite the occasional cringe.

Now, lastly on the fantasy - Galavant. A musical comedy about a knight. Very fairy tale-y. Very hilarious and lovable. Sadly cancelled after two seasons.

There are many, many more fantasy shows I watch(ed), but those would be my favorites. Though I do have to tag on that elements such as vampires and werewolves are something I categorize as supernatural so they wouldn’t find mention here in fantasy (Grimm aside, due to the fairy tale theme).

I... hope I could provide a good recommendation or two!

[icaxrus-moved]

25 DA questions !

Tagged via @lelibela !! Danke !!

I tag @lethalins @cosunter @sisternightingayle and any DA fan because I forgot dnsjsjfns

01) Favourite game of the series?

DA2/DAE, this game always makes me cry and go like an emotional bastard.

02) How did you discover Dragon Age?

Mainly I wanted something LGBT-related so I discovered the ME series and stuff, then when it was kinda lackluster I heard that DA in comparison had better stuff so I DIRECTLY installed DAI with cosunter in the house, created the first Inky aka Tanaka Treveylan and ever since I fell in love with its lore and stuff <3.

03) How many times you’ve played the games?

A lot to the point I forgot, I think more then 200+ hours on DAI alone and like 7 different playthroughs in DA2/DAE.

04) Favourite race to play as?

Qunari !! I mean I love elves but horns hnnnnng.

05) Favourite class?

Mages (Plus points if Mage Warrior with the arcana sword) but double dueling rouge comes REALLY close to it, I would say Warrior with shield is a third.

06) Do you play through the games differently or do you make the same decisions each time?

I try my best to play differently even if it hurt at times, but there’s some stuff I would never do (Rival anyone in DA2/DAE, turn down anyone in DAI)

07) Go-to adventuring group?

DAO: Alistair, Morrigan and Leliana or Leliana, Shale and Zevran.

DA2/DAE: Aveline (I need TANK) Anders and Merrill or Aveline, Fenris and Isabela.

DAI: Blackwall, Dorian and Sera or Iron Bull, Cole and Varric.

08) Which of your characters did you put the most thought into?

I would say my Cousland aka Deltev Cousland, He has a completelt different face morph, his personality is rather off-canon (Romance Nate and has children by DAI) So there’s a lot of thought put into thay bastard.

09) Favourite romance?

Leliana and Zevran (also Morrigan dnnsdn), Isabela and Anders, Josephine and Dorian.

10) Have you read any of the comics/books?

I think I’m up to date with modt things, want to go one though.

11) If you read them, which was your favourite book?

The Stolen Throne.

12) Favourite DLCs?

DAO: The Stone Prisoner.

DA2/DAE: Legacy

DAI: The Descent.

13) Things that annoy you.

Ah Shit, Here we go again.

I would say the racism from the writers themselves whether whitewashing or the treatment of elves...

14) Orlais or Ferelden?

Ferelden.

15) Templars or mages?

Mages.

16) If you have multiple characters, are they in different/parallel universes or in the same one?

Yes they all co-exist ! (Although in DAO my Cousland and Sabrae would die if my Surana was chosen :() but in DAI the two Treveylans are cousins, the three Lavallens come from the same family and they all like siblings to each other and my Adaar also exists !!

17) What did you name your pets? (mabari, summoned animals, mounts, etc)

I will not say anything further then Maki Surana’s dog was named Pepproni, she was a good mabari.

18) Have you installed any mods?

Too much like 4 GB of mods per game.

19) Did your Warden want to become a Grey Warden?

Maki Surana: Yup, She always wanted a way out as well she heard the stories of them and wanted to go out and fight, she loved Duncan and always wears the warden outfit.

Deletev Cousland: NOPE, he refused first and Duncan pulling him away from his parents made it worse, he always distaned himself from the wardens and had a big hate for Duncan.

Theron Sabrae. It’s sort of Bittersweet, they don’t mind the wardens but it would have been better if left with a choice, as well as the whole Tamleen fucked them up, but they are chill.

20) Hawke’s personality?

Aside from the default ones which are often Purple.

Jasmine: Purple with a mix of Blue.

Blond Hawke that I totally didn’t forget his name: Blue.

21) Did you make matching armor for your companions in Inquisition?

Nah.

22) If your character(s) could go back in time to change one thing, what would they change?

Deletev: Definitely kill Howe before anything happens.

Theron: you know.

Jasmine: Saving Bethany or sacrificing herself for her at least.

Lin: Never date that egg because the next time he sees him, he will kick ASS.

23) Do you have any headcanons about your character(s) that go against canon?

Deltev: Romancing Nathaniel and adopting children because fuck the system.

Maki: Coming instead of Stroud into the Fade along Hawke. (She would never see the wardens fall like that)

Senaca Adaar: Being a healer who deals with the healing spirits really closely.

24) Who did you leave in the Fade?

Stroud, Alistair REALLY actsike my brother and my emotional ass is emotional, even if he’s white I gotta overlook that.

25) Favourite mount?

I don’t remember it’s name yet the Skelton was the coolest shit.

Thank you <3.

[snugbubz]

25 DRAGON AGE QUESTIONS

tagged by: @mollymaukerie​! ╰(*´︶`*)╯

tagging: @cutieink​ , @lavellanloves​ and @varricmancer​

01) favourite game of the series?

Dragon Age Origions. I liked the combat, surprisingly (it's usually not my thing), and I loved the characters.  They felt really homey.

02) how did you discover dragon age? 

A friend from work! I don't know if he wants me to tag him here, but whatever: @sheegoggery​

03) how many times you’ve played the games? 

To completion, I've played da:o, da2 and da:i once. But including non-finished playthroughs...errr..maybe 8 times?

04) favourite race to play as? 

I don't have one. Though, I've never played a dwarf or a qunari.

05) favourite class? 

Depends on my mood, and the character that I have in mind. Ollie, my Grey Warden, is a rogue; Hawke is a Sword and Board; and Sherry, my Inquisitor, is a mage. I can't think or play any of them as anything else.

06) do you play through the games differently or do you make the same decisions each time? 

I've....never finished a 2nd playthrough. But up to the point where I just stop, generally it's the same. Though in da:i I did choose the templars over the mages, and the storyline made much more sense (and was far more enjoyable) for my Inquisitor.

07) go-to adventuring group?

for da:o: alistar, zevran, wynne (gotta get them heals, and have some weird erotic spoken poetry in the deep roads) for da2: varric fo sho, isabella/fenris, merrill for da:i: solas, varric, cassandra

08) which of your characters did you put the most thought into?

 Definitely Sherry, my Inquisitor. Da:i was the first game I played, and she was the first character I created for that world. All my other characters were already created before I played, and so, I didn't have much trouble figuring them out through a playthrough like I did Sherry.

09) favourite romance? 

Zevran, absolutely.

10) have you read any of the comics/books? 

I have not.

11) if you read them, which was your favourite book? n/a.

12) favourite DLCs? 

I've only played the da:i DLCs, but out of those I enjoyed Jaws of Hakkon.

13) things that annoy you. 

How religion/faith is handled on behalf of the PC. It really seems that if your character is not Andrastian, you don't really have a say or an option otherwise. Feels weak.

14) orlais or ferelden? 

Orlais.  I love me those sand dunes.

15) templars or mages? 

Fuck. 'Em. Both. It’s a cyclical thing for me. I hate the templars because of how they treat mages. I hate the mages because some of them do horrible things because of their mistreatment, which reinforces their mistreatment by the templars.

16) if you have multiple characters, are they in different/parallel universes or in the same one? 

Nope! Ollie, Hawke and Sherry all live in the same universe.

17) what did you name your pets?  

Cricket.

18) have you installed any mods?

 For da:i, hell yes. For da2, I only installed the mod that forced the correct dialogue if your Grey Warden was alive and romanced Zevran. I played da:o vanilla.

19) did your warden want to become a grey warden? 

Ollie did not. He only chose to go with Duncan because it was his parents' wish. Guess they didn't want him to die along with them. Ollie never really did grow into the Grey Warden mantle, either. He kinda just vibed with "this is my life now."

20) hawke’s personality? 

Hawke (I cannot for the life of me remember what I named him) was a mix between blue and purple, with a dash of red. Some people just really pissed him off (like slavers.)

21) did you make matching armor for your companions in Inquisition? 

I don't think I did. I remember dying armor that made each character look good, haha.

22) if your character(s) could go back in time to change one thing, what would they change? 

Ollie wouldn't have killed Loghain. Instead, he would have him make the Ultimate Sacrifice so he wouldn't've had sex with Morrigan, and he and Alistair could live. Hawke would go back and make sure he was good with his brother Carver before he died. Sherry wouldn't change a thing; that's just the kind of person she is.

23) do you have any headcanons about your character(s) that go against canon? 

Probably with Sherry, but I can't think of anything aside from headcanonning her as Antivan.

24) who did you leave in the fade? Stroud.

25) favourite mount? My character's feet.

[wolgrahas]

tagged by: @falkreathh thank you!!  sorry for doing this so much later u_u’ tagging: whoever wants to!! (◡‿◡✿) 1. favourite game in the series ok... i don’t know if you already figured it out but my total fave is dao. why? maybe is the nostalgic feelings this game gives me or... i played it so many mcfucking times that i just get this hollow feeling inside my chest when i haven’t played it for weeks... idk. the trespasser dlc was spectacular too and gave my lavellan a lot of personality (what i thought the dai base game lacked, bc it made me feel like my inquisitor was an empty shell with no personality, solas’ romance save the dai base game to me tbqh). but... you can create such complex personalities in dao for your warden, and the relationships are so so realistic. i think (dao) is neat lmao. 

2. how did you discover dragon age? before being a dragon age fan i was a dark souls fan; i breath dark souls, i read dark souls, i ate dark souls, i was quite obsessed with dark souls, and before dark souls i was an obsessed skyrim fan (oNLY SKYRIM, not the previous games ashdgjasdgh) and with skyrim that was the first time i made video game oc's, like... they had such complex personalities and i cannot make complex character now... aNYWAY i'm getting carried away: i knew dragon age bc dai was being lunched and ALL the people i followed reblogged stuff about dai, and then i bought dao and loved it!! 

3. how many times have you played the games? hfgsdjfhsjfshd fffUCKKKK SHITT... alright... many mANY TIMES, but how many times i haven't finished my game?? countless times!! i think i finished fINISHED dao maybe... pls don't laugh at me... 10+ times. yes they are so so so many times, shame on me! shame on my cow! blah blah, but i lOVE dao. da2 maybe.... 3-4 times? and dai 6 times?? it's funny bc i played dao and da2 in many different ways but dai... m8, always the same, fuck you solas sdhfjdshjsdf 4. favourite race to play? qUNARIIIII!!! i lOVE tieflings so.. i obviously love the qunari too, but in the dai the first race i chose was qunari but then i talked to solas and i was like... bITCHHHHH i'm gonna create an elf to romance this egg, and then... my canon inky became an elf lol. and last favourite race are humans... ok don't hate me, it's not bc they are """boring""" or shit like that, it's bc they are the upper-class of thedas and i LOVE the "from zero to hero" trope... so... yeah agfshsdfhj 5. favourite class? mages!! bc i love the lore behind this class, it's fantastic, precisely blood magic. but if i didn't care about this, i would choose archer, tho in the first games it sucked but in dai is pretty cool :^) 6. do you play through the games differently or do you make the same decisions each time? as i've said before i have made many different decisions in dao and da2 but in dai are always the same lol 7. go-to adventuring group? origins: alistair/sten, morrigan, zev/leliana da2: aveline, anders, isabela/varric dai: solas, cassandra, cole/sera 8. which of your characters did you put the most thought into? i think prim/anika??(they're the same but one is a human and the other an elf lmaoo), she was my first da oc, and obviously the one i put most thought into bc i uSED to have a lot of creativity some years ago, what a pity my brain is useless now lmao 9. favourite romance? pfffff... solas, alistair, leli and cass!! i think?? idk i gotta play again dai bc i'm not sure :/ 10. have you read any of the comics/books? i've read aLL the books but not the comics :/, i want to read the comics but idk where i could read them online and free (sorry i'm poor lol), so... mi gozo en un pozo lmao 11. if you read them, which was your favourite book? my fav book was "the masked empire"!! patrick weekes is a good writer and i loved the orlesian politics, and i adored seeing these characters in dai! (tho briala was whitewashed lmao) 12. favourite DLCs? obviously: awakening and trespasser. these two dlc's were mcfUCKING AMAZING. i mean, with dao i expected the same quality of the base game, but trespasser was such an excelent and good experience, it gave a lot of insight to our inquisitors and also: sOOULASSSSS, so yep! i mainly lOVED trespasser and i hope weekes guides the team to make a game at least as good as this dlc! (tho, if ea is a greedy bintch this time [as always lol] it doesn't matter how many times the bioware time tries, ea will force them to do a shitty game :/) 13. things that annoy you how viv, anders and sera are written, i mean, i loved anders the first time i played da2 but his personality is obviously written to annoy the fuck outta you, tho i loved how he expressed his ideals freely (tho sometimes he even seemed too traidtional to me about topics like blood magic :/), but sera and viv were a lil harder to befriend and like, and i still don't like much viv, but i love her as a character, y'kno 14. orlais or ferelden? tbh, if i gotta live in one of those two places i would choose ferelden by fAR. but, now, if we're talking about which is more interesting; orlais. 15. templars or mages? like @/blckwall said: all templars are bastards :). i would love if thedas had independent magic schools, that there were no higher representatives or charges, that every village or city had its own magic school, and the crown would be the responsable of manage its needs. i haven't thought much about this so my thoughts are quite vague :/ 16. if you have multiple characters, are they in different/parallel universes or in the same one? they're from different universes, tho i'd love the idea of all of them being in the same universe, but some worlds states are incompatible with others. 17. what did you name your pets? (mabari, summoned animals, mounts, etc) in dao: barkspawn (i'm extremelly predictable, sorry u_u') 18. have you installed any mods? all my dragon age games are modded as fUCK. i mean, i think dao is the most heavy modded game i have?? (mainly bc i cannot install many mods in skyrim lol) but when i have my gaming computer again i will mod the shit out of dai >:) 19. did your warden want to become a grey warden? prim had been working in the circle her entire live to be in the higher ranks, and then she saw how all her work was lost made her really conflicted: she didn't wanted to leave bc she yearned to be more powerful and make the circle a better place for mages (yep, she's deeply anti-circle bc of her traumatic past), and she was going to die if she refused duncan's offer. even so, she was never sorry for supporting jowan. and, she became the king of ferelden's mistress; she loved him obv, but she could also take some advantage of his power to make the mages and marginalize people's situation better, and gain fortune by that; alistair was well aware about her plans by prim's words herself, but he never objected. altho the main cause prim made alistair king is bc she wanted him to have a good life and not waste it as a grey warden, so... anyway, i got acrried away... this is long af ghdjsdgf 20. hawke’s personality? red mostly, tho he used to be purple/red in the first and begining of the second act :/ 21. did you make matching armor for your companions in inquisition? yes i did!! i lOVED to be fashionable in dragon age instyle!! 22. if your character(s) could go back in time to change one thing, what would they change? prim : she would have tried to convince jowan and wait some months until she could convince him. also: sometimes she wishes she didn't make alistair king, mostly bc of her daughter (her daughter is the only heir to the throne of ferelden, and basically she doesn't even know that prim is her real mother, mostly bc anora adopted her bc alistair and she couldn't have children), sometimes, in her alone saddest times, thinks how things would have been if alistair was still a grey warden, they would have a happy family and wouldn't even had to hide inofensive stuff like a cheek kiss. but anyway, her duties as a grey warden are more important and doesn't have time to think about it. garrett hawke: he regrets not defending carver, he would have prefered to sacrifice himself instead of any of his siblings. he also regrets going to the deep roads with bethany, letting the grey wardens make her one of them (obv he doesn't know that if he didn't she would have joined the circle lmao). and obv her mother's death... if he had been there, with her mother, he could have done something... :'/ maia: she regrets not being strong enough when that shem tried to hurt her when she was a litte girl, that made her mother kill him to save her bc she was too defenseless, she should have been stronger, that caused her mother and she part ways, because now maia's mother was a criminal and she had more proabilities of getting caught, so maia should go on her way and find the next village, but she found the lavellan clan. she deeply regrets not going after her mother. she also think she was too stupid to not found out the true identity of solas and try to convince him that this world has meaning :'/ 23. do you have any headcanons about your character(s) that go against canon? mmmm... no? :/, i like my decisions to have consequences?? 24. are any of your characters based on someone? sahgdashsd pls don't make fun of me but in the first stage of prim's/anika's 'personality creation' was inspired by mother gothel, then she was inspired by...... mikasa ackerman dsfgdjsdf, i'm still inspired by that character tHO i know that shingeki no kyojin is nazi propaganda and i no longer watch that anime lmao. maia is inspired by... a mix of me and rapunzel (from tangled)?? she's basically a shy rapunzel :') 25. who did you leave in the fade? some of you will hate me bc i had to choose between hawke and stroud but i still chose hawke dsfgsdf. m8, hawke is just a 'figure' who isn't widely recognized in thedas, while the grey warden are 394789x more useful, idk i always put myself in the shoes of my characters even if their decisions hurt me (tho, tbqh, i'm not tHAT attached to hawke so this choice was easy lol) 26. favourite mount? royal sixteen!! she's so pretty!! ♡♡♡ thanks for tagging me!! ♡♡

[helenamayhathaway]

hey do you have any book recommendations, not fics, like physical books?

Sure, do I’ve been trying to read more this past year or so, and I’ve read quite a few books that I’d recommend.

My favorite books that I’ve read recently are easily the Lockwood Wood and Co. series. They’re ghost stories, but like with a lot of heart and Jonathan Stroud is one of my favorite authors and they’re just really good. They don’t get worse as you go through the series which I love, they all are genuinely amazing and I’d very much recommend them for people who like ghosts, and mysteries. Jonathan Stroud is great, I love him a lot, read these books!

The Name of the Star is not necessarily a new book I’ve read, but I recently reread it and I just need to talk about how good it is. It’s my Maureen Johnson so you already know it’s gonna be good, but like it’s deadass got every single niche interest I love. I’ll start with just the great setting: you’ve got a boarding school in England. Beat that? Then it’s also a ghost book, and a mystery novel, and a lil bit of a romance novel and there’s also Jack the fucking Ripper? Can’t beat it, you really can’t. The rest of the series is so far not good, but hey like it’s hard to expand upon a perfect book like the first one. 

Truly Devious is another book written by Maureen Johnson, which is not as good as The Name of the Star, but has the potential to be a much better series. This book sets itself up to be a great series, where the other one did not, and it is pretty good, don’t get me wrong, but I doubt the first one will be the best book if that makes any sense. This one is about a girl who goes to a boarding school to solve an old unsolved murder, which was committed by someone who wrote a letter signed Truly Devious, and then *gasp* someone dies. It’s pretty good. 

The Grishaverse, okay so I JUST started these about a week ago and I’m about half way through with the second book, but it’s pretty good. I’m actually only reading the original series so that I can read the Six of Crows book which has a much cooler sounding plot, but I do like it, and I would recommend it. 

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. So the first three books in this series were all very good, though I admit I have not read the fourth one yet. I’m fairly sure I’ll like it, but I haven’t gotten there yet, so until then, great series. it’s about a couple of naturally gifted teens who are being trained to solve crimes, and then certain crimes begin to require their attention (which they’re not technically supposed to do). It’s pretty good, but it has an annoying romantic triangle which I could do without, but overall, good mysteries. 

Every Day is by no means a recent novel I’ve read, it actually was a few years ago, but it is my favorite book by David Levithan who I would honestly describe as the author I most strive to BE, so I think it’s a good read if you happen to like my own work? I know it just got made into a movie, but I haven’t seen it so I don’t know if it’s any good or not, but the book itself is really beautiful and touching. Just about everything David Levithan writes I love, so it’s hard to go wrong. 

Ten by Gretchen McNeil is a retelling of And Then There Were None, in a modern setting. I like it cause just a whole bunch of people die. Is it better than Agatha Christie’s book? No it is not. Is it easier to follow? yes it is. If you love murder and you love a mystery, this is a great suspenseful novel to just read for fun. 

Books I have started which were good but I got distracted by other things and didn’t finish them but probably will at some point:

A Study In Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro: some jerk gets murdered and then Sherlock and Watson’s ancestors gotta prove they didn’t do it

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. Mcmanus: some bitch face gets murdered in detention by probably one of the main five characters but who?

[omelettedufromage-24601]

MBTI Book tag

Tagged by: @prossima-nebulosa thanks :D

This tag is a nightmare it’s like a music tag help

1. First things first, what is your MBTI type? I never can remember it and my friend who knows it for me is asleep, but I think I’m ENFP?

2. When did you learn to read? Idk around 5-6? Like most kids? My mom told me I learnt quickly though (at least, compared to my older brother).

3. What languages can you read in? Well I can read languages but can I understand? That is the question. I can read Russian and Greek for instance but can’t understand it. Otherwise, I can read and understand in French, English and Spanish (hrm).

4. What books are you currently reading or most recently read?

A book I picked myself: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, but I haven’t read it in a while. I’m checking randomly a book about the Meaning of Body Language when I travel and I gotta read Le Spleen de Paris by Charles Baudelaire. 

If I’m being honest, I’m reading a Tododeku fic lately and this is a great one: Pulling the Wires, 19 chapters so far and you should totally check it out.

5. Name 3 books you never finished: Lmao that’s gonna be fun:

Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert) around 2013-2014 I tried to read this bitch’s story for 2 years and never could go over part II, can’t believe I got 19/20 on the test of knowledge of the book (thank you internet and quick online readings)

L’Enfant (Jules Valès) around 2010-2011 I studied an extract in class and Idk what happened I thought it would be interesting to read it and it was a mistake, I forced myself to read it but gave up half way the book.

Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe) 2016-2017 I believe I hated this book more than Madame Bovary and that’s saying a lot, at least I liked studying Flaubert, I couldn’t read past 30 pages of that horrible, horrible annoying and boring book (yes I’m harsh but it was such a disappointment)

6. What are your favorite books from childhood? I’m sorry what? Do you know how many books I read during my childhood??? I can’t say?????? I’m gonna give a few titles randomly but wow

The Golden Compass trilogy (Philip Pullman) 

Tara Duncan (Sophie Audouin-Mammikonian)

The Eragon trilogy (Christopher Paolini)

The Bartimaeus Trilogy (Jonathan Stroud)

Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)

Méto (Yves Grevet)

Les Colombes du Roi-Soleil (Anne-Marie Desplat-Duc)

Marie-Antoinette, les Jardins Secrets d’une Princesse (Anne-Sophie Sylvestre)

7. What are your current favorite books?

???? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME I can’t tell I read a few pages of The Three Musketeers  (Alexandre Dumas) and it was enough for me to say I love it already so I’m gonna say that for now, along with almost any of Eric-Emmanuel Schmidt’s books (closely followed by Bernard Werber but I haven’t read his works in the past six years).

Multiple Choice (bold as many as apply to you & add your own choice if you must)

8. Your favorite genres: Mystery/Sci-fi/Chick Lit/Young Adult/Horror/Nonfiction/Memoirs/Dystopias/Poetry/Self-Help/Historical Fiction/Fanfiction/Realistic Fiction/Biographies/Satire-Black Comedy/Philosophy/Fantasy

9. Your opinion on rereading books: I do it all the time/It has to be a really good book/I can’t stand it/I haven’t done it since I was a child/I only reread my favorite sections.

10. How long does it take you to read one book on average? So long. I got so slow. I’m reading like 2 books a year when I used to read 3 to 7 a month. I hate this. I can’t tell. But at least 2 months now.

11. How do you typically read? When I get on a trip, I always try to get back to books and read again! So it’s usually in transports. I tend to read fanfictions on my phone if I read something before going to bed.

12. How many books do you typically read in a year? None or 1/About 1 to 3/Maybe 4 to 10/At least more than 10/ At least 50/ Too much. I can’t keep track

13. For school assigned books, what type of student are/were you?

Before until last year: I read it in time, sometimes before. To make it perfect I made researches on the internet and Sparknotes.

Now: I’m always late, last time I worked on Illusions Perdues (Balzac) and analysed the whole part we studied without having time to finish it, this is horrible. Right now I should be working on Baudelaire but it’s so much better to be late ahah kill me Internet and essays of analyses save me.

tagging: @arosegxrden @abrokendawn @castorsbooks @dimancheetoile @saluzozette @lux-morningstar @chi-loves-keith @miss-littlegiant @petite-neko and anyone who wants to do it

[raiswanson]

Is that actually your bookcase in your background image? I think I spot some Vampirates, Ranger's Apprentice and one of the Nightrunner books, so it's gotta be. Challenge! Pick a random book off your shelf and tell me what you like about it! :D

>3> you are correct friend! That is my shelf, in all it’s horrifically-pixelated glory! The front of it at least lol. There’s an entire second row in there. @_@

Well, Ranger’s Apprentice (by John Flanagan) is the first one I can reach from my desk, and tbh it’s the series I find myself pushing most often so I guess that’s what I’ll be hyping up today. ;D Now I’m not always great at expressing what I like about a book so I’m prefacing this with: it’s a damn good series and everyone should at least give it a try.

So first off I want to mention that the first book was started specifically to get the author’s son into reading. And it shows. They’re interesting and fun while staying at a pretty easy entry-level reading difficulty. It’s really, really easy to just sit down and devour an entire book in one afternoon(which tbh is exactly what I do every time I pick up a new entry to the series)

Another thing I love is the sass. It might just be standard Aussie snark(?) but I’ve read very few books with so many witty characters so capable of verbally eviscerating you while still being completely well-rounded likable individuals (tho books from Johnathan Stroud come to mind). There is also much eye-rolling and pranking between characters. The whole series just has my entire sense of humor locked down in irons and I’m loving it.

But I think what I love most are the characters, namely Halt. He’s just fantastic. Will, the MC is also fantastic, but I have a terrible weakness for grouchy-but-caring mentor characters and Halt is GREAT for that. There’s also Tug. Who is a close second in my heart. I will not tell you who Tug is. You’ll have to find out. But I assure you he deserve all of your love. And an apple. (that said, I love all the characters. They’re all wonderful)

[hobbitsetal]

I loved this series so much, I got my husband to read it and then bought the books for him a couple Christmases ago.

On top of OP’s excellent description, lemme add in that each book is a self-contained and well plotted mystery that ties into an overarching story. The plot twists are surprising, but Jonathan Stroud doesn’t pull them out of thin air. The characterization is really well done, the writing is atmospheric and genuinely spooky (one could say it’ll...haunt you), and the pacing is crisp and keeps your attention.

Also gotta say, major props to Stroud for having a clever in-universe explanation for why all the main characters are teens and the adults are useless. It adds tension between the MCs and the adults in the books, but also gives the characters realistic power when it comes to dealing with problems.

Having read all five books, I can promise a satisfying ending both to each book and to the series as a whole. If you like ghosts, spookiness, and good characters, read Lockwood and Co.!

Yoo whats Lockwood and Co abt, and where can I access it? Is it a book series??

OKAY OKAY so I’ve only read part of book 1 so I may not be the best person to ask about the series but I’ll do my best!

 @distance-does-not-matter introduced me to the series! She convinced me to read it by pitching the books as having very gradual, realistic, and satisfying relationship growths and dynamics, (SLOW BURN FOUND FAMILY) as well as very satisfying and realistic character growth and a well written plot that leads to a very good pay off by the end of the series! (also well written female characters and well written teenagers! she hasn’t confirmed yet but I THINK there might be a slow burn romance in here we shall see)

I would add: 

So the story takes place in an alternate universe London, (not sure on the time period, doesnt seem entirely modern i dont think? I’m not sure?) Where something happened that caused a HUGE surge of ghosts, called “Visitors”, to the point of where they have to have curfews at night, and the government started creating huge agencies that train people to combat these visitors. There are some gifted people who are able to actually see, or hear, or in some other way detect the presence of these visitors, HOWEVER, they lose their gift as they begin to enter adulthood, which means that these agencies have to take their agents young and train them to seek ghosts while they still have their senses. The main character of the series, Lucy, is someone who has the gift of hearing. She ends up leaving her agency after some possibly spoiler stuff and gets a job working at Lockwood and Co, a ghost hunting company that is so small it only had two members when she joined, Anthony Lockwood and George. Lockwood isn’t actually an adult, but started the company all on his own. (Theres some stuff behind all that yet that I haven’t gotten to.)

Lockwood as a character is dripping in charm and humor. His dynamic with Lucy is AMAZING so far. 

I also have to say that I LOVE the ‘system of magic’ in this books, (theres no actual magic, just referring to the literary term!) There seems to be well cut and established rules for what hurts ghosts and how they operate, and they do a decent job of not dumping all the rules on you right from the get-go

If you are interested in reading it, you can possibly find it at a local library! or if youre like me and love owning books, I bought mine used for super cheap off of thriftbooks. Theres five books in total, the first is called The Screaming Staircase. 

[littlehollyleaf]

Questions for the Blogger!

tagged by @lankybrunettepartdeux (my apologies for being half-hearted about this, I’m a lazy ass!)

Rules: Answer 30  questions and tag 20 blogs you are contractually obligated to know better.

1. Nicknames: I tried very very hard at Uni to give myself the nickname ‘Leaf’ but it never worked out :p 2. Gender: Female 3. Star sign: Scorpio (but I never seem to fit ANY of the descriptions) 4. Height: don’t remember, can’t be bothered to check... something like 5′1 5. Time: 11.45am (BST) 6. Birthday: 7th Nov 1984 7 & 8. Favorite Bands & Favorite solo artists: I’ve combined these because my answer covers both - see truth is I don’t really ‘do’ music, so... never really sure who is solo and who is a band (is Pink the person? is Bon Jovi the band? idek!) and... I have SONGS I enjoy, but don’t really pay attention to the artists most of the time... kinda like Meatloaf, listen to Swift sometimes, recently grabbed a bunch of songs by Halsey... have also listened to Kansas and AC/CD... but I like cheesy shit too like ABBA... um, Bonnie Tyler... Annie Lennox... Dolly Parton... basically I have no musical taste is what I’m saying, and generally whatever fandom I’m in dictates what music I like at the time 9. Song stuck in my head: “Purple Rain” (oh gee I wonder how THAT happened :p) 10. Last movie I watched: Kingsman The Golden Circle :) 11. Last show I watched: Justice League Action (well one episode :p) 12. When did I create my blog: don’t remember... 13. What do I Post/Reblog: geeky stuff 14. Last Thing I Googled: literally just now “who is in control lyrics” - because I couldn’t remember the artist of the song for the Q above (that’s how bad I am at music) 15. Other Blogs: got an LJ still kicking about somewhere 16. Do I get asks: it has been known :p 17. Why I Chose My URL: my name’s holly, I’m small... also when I first needed to create an online username for LJ back in the day my first choice of ‘hollyleaf’ was already taken 18. Following: too many :p (tumblr has been running slow for me for a while and I suspect it’s cos of the amount of blogs I follow... I try and prune now and then but... eh) 19. Followers: too many! seriously guys, what are you all here for? I’m so ridiculous! (I suspect a lot are actually porn blogs/bots though - I only discovered this year how to check who is following you and that you can block them... I so can’t be bothered to wade through my existing followers and try and figure out which are and aren’t real though) 20. Average Hours of Sleep: 6-8 21. Lucky number: 7 I guess 22. Instruments: See above about me and music - playing is worse because... I can’t always tell when something is out of tune (my dad is legit tone deaf and I’ve long suspected I may take after him). I did play the flute to Grade 2 when I was younger though. I enjoyed it but never really... got INTO it, you know? I was always, like, ‘playing by numbers’ I suppose? 23. What am I wearing: PJs. It’s my day off leave me alone. 24. Dream job: No job. I have ZERO ambition. If I could just chill and fandom and snuggle with my cats every day I would. My job gets me money to live, that’s all (although I do like my job okay!) 25. Dream Trip: SDCC! Although atm I am also really kinda interested in visiting Japan 26. Favorite Food: Pork, probably. Unless you count drinks, in which case Coke and/or Mountain Dew. 27. Nationality: Brit. 28. Favorite Song RIGHT NOW: Ah no single one, just dumb stuff that gives me nygmobbelpot feelings mostly - “All of Me” by John Legend, “Loving You is a Dirty Job (But Someone’s Gotta Do It)” by Bonnie Tyler, “Strange Love” by Halsey... (I REALLY NEED some foxma songs though, so if anyone has any ideas??) 29. Last Book Read: Last one I finished was “A Skinful of Shadows” by Frances Hardinge (who is AMAZING and it was AMAZING everyone read her if you like slightly spooky stuff that, thank goodness, LACKS ROMANCE). Currently reading “Lockwood and Co. The Empty Grave” by Jonathan Stroud :)

30. Top Three Fictional Universes You’d Want to Join: 

Doctor Who (because it’s basically ours but with the chance you might stumble into the TARDIS one day, so I could theoretically keep my life largely as is :p)

Labyrinth (again, basically ours, but if you played your cards right you might get whisked off for a magical adventure with the Goblin King for a night, which is a win!)

The Librarians (this has the same element of ‘our world but magic is real’ but in a twist on the above I’d actually be happy to be part of the action in this world, because the characters’ magic adventures seem fun and with the least amount of trauma involved, lol! I don’t think I’d be smart enough to be a Librarian though alas)

Oh sorry, did you think I’d say Gotham or spn? Fuck that, you know if ~I lived in those universes I’d be Extra #3 in the cold open who gets violently slaughtered by the monster/villain of the week, so no thanks! (and even if not - I could not handle the stress of living in Gotham, have you SEEN what happens there??)

[wonderfulchaos69-blog]

For the fan fic writer asks! 3, 17, 27, 31, 38! :D

3. name three favorite writers

I wasn’t sure if this meant for fanfic or for books in general, so I did both! And man, this doesn’t even begin to cover some of my favorite writers! Three is too limiting D=

Sinnatious on ff.net and ao3 is one of the best FFVII writers and I am always in awe. The stories have reread value, they’re on point for characters and dialogue, and it’s a great experience to read anything Sinnatious writes! (I loved their Persona 4 story, too! Because, wow. And they also wrote the first Natori/Natsume story I ever read.)

hakuzo_k on ff.net and ao3 wrote the Den of Inquity series, which is a heartbreaking story. But I love the way she writes Matoba and Natori and Natsume - and Madara, too, of course!

Kyogre on ao3 and ff.net writes long, amazingly paced stories. And just … what even???! So many wonderful stories, not enough time to read. I highly recommend this writer to anyone who likes KHR - especially gen stories that focus on friendship. Phantom Thief Decimo is one of my ultimate favs.

(Also, I’m going to cheat here and add one more, since Blue Exorcist is airing its new arc this season. Kizmet on ff.net - the “To Be Good” series is an interesting, horrifying read. Yukio quietly going insane? I did not know I wanted to read that until I couldn’t look away.)

For published books:

Edgar Allen PoeJonathan StroudDr. Seuss

17. favorite AU to write

I have to say … I’m attached the Subclass Mahiru series. Him as a Tsubaki Subclass in particular, because the drama! 

I also love writing for the Servamp Age AU, too! Need. To. Write. More. (maybe a pillow fort with all the kids?? Kuro comes home after seeing “The Creator” to find his house has been overtaken by hostile enemies known as the “Servampians” - and Hyde has totally crowned Ophelia their queen.) idk, I’m pretty much in AU hell, GIVE ME ALL THE AUS.

27. best review you ever got

ummm, oh wow. I suppose for the Natsume fandom it was:

Ohh my god this is so interesting! I don’t even know what to say!!

I love the dynamic between Matoba and Natsume, and the way you’ve portrayed Natsume at that age and under those circumstances felt fitting (I got an “almost-stoic nature not quite there but the despair still changing him” impression out of it). I love how insane the contract ended up being and the dangerous aura Matoba oozed! I was just so blown away by it. I’m such a sucker for the Master-Servant theme that often comes up with Matoba and Natsume, and to see this take on it was just a lot for my heart, haha. It was ridiculously intense…. I loved it.

Your writing is lovely, so reading these first few chapters have been extremely pleasant. I’m really really looking forward to the next instalment!

I, uh, I’m really attached to Matoba. Writing him is frustrating (and so is Tsubaki!), but it’s rewarding in the end when you get reviews like this. I spent a great deal of time thinking on him and his actions, and how to portray him as morally grey where he does, in fact, seem more like the villain of the series.

And for the Servamp fandom it’s gotta be:

oh my god, this has to be up in the top 5 of my favorite fics in the fandom!! The whole ice powers idea was amazing and well thought out, I would have ever have thought about it. (esp with the contrast to Higan) The whole fic itself gave me a sense of intimacy, like I am so tird right now and I could go on but I think you did a realy really damn good job. I really look forward to your works.

Because I was super flattered to hear one of my fics made it into someone’s top 5 =)

31. the easiest part of writing

Why, the ideas of course! Coming up with ideas is a lot of fun xD Cracking down, choosing one, and actually writing it? Now, that’s the hard part.

38. do you reread your own stories?

I do. To check for errors and to cringe, lol. 

But I have to admit I’ve reread The Frozen Future more than once and clicked next chapter and just been like: Where’s the rest??? Oh, wait, I’d have to write it first, heh. And then I’d go to read the half-finished next chapter that never got uploaded and question my life choices, haha.

Thanks for the ask ^^

asks for fanfic writers

[beths-escape-from-reality]

Hey Guys!

Another month has gone passed! This year is going by so quickly! On the plus side, its almost Christmas!! Whoop whoop! And since it is now November, it is time for another monthly favourites post.

Favourite Book

It was a bit of a strange reading month for me as I read pretty much only spooky/scary/horror/midly creepy books, with only a couple of exceptions. But there where a couple of books that I did really enjoy. The books that I really enjoyed where Say Her Name by Juno Dawson, Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake and Lockwood And Co, The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud. All of these where really good, a brilliant ends to series and I loved them all.

Favourite TV Show

I have been on a bit of nostalgia kick this month. I am still making my way through Gilmore Girls and enjoying it, but I have also started re-watching One Tree Hill. And I am loving it. I had forgotten how good that show is. I have also, finally, started watching Shadowhunters, and again, I am loving it. I really like. yes, it is different from the books, but it is a good show and I am enjoying it.

Favourite Song

I actually have a favourite song for once. The song in question is Slow Hands by Niall Horen. I wasn’t particularly fussed about this song, and then I kept hearing it the whole time that I was in Cardiff and I kind off fell in love with it a bit and had to download it. I have been listening to it pretty constantly ever since. I really like and I am pretty sure that I am going to buy his whole album now.

Favourite Nail Varnish

Throughout October I was pretty constantly wearing black and orange nail varnish, in honour of ‘Stand Up To Cancer’. And I actually really liked it. It was a little nod that I was showing my support to a good cause and it also felt a little Halloween-y. the black that was my usual fav, Rimmel London Black Out and the orange was Clockwork Orange by Leighton Denny. I loved it, and I gotta admit that I am kind of going to miss it.

Favourite Place

CARDIFF! I love Cardiff and this month I went back there for a few days with my sister. It was just a really nice few days. There is a full post up about it, if you want to know more. but I loved it. I love that place so much.

And that is about it for October. What did you love throughout this month? Read any good books? I hope that you have enjoyed todays post and I will see you all again very soon.

READING WRAP UP

Queen Of Hearts by Colleen Oakes

FNAF: The Silver Eyes by Scott Cawthon and Kira Breed-Wrisley

Shadow House: You Can’t Hide by Dan Poblocki

Say Her Name by Juno Dawson

Because You Love To Hate Me by Various

Shadow House: No Way Out by Dan Poblocki

Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell

Lockwood & Co, The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud

Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake

October Favourites Hey Guys! Another month has gone passed! This year is going by so quickly! On the plus side, its almost Christmas!!