#i've actually never written fae stuff before

[avvail-whumps]

Fae AU??? Like with all the fae glamours and tricks and rigged “games” and maybe the whole thing where if you eat the food there you can never leave…

Leo knew he wasn’t meant to be out in the forest alone. He also knew that he was bound to step into a hidden trap, laid out for unsuspecting little humans that were certain to fall victim to them.

Part of him had never believed the stories growing up. So, maybe he could blame it on being slightly naive, when his eyes were drawn to a cluster of mushrooms.

He had thought the little circle they formed was pretty to look at; it wasn’t a suprise he found himself hopping into it, smiling slightly to himself to ease the tension of being lost. He admired the large ring for a long while, before gazing up at the sky.

It would be getting dark soon.

The wise thing to do would be to start finding his way back, hopefully before the sun set and the moon rose into the sky. He had been about to start moving, when a sudden crackle of a twig made his head whirl around.

Leo’s heart fluttered in his throat at the sight of a man by the tree, gazing at him intensely. He couldn’t help but let out a suprised breath, a hand instinctively pressing against his chest from the scare.

“You scared me,” he breathed shakily, avoiding the man’s intense stare. There was long, tense pause, before the strange man seemed to smile. There was something peculiar about him, this uncanny aura flowing from him, but Leo noted that he was pretty handsome. Alluringly handsome, in fact, and he found himself stealing glimpses at him on occasion.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he hummed, stepping away from the tree and closer to the ring. His feet stopped just outside of it, but Leo stayed planted where he was. “Are you lost?”

There was something a little odd about the man. Leo could feel his gut instincts stirring in his stomach, his hairs pricking on edge. He hesitantly licked his lips, feeling somewhat awkward now.

“Uh, no,” he answered back, trying to keep his voice from wobbling. He wondered how the man had so easily snuck up on him. Like he’d just appeared from thin air. “I’m on my way home.”

The man’s lip curved up into an amused smirk. His eyes were so intense that he forced himself to look elsewhere, swallowing nervously.

“You’re a bit far out, you know,” the man shrugged. Leo glanced at him, noting how his demeanour had seemed to shift, and he looked a little bit more normal. That unease pricking at the back of his neck seemed to lift, and the knot in his stomach untangled itself. Leo had been in a world of his own. The man was staying far enough away from him, at least.

“I know,” he breathed, rubbing his fingers together awkwardly. “That’s why I should probably go.”

The man hummed. Leo, for some reason, felt glued to the very spot he was standing on. He didn’t really want the man out of his sights if he could help it; his eyes were incredibly intense whenever he was trapped in his gaze.

“What’s your name?”

Leo’s eyebrows rose slightly. They furrowed in confusion after a second, eyes darting to the ground. “Oh, it’s...” He hesitated. “Leo.”

“Leo?” The man hummed, his lip curving up into an amused smirk. At the sound of his name, Leo immediately pricked up, a strange sensation washing over him. It fell right down to the bottom of his stomach, and he could feel his forehead becoming clammy from the sudden outburst of anxious nerves. The man chuckled.

“Is that...funny?” Leo grumbled under his breath, a little embarrassed. He waved a hand airily.

“I don’t think you’d find it very humourous, little lion.”

Leo frowned. Little what—?

His feet shuffled backwards as the man took a step forward, crossing the ring of mushrooms.

“Okay, I think I’m going to go,” Leo hurriedly whispered, violently trying to shake off the sudden impatient surge from his body. “Thank you for your concern.”

Leo spun around hastily to make a dash through the trees. He didn’t make it step out of the ring though, because what he was looking at wasn’t trees. There were no trees. He blinked slowly, registering the gentle brush of wind on his cheeks. His eyes raked around, and his stomach dropped straight to his boots.

He wasn’t in the forest anymore. Whatever land he was in, was a breathtakingly beautiful one. A watercolored sky, painted with light blues that melted beautifully into each other. Perfect hills of fresh, green grass, and the rush of a flowing lake by the flowers.

Leo’s mouth went dry, and a coil of absolute terror stabbed through his heart. The mushroom ring. The stories.

His eyes found the man’s, all coy and fox-like.

“I told you my name,” he whispered in horror under his breath. The man hummed under his breath, smirking.

“Yes, you did.”

A stray tear rolled down his cheek. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“No, little lion,” he murmured softly, easing forward so he was close enough to touch him. Leo went to jerk away, despite the fuzziness and the lightheadedness, but the man was quick to stop him.

“Don’t move, Leo.”

So he didn’t.

He didn’t exactly have a choice. Even the air was sweet smelling, so much that it was making him dizzy. The man’s fingers were gently wiping away the tears with the gentlest of touches, his other hand tangling within his own.

Leo could feel himself being pulled along, and it was as though his legs weren’t even attached to his own body. The man—the creature, the fae—was taking him somewhere, inside a house, the sudden burst of delicious smells overwhelming his senses. Leo’s slack expression nearly brightened up when he was welcomed by a long table stacked with food.

There was everything there. Anything he could have dreamt of. The man’s hand eased along his lower back, making shivers tingle up his spine.

In a blink, he realised he’d crossed the room, and he was already holding an apple in his hand. Leo suddenly jolted, snapping out of it, jerking away from the man’s grip.

“Take me back,” he demanded, and realised that tears had been rolling down his cheeks without even realising since he arrived here. His hand felt itchy, trying not to let the panic shake his voice. “Please. Please, I’m begging you.”

“I can hear that, lion,” the man purrred, motioning to the food. “I’ll take you back. Unless you’d like to eat.”

Leo’s frantic brain tried to remember the rules. There were rules to this. What was it? Don’t give up your name? Don’t bargain? Don’t—

He heaved on a sob, craning away from his touch once again. “Please let me go.”

“You can eat a little before you go,” the man pressed, his head tilting to the side. His eyes slid down to the apple clenched in his hand, so tightly his knuckles had gone white. “A bite won’t hurt. Go on, little lion. Just a taste.”

Those words were like a haunting little whisper in his ear. An enticing, tempting command for him to battle with valiantly. Leo opened his mouth to say something, to refuse and to find his way out of this stunning, perfect, extravagant land, but there was a sudden burst of sweetness on his tongue and—

Oh. He was eating the apple.

Leo’s eyes flickered up in horror.

Now he remembered the rules.

And from the look on the fae’s face, he knew it too.

[leserattevirginie]

Crown of Shadows by C.S. Friedman

Genre: Sci-Fantasy Star Rating: 4,25 ⭐️

Plot: ⬜️ Plot holes big enough for a herd of elephants ⬜️ I think I’ve read this before. (Unoriginal to the max.) ⬜️ No plot, just vibes ⬜️ Enjoyable but not super memorable. ✅ You have my undivided attention. ⬜️ Mind = Blown

Characters: ⬜️ Mary Sue is in the house! ⬜️ These are cardboard cut-outs. ⬜️ Good main cast, but the rest is forgettable at best. ⬜️ Generally well written. ✅ Complex ⬜️ What do you mean characters? These feel like real people!

Personal Enjoyment: ⬜️ DNF ⬜️ Somebody free me from this hell (but also no, I won’t DNF) ⬜️ WTF did I just read??? ⬜️ I don’t like it, but I also don’t hate it. ⬜️ It’s a good book but I just never want to pick it back up. ⬜️ No strong feelings either way. ⬜️ Enjoyable read ✅ What a page turner! This is fun! ⬜️ I think I’m in love ⬜️ (new) all time favourite

World Building: ⬜️ This takes place in our world. ⬜️ Worldbuilding what worldbuilding? ⬜️ This feels like a TV set. ⬜️ Not super deep, but present. ✅ Detailed, believable. ⬜️ You bet every single ant has its own 100 page backstory!

Pacing: ⬜️ drags/is rushed in all the wrong places ⬜️ Inconsistent ⬜️ something undefinable feels off ⬜️ I don’t love it it but it fits the book perfectly. ✅ Good/no complaints ⬜️ Amazing! Could not put this down!

Writing: ⬜️ This is painful ⬜️ I’m cringing ⬜️ Not great, but not bad either. ⬜️ Neutral (Didn’t really notice.) ✅ Elegant but not overly flowery. ⬜️ So beautiful I actually stopped and noticed it. ⬜️ I’m not sure if this is just a bad translation. ⬜️ I’m not confident enough in my language skills for this language to comment on the quality of the writing.

Wow, I can't believe I've finished the series this fast! That alone says a lot about how much I liked it :) As usual, here's a bunch of rambly thoughts:

For the most part I feel like I did about the other two books - plot is fine but character work and world building take the cake. The plot was still fairly straight-forward, but I will say that it was a bit more complex with the dual plot-lines. A bit I don't think I've mentioned before that I love: due to the set up we get sorcery and sword type stuff but also tourism, instant soup, insurance companies, etc. (Did I imagine the aspirin?) The mix between modern and old timey things is great!

Unfortunately I also still feel the same about the treatment of women within the series. Sure, the argument could be made that maybe it's just Damien who's a bit misogynistic in his POV, and Gerald is just generally The Most Terrible Person ™ around, but it still doesn't sit right with me. Especially since we start the book with Gerald's lunch committing suicide. Was that weird bit about Damien's landlady necessary? Was there no other way to explain how Iezu perceive the world other than "Holy shit can you believe that middle aged lady dares to think of herself as attractive, lol what a hag" ?? But hey, Narilka is still alive! I suppose if you exist to redeem the Gerald clone you get to live. (I can't believe I forgot poor Almea in my last rant. The fridging that started it all! ...is it still fridging if the man murders her himself??)

As for the plot lines, on one hand I really, really enjoyed getting more POVs! ...maybe just not the ones we actually got xD The patriarch was probably my favourite, even if almost every second I spent inside his head was incredibly frustrating. Some of that may be due to Calesta's influence, but for the most part it's probably just him being the fantasy-pope. There's a reason I left the church xD That being said, I appreciate that he actually whole-heartedly believes what he is preaching. The thing that confuses me the most about the church is its stance on working the fae. As I understood it, it was designed to focus the fae, making it a bit less dangrous for the general population. And also providing humanity with the concentrated power of the beliefs and faith of thousands if not millions, which could eventually be used for space travel. (Or something in that vein.) Anyway, I thought it was very clear that they are still manipulating the fae, just on an enormous scale, and disapproved of private sorcery. But at times it kind of felt like the patriarch sort of forgot that (or deliberately repressed it?). All those "no, this isn't witchcraft, this is a miracle from God!" moments felt so odd because - of course its the same thing? You literally created your God yourselves by those exact same means??? Oh well, church is hypocritical, fork found in kitchen.

Andrys and Narilka I actually liked well enough, as long as they weren't on page together. Or thinking about each other. Actually, scratch that. I liked Narilka when she wasn't being compared to teacups or dolls! But then she had to fall in love with Andrys after talking to him...twice? Andrys... I mean he was there and relevant to the plot. I do feel bad for him, but there wasn't really that much to him other than (admittedly horrific) trauma and an uncanny resemblance to his great-great ....-great grandpa. And drugs to cope with all of that. Small pet peeve: the nickname Andri. WHY. You're literally just taking of one letter (and changing the other because....aesthetics??)

On to more enjoyable ramblings!!! The Damien-Gerlad dynamic in this book was just *chef's kiss* You can't just hit me with the "You changed me" speech that early in the book, I was not prepared xD The many ways in which we see the depth of their...friendship... were just sweet (especially post-hell), and such a contrast to the first book! (Well, Damien still tells us constantly how hot Gerald is, that hasn't changed at all xD My dude literally described his very platonic bestie as "aesthetic perfection". A few pages after Karril rerminds us of how very straight he is, of course.) Now maybe at this point my rose coloured shipper glasses are just glued to my face, but that moment when he tried to explain how Almea supposedly feels also slightly came across as him projecting just a bit. (Gerald is right, Almea (or the Almea-thing) has every right to be pissed, honestly she should have shown up with ghostly divorce papers. Or maybe Damien was right and she just wanted to see him jump into a volcano for a good cause, who knows.) There are some things I would have loved to see more of: - the mental link between Damien and Gerald was criminally under-used, imo. Did it change Damien physically somehow, since Gerald no longer felt cold to him? Is he now part vampire for ever xD (And dear god that whole bit about taking the Hunter into his body, whyyy xDD) - honestly I would have loved to see Gerald readjusting to being human (and being incredibly annoyed about it) a bit more. It's been 900+ years, surely there's stuff he's forgotten? I mean he spent the vast majority of his life being the stuff of nightmares! - Gerald honestly wanting and trying to redeem himself (sure, he was ready to sacrifice himself in the end, but it kind of struck me as a last minute decision. And you can't tell me being the first to kill a Iezu and saving the world didn't also appeal to his ego). But I get that that would take another 10 books, minimum

Damiens break with the church was a long time coming, and handled well, I think. Oddly enough, priest never struck me as a job that you can just quit.

I just remembered about Gerald's apprentice (Amoril?). What an idiot. I would have loved to know how he came to be the Hunter's apprentice though. Can you apply for scolarships? Anyway, trashing a library is unforgivable in my book ;)

Oh, and Hell! Hell was surprisingly meh to me, but I did appreciate the insight into how the Iezu operate (which was probable the main point of that scene anyway). Love that Damien could just reason with the literal devil. (But the concept of the Devil as a non-unified entity was actually cool though). How did it take Damien so long to understand what the mountain of dead women could possibly be. Neither he nor the reader are stupid enough not to get it. Friedman usually doesn't hold our hand and over explains in the series, why start now?? Shock factor? I doubt anyone cared enough about Sisa? Sasi? for that to work.

OK I promise I'm coming to an end soon but guys. Guys. The epilogue. The freaking epilogue. What a trip that was xDDD 1) The Wedding. Karril POV was... certainly something! We now officially know that not only women find Andrys attractive. (Take that, Damien "idk, he's probably attractive to women but also aesthetic perfection" Vryce. Did I need to know about potential Iezu sex that only benefits the (currently presenting as) male partner? No, not really. Also WTF was that scene with Andrys' ex lovers. I know we're supposed to see and rejoice in the fact that Andrys is no longer a playboy, but did we really need that "women hating women for the benefit of some hot guy" thing in here? I swear there were bits in the series where I could have sworn it was written by man (derogatory). At least Narilka remained unbothered. Presumably moisturised. Very happy and in her lane. Focused on her wedding, as she should be. She gets to live on to be compared to countless fragile things made of porcelain, whether she wants it or not. 2) Freaking Riven Forrest. I was cackling throughout that whole bit. Not only does he get to hunt and terrify people just like his father, he also runs a successful (?) fishing rod business on the side. (I know, I know, hunting supplies in general, the rods just kind of stuck out to me). The fact that the intelligent prey he looks forward to hunting the most is once again a woman (even if it is an abusive, horrible woman) tells us exactly what part the Iezu mother chose to take from the OG Hunter, huh. Which is great for Gerald, but a weird choice on her part?? But dear God the last bit. He keeps a portait of Gerald above his fireplace??? I finally completely lost it at "Here's to you, dad" xDDD 3) The "dark haired youth". Of course he survived. I was suspicious as soon as we didn't actually get to see Andrys kill him. As for the new persona - I suspected who he was, but the moment I was really sure was when Damien started describing him in loving detail. For an entire paragraph. That was half a page long. But the ending. WTF. I could have accepted Gerald's Death, but this? You're telling me after all they went through together, and after he basically just risked his life again by saying hi to Damien in the most cryptic way possible, they just...never talked again?! Nah, in my expert opinion they just met up in the next bathhouse. Also I wanted to see the guy suffer be annoyed a bit more because he can no longer Work to maintain his image. (I'd also have loved to know Geralds criteria for his new body, vain as he is. What was his thought process? "Oh no, the wonderful world of magical horse-breeding is now lost to me! Guess I'll just have to make sure that from now on I have the most majestic ponytail out there!"? Although, come on. He might be willing to risk his life for a horse.) My last words: I enjoyed this series so much more than I ever thought I would, and these idiots now live rent-free in my brain. Also how the f- are we supposed to read these books as an entirely platonic relationship? The most I'll agree to is some weird, slightly cursed QPR. But come on. COME ON. Even if they are both heterosexual (notwithstanding Damiens constant thirsting casual descriptions) they are definitely in love. Or just so deeply obsessed with, and at this point, sort of dependent on each other (Gerlad's words, not mine. sort of) that it makes little to no difference.

I know there's some prequels (?) I think I might check them out sometime.

[egophiliac]

Hello!! I'm in love with your artstyle (especially the way you did the signature spells??? I've been looking at them for a while adsgfdfsf, they look like movie posters tbh and that's fricking cool to me. anyway!! I'm a player on the NA server (btw, I've already seen spoilers of chap 7 due to tumblr/reddit/pinterest, so yeah it's not the most spoiled I've ever been so yea) and yeah. I'm getting through the story okay but do you have any advice for people trying to get through certain events with a more limited life schedule??? Also, what are some of the differences that you notice between the english (if you see a lot of it??) and Japanese versions of the game? sorry if this was a longer ask, i tried to be simple but i wanted to tell you that I loved your art and everything just spiraled AAAAAAH

thank you! ❤️❤️❤️ I've been surprised by how many people really like my posters -- it's kind of a weird style to do fanart in, I guess, but I'm glad other people think it's cool too! :D

(gonna answer out of order because the event stuff turned into a huge block of text, sorry!)

I've seen a few of the localizations, but I don't know a lot about the Eng version, so I can't speak too much about differences. (I do think "housewarden" has a better sound to it than "dorm leader" though...they need a fancy little word to match their fancy little outfits.) I did look up the unique magic/signature spells to see if they were able to somehow work in the glossing -- I'm not even sure how you would localize that without it being super weird, so I don't blame them, but I was a little sad anyway! :( in Japanese, they're all written as Japanese phrases with the English as ruby text, and sometimes they're given a little extra meaning. like -- this is where the episode 7 spoilers I'm tagging are) the words that Mal says are "Fae of Maleficence":

but the meaning of the Japanese is "Blessing", which is a nice little "ooooh" moment given the context of it!

there isn't always an extra meaning, sometimes it's just. super literal. but my other favorite is Jack's, where what he means is "✨howl that pierces the moonlit night✨", but what he actually yells is "UNLEASH BEAST" before turning into a giant dog. what a good boy.

as for event advice (under the cut, because this was already getting long)...

speaking as someone who is 100% F2P and therefore also tends to get kind of burnt by some of these events -- the #1 most important thing is to just...make peace with not getting everyone. :') I am a collector-type person, so it definitely gets grating when I can't have all the fancy PNGs my little packrat heart desires. generally though: never do random pulls, always be saving your keys and gems between events. (once a month you can buy a 10-set from Sam for a 50 gem discount, and logging in on a character's birthday will give you a 10-set for free, so make sure to do those!). when the event info starts coming out, pick one or two cards that you really want and work specifically towards those, focusing on grinding out the items and/or using your saved-up pulls on their specific banner. and in the end, accept that it might just not be meant to be, even if you hit the 100-pull pity SSR no I'm not still bitter over fairy gala Ortho why do you ask. if the event doesn't have any cards that you really want, take it as an opportunity to save for the next one!

hoard your star fragments (the things that restore AP) -- if you're going for a card that requires grinding event items to permanently unlock, and the item is one you get from lessons, you can use star fragments to bump your AP up to 30 at a time (10 is the limit that will restore over time, but 30 is the max you can have at once). that makes for a looong lesson loop, but I usually get about 50-60 items per 30 lessons, and I just let it run in the background while doing other stuff. (usually these items are what also unlock the event story, so I'll do a huge amount of lessons first thing and then have enough to get the whole story at once. 👍) it can get really grindy, but events go on for a while so it's not usually that bad if you space it out a bit, instead of waiting until the last minute to try and get those last 600 items (cough) (cough).

if it's one of the ones where you get the item from doing a rhythmic, you get the same amount of items no matter how well you do, even if you miss every note. so you can just...tap occasionally to restart it and get the same effect. if it's a battle one, you do have to actually win to get the item, but once you figure out the sweet spot of a team setup + highest battle level where you win every time, it becomes basically the same deal.

so...yeah, tl;dr you can get away with a lot just by setting things up to run in the background and paying just enough attention to tap through some of the menus. it does require a certain amount of time to just leave your phone while still sorta-kinda paying attention to it, so it might not work for everyone, but that's the best way I've found to get through most events!

[teriwrites]

about me: a writeblr re-re-re-introduction

Hello! My old pinned post is officially over a year old and makes me cringe whenever I'm on my blog, so it's time to freshen things up again!

me

I'm Teri, I'm smack dab in the middle of my 20s and figuring out life. My writing is pretty exclusively original stuff, a lot of novels and a lot of fantasy, but I play around with various genres in short stories. Sort of a jack-of-all-trades in regards to hobbies - aside from writing, there's anything from baking to drawing with my ancient art tablet to cross-stitch to playing music to rambling around the patch of woods near my house to watching long-form D&D let's plays.

my goals

I recognize that every time I post something like this, it's with the intention of finally becoming as active on writeblr as I was during the pandemic. I also recognize I've never quite managed that.

So here are some more general goals to get me through 2024:

Finish my 2nd draft of Beyond Alder Creek

Write as cringey and brutally honest as I never allowed myself to as a teenager.

Speaking of, a large reading/writing goal of mine is to go back through every NaNo draft I've ever written (I've participated since 2011). So aside from just reading that and likely turning it into a whole spectacle on here for people's amusement, generally just survive reading through the writing from 8th grade. Stay tuned for more on that in the coming weeks lol

Finally, I have a general goal every year of reaching 100K words, between writing and editing and the like, but I'd happily be a little looser with that goal if it meant getting through others.

And now, without further ado:

my writing

Before I get specifically into WIPs, a general overview of the kind of writing you can expect from me:

As I said, I'm a fantasy nerd. I love worldbuilding, both on a large scale (nations and cultures and political relationships) and a small scale (a magic shop in an otherwise contemporary setting).

There's not a lot of romance in my writing, but there Are a lot of transformational relationships and codependency. Friendships, siblings, guardians, general ride-or-dies.

Thought experiments. I've been trying to catch and indulge more in my 'wait, what if?' ideas. Sometimes, that's fun little snippets of silly ideas, sometimes it's a majorly emotionally heavy scene for a story I'll never write. Sometimes, it's coming up with ideas to 'combine genres'. It's all about expanding the range.

wips*

Beyond Alder Creek /// draft 2 /// tag: bac

Winnie Pewitt has never believed in the fae. That is, until her little brother disappears, and she stumbles upon a faerie ring on the edge of town. Inside, a man seemingly carved from gold suggests that he knows who took the boy. With everyone else around their hometown accepting her brother's fate as certainty, Winnie takes it upon herself to craft the perfect deal and enter the realm of the fae with her new companion in tow.

The Lies in the Legend /// draft 1 /// tag: litl

The fictional autobiography of an elven noblewoman who rose rapidly in station and influence from an unremarkable youth to a diplomatic powerhouse. Spanning centuries during the prime of her life, Lady Ghislaine Agassi charts the course of her career and reputation, and highlights the dangers of making myths out of our idols.

*Though these are my primary WIPs, I have a page that covers various other WIPs and projects that I've brought up over the past few years.

I think that about covers everything! As always, I can't make any promises about how the year will wind up and where it takes us. But I will say, I've actually been writing recently, and yk I'm just gonna ride that high.

And for fun, here's some random facts about me:

fun facts

I have degrees in psychology and music!

I've lived across three continents, but currently live in upstate New York for whatever reason lol

The animals I've ridden on the back of include: horse, pony, elephant, and ostrich. The horse was my least favorite. By far.

I got diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes a couple months after Covid landed stateside (in May 2020) and am Always ready to talk someone's ear off about it.

The first story I ever wrote was on PowerPoint and was about war breaking out between humans and aliens that had taken refuge on Earth after their planet was destroyed. I was 8. There was a Lot of Clipart involved.

I've never been published, but I once secretly planned out, wrote, edited, and self-printed a couple copies of a novel about my best friends and our college apartment. They received it for Christmas last year and loved it (or at least were kind enough to tell me they did)!

[nordictwin]

A list of my IWATEX AUs and fanfics.

Since a lot of people have found me through IWATEX, I figured I should probably make an actual list of my AUs and fanfiction, just to have them all in one place.

Fragmented Futures - aka. the Everyone Knows AU

Probably the one most of you are here for, since it's the one I've posted about the most, but written the least for in terms of actual fic. An AU in which all of the Stratos-Helios kids suddenly become aware, that they're stuck in a timeloop... all except Sol. Or so the others think.

A story full of kids being friends, learning new stuff about themselves, and a generous dash of eldritch shenanigans.

Currently in the works for this AU: an as of yet "non-canon" vent-fic, in which I subject Sol to something a little more realistic than my usual treatment of them. Not sure if it'll be incorporated into the fic proper, but as of this point in writing, it's just meant to be a little side-thing set in the same universe.

The Tragedy of the Exocolony on Vertumna IV

The AU/fanfiction that has me in a chokehold at the moment, TOTEOV is an eldritch horror story that takes all my love for Sym and the Overseer, flips it upside-down, and turns it into a toxic mess of good intentions gone horrifically wrong. Oh, and Rex and Vace are forced to work together.

A story that draws heavily on the tropes of children stolen away by the supernatural, such as The Pied Piper of Hamelin and other fae tales.

Heed the tags. Seriously.

The Solution AU

An AU I've never really mentioned here except once, nor written a single word for. Ironically, this is actually the origin AU of TOTEOV.

The basic premise is that Sol, after many trips around the loop, decides to look for a permanent solution. They eventually decide that the best way to do so, is for them to become a Gardener from the very beginning and create an entirely new timeline from scratch. In collaboration with the Overseer, they turn the clock back to just before the Verma's departure and get implanted in the system as a seed to sprout in the future.

The issue is that this means Solanaceae won't ever have existed amongst the humans. And they're fine with paying this price, if it means a more harmonious future overall.

So aboard the Stratospheric, when that time comes, there is no child born to Flulu and Geranium, no cheerful Sol amongst the kids. Instead, when Besk dies, the twins are adopted by the cultivators and grow up... not quite the same as in the original timeline, but also not too different from how we know them.

And on Vertumna, Sol welcomes humanity to guide their gradual integration into the ecosystem. Looking from afar, forgotten by everyone they love except the Gardeners.

......except this is one of my AUs, so of course nothing is as it seems, and Sol will re-learn just how strong the power of love is.

The Person You'll Grow to Be - completed, canon-compliant fanfic.

My first fanfic for this fandom. Aka the Flulu Loves Her Kid So Much fic.

A story going from Flulu learning of her pregnancy all the way to her death during the famine. An tale of her love for Sol and how she felt about a lot of things.

[azsazz]

if we're being honest sjm was never a phenomenal writer, every book lacks depth in some way and she never actually explains much about powers/characters. there's also a big theme of telling not showing (especially in cc - i mean she keeps telling us bryce is super cool and all i can see is a try hard). i only read parts of cc3 and parts of tog but i think tog and the first 2 books of acotar aren't terribly written even with a couple of the problems i said before but after acowar it really went downhill. i think it's part she has shooters now (i mean some ppl were being attacked for saying cc sucked which it does) so if it's not good they'll still read it and hype it up and she keeps writing things too fast and that might not fully be her fault so i'll giver her that. but yeah writing a whole 800 page book in a month? is not impressive, to me it just shows she didn't care to make it better and barely reviewed it. if that's the speed she's writing at then i can see why her latest books have so many problems and plot holes. she also got greedy lol. im sorry but there were what? 4 or 5 bonus chapters? and this book still feels like a cash grab idc if it makes a multiverse or not, id actually rather not ever see any of the other characters in each other's books

anyway all this to say i don't really like sjm (as a writer and now im a bit iffy as a person too), what got me was the characters but i learned a lot more about them through fanfiction than the actual books

PREACH SISTA LET IT ALL OUT because you did not miss with this!

i've also said that the 5 bonus chapters of cc3 are def feeling like a cash grab...when i tell you i saw a tiktok of some girl showing all of the different bonus chapter books off i was sick to my stomach. it's kind of out of hand some of these people lol (like the acotar balls and stuff, the ugly men they try to put into the roles, ruining the characters we love...they're fictional for a reason plz stop)

if cc has one hater it's actually me. if bryce has zero haters im dead. i most of the other characters, but bryce is a total miss for me. i love how sjm the entirety of cc3 is that the fae women aren't allowed to do anything except breed lol likeeee what? then it's basically just bryce and the men fighting the war or whatever...like what about the other women or her friends? mad side eye

thankfully i haven't been attacked about my cc opinions because ive never been quiet about them lol

i think that tog was better written, and i also liked most of acotar...maybe it's the modern setting and bryce's total cringiness that i can't get on board with

[nyelung]

Fic author interview! Let's see what that sets rolling in my head. Maybe even some words for fic? Thank you @lynne-monstr <3

No-pressure tagging: @narina-vhey @dragonpyre @theloneliestshipper

How many works do you have on AO3?

Currently 26 after I went on a bit of an orphaning (and deletion) spree last year.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

397,281. Also a victim of last year, I guess, but I'm getting back there. I kinda hope to find the time to raise that to 500k and feel good with what I've written but we'll see.

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Hence begins the journey (part 4 of the vampire Percy series I'm writing) - 598

The Ferryman (potc) - 474

Negotiator's Garden (star wars OS) - 414

Of New Beginnings (part 1 of the vampire Percy series I'm writing) - 344

Far Dawn (part 3 of the vampire Percy... well, you can guess it) - 307

Well, I'm seeing a pattern here is all I'm saying. I'm also wistfully staring at the Ferryman because, well, that's no longer my baby because it's too old for that but that fic has been with me for a while and looking at it now I really want to get around to officially finishing it someday. It's also hilarious to see that Star Wars oneshot up there but I guess vaguely fae Obi-Wan is a fun premise. Fond memories writing that one.

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do. There are a few comments in my inbox that are a bit of a pile of shame right now but generally I respond to comments because I love talking about the fic I share. Like that one post so eloquently put it: I write for myself, I share for a feeling of community. Or something like that.

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Ooof, that's a tough question because I don't like angsty endings with a few rare exceptions. I think the closest I got online can aspire to vaguely ominous (as in hinting at Order 66) but that's not much, is it?

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Another tough question because I don't go darker than bittersweet for endings I write so, in a way, they're all more or less happy endings? Hmm, I would say maybe No Doubt In Us (TKA canon divergence) bc a) it's actually finished and b) the characters worked hard for their ending and got it.

7. Do you write crossovers?

Not as often as I'd like to and somehow I never get around to finishing them.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

One or two unhappy comments when I wrote Obi-Wan as bisexual (I mean, come on, look at the guy. He's supposed to be straight?) because how dare I write him like that but that's about it.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Rarely and somehow usually as a gift for one person or another. Curious.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not apart from those mass-stealing incidents where lots of fic got copied to other sites and all that. At least not that I know of.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I think ten years ago or so someone wanted to translate one of my fics into russian but I honestly can't remember what came of that.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, actually, with the wonderful @theloneliestshipper and with @narina-vhey but overall I prefer to write on my own because I got my own approach, time limitations and all in all it just became too stressful.

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I don't have one. On further thought, I don't think I'd be happy having an all-time favourite. I prefer that to stay in constant flux.

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Oh, that's difficult. Stuff from the pile of shame, probably, so i'll pass on this answer^^

15. What are your writing strengths?

I am told that I manage to keep the characters in character but I think my favourite thing that one person pointed out was that I am good at building connections between canon tidbits to make up new canon divergences and headcanons.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Since my favourite topic is canon divergence, most of my plotbunnies have a tendency to turn into longfic which, as we all know, is not that easy to finish.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I could read this question in two ways but I think it means writing dialogue in a different language than the general narration and, no, just no. I don't automatically pass on a fic for that if it's using phrases from a conlang in moderation but usually it's just far more confusing than enriching the experience for me.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Oh, hmm. I'm not sure. The first fandom stuff I did online was for Yu-Gi-Oh and Detective Conan, I think. First fanfic was probably some OC for some high fantasy novel or other.

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

Polymachina (I'm getting there) and zjl/xby/szp for King's Avatar.

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written

I can't choose but the whole vampire Percy series has some of my favourite moments I've written, so I'll go with that one.

[faewritesfanfic]

We All Need a Little Fluff Sometimes



Hello, I'm Fae! I've never actually used tumblr before, so I ask that you bare with me!



For the past several months I've been slowly writing and stockpiling fanfiction for Degrees of Lewdity that is centered around an AU I created. Details about this AU will be outlined in a coming post, and then I will start sharing my fics and taking prompts.

I started writing this AU centered around Eden, Bailey, and a PC of mine named Kore and their young adult years because I needed some catharsis. DoL is a very dark game, and sometimes I just need a break from the relentless misery. To do this I made an AU where things go a little better. Where a small family is formed that looks out for each other, and eventually grows.

I promise no love triangles, plenty of angst, and happy endings. When you're ready to venter back out into the void, may I suggest @necros-writing-stuff ? If you like a darker, more cannon take on Eden, you'll love Necro's stuff.

Much love to Necro, without whom I would not have made this tumblr, or written anything. They're the only one to have really seen my work up until this point, and I appreciate the support.

I'll be back with updates soon!

[flamedraco]

What fandoms are you in? And which genres do you tend to gravitate toward?

Okay so (and I apologize for the way too lengthy answer to this simple question) Fun fact about me: I have this nasty habit of always ending up in some of the worst possible fandoms. And yet somehow I've always managed to ignore the drama and bad stuff because I stuck closer to my own little corners of said fandoms (mainly focusing on memes and my own fics or favored fan content and don't interact with a larger majority of the fandom). But I actually have very few fandoms I can say I was actually "apart of" or are "in". Because really I don't...leave? Fandoms? I'll keep passive interest in them even as I get older but I won't actively participate or write fics for them anymore. And I have this thing where I aggressively hyperfixate on fandoms I'm in and I'll be part of them for years before I move on to another one.

So fandoms I'm in/have been interested in: MLP, FNAF, Undertale, Eragon, Warriors/Survivors (two series by the Erin Hunter team), Wings of Fire, Fairytail, Danganronpa V3, Persona 5, Assassination Classroom, BNHA, and nowadays DSMP. These are mostly in order btw. Some of these can be considered grouped together because I was in a couple of these around the same time. I consider MLP my first real fandom because that was probably the first thing I ever read (or rather listened) to fanfiction of. And it was my first exposure to dark fics and other things involving the internet.

As for genres it depends on if you mean books, movies, games, etc. I've always gravitated towards fantasy/fiction books and fantasy style series. I like action sometimes. Occasional horror (psychological kind usually). I've never been much of a sci-fi person but sometimes I can vibe with it. Again it really depends on the medium because I prefer action movies but I prefer fantasy books.

Now...an outlier here is fanfiction. Because that stuff depends entirely on the fandom. There are very few AUs that I simply refuse to touch across all fandoms (looking at you school AUs) ((specifically high school AUs)) (((I hate them))). And I have favored AUs depending on the fandom as well. My two biggest examples here are Villain AUs for BNHA (which span a massive genera of fan content in BNHA). And fae AUs/Superhero AUs for DSMP. A lot of the other fandoms on my list didn't have much in terms of "AU" content (except Undertale but I'm not talking about that mess). Hence why these are my two examples as my two most recent fandoms. Those are my favorites for those two fandoms. But there are always AUs I won't touch for these fandoms too. BNHA for example: I rarely touch AUs in that series that are "No Powers". I'm fine with AUs where Izuku doesn't have a power, but the entire cast not having powers? Ehhh. I'll pass. Because without the powers, without the hero/villain drama? It loses all kind of interest for me. It becomes just school drama at that point and I hate it. However I make exceptions for versions of the AU where they combine "no powers" with something interesting like "mafia". DSMP: Surprisingly enough, I hate how a majority of royalty AUs in the fandom is written and I won't touch them. That, and the super popular fics in the fandom. I haven't read Passerine, I haven't read Butterfly Reign, and I refuse to touch Accelerate or the other super popular DNF fics. The most I've read in terms of "popular fics" in the fandom was Tommyinnit's Clinic For Supervillains. But that was it. I liked the fic, don't get me wrong, but that was my limit.

I hope that answered your question in some capacity?

[mxmearcstapa]

I want to ask you the fanfic questions...

7. Any worldbuilding you’re particularly proud of?

26. Would you rather write a fic that had no dialogue or one that was only dialogue?

34. What aspects of your writing are inspired by/taken from your real life?

37. Promote one of your own “deep cut” fics (an underrated one, or one that never got as much traction as you think it deserves!). What do you like about it?

40. Do you tend to reread fics or are you a one-and-done kind of person?

💖

skfhsdfjhsldfjs ok! thank you for many thoughts :D

7. okay so A) *gestures under the cut* but also in general, I am proud of my ability to write "technically canon-compliant" pieces. Is it canon? Well canon doesn't expressly say that -- but it doesn't not say it either. Canon-plausible. But that's less me building world and more... building bridges. For my longfic (boo, I'm so sorry, I love you, I'll come back someday, I swear), I'm really pleased with the way I elaborated on fe3h's magic system? It's little things, but like the way that Fódlan-style white magic is tied into faith and connection to the goddess, etc. Outside of canon, I have a couple of really neat AUs that I think a lot about but haven't managed to coalesce into a physical form intended for human consumption. Someday, though, the world will know the soulmates/werewolf AU. which I think has cool worldbuilding.

26. this is a complicated one because I consider dialogue to be one of my strengths, and it's usually my starting point for a lot of fics/scenes, so I'm loathe to do away with it entirely; however, I also think that what makes dialogue successful a lot of the time is context, and without supplementary details like body language, dialogue can become rather stale. So, overall, no dialogue, because there's still a variety of ways to make characters and stories "speak."

34. All of it and none of it, which feels like a cryptic bullshit answer but is also true. I don't think anything I've written (and shared) has been a direct 1-to-1 "personal life story" or "this actually happened to me" situation, but the Little ThingsTM that I see people do often make their way in. How people stand when they're waiting. What they do with their hands. The way their hair falls. Lopsided smiles. Unspoken looks across rooms. Hands. That kind of stuff.

37. *kicks door in*

HI. PLEASE READ THIS PIECE.

It's got fae, it's got hanahaki, it's got hurt with mild comfort and an ambiguous ending, please I am so sad that this is not more popular. I recognize that this is akin to me waving a very sharp knife and asking why no one will come close to me, but this piece has some of my all-time favorite imagery, word choice, and storytelling. It is cool.

f!dimileth, under 3k, haunts my waking dreams. :D

40. hell yeah, I re-read everything. My fics, your fics, fics I liked, fics I respected and wanted to learn from. What worked? What didn't? Did I Already Use This Exact Description Before? I make my food for myself, and that means I get to eat it as many times as I want to. Plus, it helps with continuity and learning. Rereading great.

Thank you again for the asks :D <3

[omgkalyppso]

🏅🧠✨

Thank you for the ask!

🏅 What is something you recently felt proud of in regard to your writing (finished a fic, actually planned for once, etc).

😭 Well nothing recently.

In general? I like my characterization, and I like it when I can write characters in a way that other fans I vibe with appreciate too. I mean I have pieces I'm less proud of, but I have many more that I've either written for myself, or for others (like my caspmitri fic or the claurenz spy au) that I think turned out well.

🧠 What’s an idea you have that you can’t quite call a WIP yet?

I guess my "amalgamated au" but with luck it will never be a WIP. It would be Too Much. I have referenced it before but it is intentionally An Idea. Which folds in stuff from Hopes and Houses and my oc Fae as a Student and Rufus Cassius instead of Rufus Thierry and a bunch of other things.

✨ Choose three adjectives to complement your own writing.

I don't know that I can do this......

I write a lot of fluff and hurt/comfort. I think "loving" is a lazy adjective, but there's one.

I used to be far more concerned about being able to distinctly visualize the scenes I was writing and was very "detailed" and some people liked this and others didn't. I think I'm trying to veer away from it but it wasn't a bad thing. Is that a compliment? This question used the wrong "complement."

I will say my writing is "intriguing" ? Because even I want me to go back to fics I've left unfinished. But it is possible I'm wrong about this because my writing is so predictable, but it's fine.

[nevasarini]

ok hi I have a bunch of random hcs/thoughts for fics floating around (and help I really like the primp crew and picking on klug--) general ideas/HCs... - The reason Sig falls asleep so much is because his soul isn't entirely... there. When a soul isn't present, the body falls unconscious. - Spells can be cast through a BUNCH of different means. Puyo battles are a pretty common way of casting, but they can also be cast by singing, dancing, baking, fancy gestures and movements... and different methods have different demands and different results when it comes to casting. (Ex. baking something is gonna give you a magic consumable, most of the time. Singing requires a song that conveys the right thoughts and emotions, as does dance. This is why most people just do fancy gestures/movements.) Accord teaches a music class at school, so all of her students are fairly proficient in song-casting. - Everyone who's born in the Primp world has a sort of... magic organ system? in their body. (idk biology is not one of my favorite sciences lol) If they use too much magic too fast, they can literally burn it out (think, like... muscle overuse injuries). But they also need a certain amount of magic in it to be able to live. Different people have different needs when it comes to this- some people need a lot of magic, others (like Raffina) need very little. Having too little magic can make you sluggish and tired. - Souls can definitely be removed from bodies! And every body has a "soul container" that can hold a soul in it. If a body doesn't have a soul, its container can degrade, and it won't hold a soul anymore. The Tome has an artificial container in it. There are charms/spells that exist that can create artificial souls (they have substance, but not a mind or anything) that can occupy a soul container, preventing degradation. These spells are pretty experimental and rare, though. - Also, the soul mostly holds the personality of someone. Memories are held in both the soul and the body- when separated, the soul can experience amnesia. The soul is also the entire consciousness of a person. A body cannot move on its own without a soul. It can live, but only for a short while- basic things like breathing, the brain, and heartbeat continue for... idk, let's say like 15-30 minutes? after separation from the soul. - There's an area of the Nahe woods called the "fae woods", where a bunch of light and dark fae live. Amitie got lost there when she was little (she doesn't remember it) but she had a BLAST playing with a bunch of light fae, and when nighttime came, they lead her out of the woods, and put a charm on her basically marking her as a member of the light fae (this lets her cast spells like fairy fire and bayoen, and also protects her from the dark fae). She goes into and out of and through the fae woods all the time with no problems, and doesn't really get why people think they're super dangerous! - Any astral mage can hear the voices of the stars. However, they're unintelligible unless you get someone who can actually understand them to help you. Everyone hears them a bit differently, too, so they can't be written down at all. Feli's great at understanding them! Klug's never heard them before, but... >:3 (I'm gonna make him suffer) (and ask feli for help) - Suzuran doesn't really know about magic. They all assume when the Physics club does weird stuff that it's just... them being themselves. The normal people are SUPER oblivious to stuff.

AND OH BOY MAGICAL GIRL AUS? I mean it's only kinda a magical girl au but I've got several fics in-progress (they're just ideas lol) with a general premise of "monsters are here and causing Problems" (in both suzuran and primp) and various solutions to said Problems in one I have the monsters attacking Suzuran b/c idk, I haven't thought about that yet (but I do want Ecolo to be suspiciously absent) anyways, the students from Primp (Ami, Sig, Lidelle, Raffina, Klug) go to Suzuran to help out, but they can't let anyone know they use magic- or that they're from another world. Lidelle and Sig are given items that just mask their appearances and make them look "normal" (but also they can't use these all the time; it's not healthy. They can use it for, idk, 12h a day or something). They're all given amulets that let them completely transform their appearances to something else (see: magical girl transformations lol). But ALL of their outfits are completely different thematically! Amitie goes for a power rangers-esque bodysuit. Raffina goes for a frilly and fancy, classic magical girl outfit. Sig goes for a beetle kigurumi. Klug goes for a very classic wizard outfit, with a pointed hat and robes. Lidelle goes for a qipao like Draco wears. Anyways, they all go to Suzuran and attend the school as transfer students, and get to hang out with Ringo, Maguro, and Ris a bunch. The three in the Physics club help out a bunch, too- and everyone that sees them doing magic is just like "eh, it's the physics club doing weird experiments again". Also they get to join clubs! They all hang out in the Physics club a bunch but only Amitie and Sig actually join. Lidelle joins a gardening club, Raffina joins the martial arts club, and Klug joins the astronomy club. ...and that's about all I have with this, haha! I have a drabble where there's a big fight and oops, the astronomy club finds out, but... yeah it's kinda out of context lol Another AU idea I have is one where a bunch of anti-magic people show up and start kidnapping people. They also use monsters to help them out. This is a general premise I've used while forming several story ideas, all of which kinda involve tormenting the primp kids to some extent? (help I'm writing too much angst in my head and 90% of it involves making Klug specifically deal with shit)

- fic idea 1 - mystery guy shows up, he's been kidnapping people from the neighboring town, but Primp isn't really prepared for this- the students wind up facing off against him and some monsters, the monsters wind up tying up everyone else while the guy goes for Klug and plucks his soul straight out of his body. Aya tries to take the body for a bit to get him back and fails. Aya can't keep the body for long without someone else in the Tome, so Klug's body winds up soulless (which is basically just a coma but idk not having a soul at all is bad for your body) After a whole thing happens (big fights, searching, it takes a while, there's robot fights), they get his soul back, but it won't stay- they left his body soulless for too long (like a day or so after the attack Lemres managed to show up with a charm or something that helped maintain his body but it was too late). His body's still alive, just... can't hold a soul right now. So they use some weird crystal thingies to hold his soul (same kind of thing the evil guy was using) while they figure out how to fix stuff. At some point the Suzuran crew comes over and finds out about what's been going on, and one of them (idk, Maguro?) is like "hey what if he had like a robot or something" so they wind up making a little doll (only like 6" tall, it's pretty prototype-y). It gets eyes, a voice box, fingers, and a way to cast magic! It's super useful. Once his body gets fixed (mostly) his soul still slips out some, but tbh he's kinda ok with it- it's something he can kinda control, and also being able to be in that little doll thingy is kinda neat? Also when his soul slips out he falls asleep. Lemres gives him a long-term charm that can preserve his body while his soul is gone (but it's still bad to use it for too long). I HC that Sig falling asleep a bunch has to do with his soul not being entirely... there, so this is the same thing. The physics club (and all the others) wind up having a blast when they find out about this, and they make a couple more doll/robot thingies for him- one that's about the same size but generally more sturdy and better made, and another that's absolutely tiny but has dragonfly wings and stuff (Sig gets super excited about this one). aaaaaaaand that's about as far as my brain has managed to go with this one.

- fic idea 2 - a whole group of anti-magic guys burst into Primp and manage to kidnap the five primp students. They're taken to one of their bases and taken in front of the big boss of the base for w/e reason (idk, he wants to inspect them or something?). The whole place has some sort of anti-magic thing put on it, so none of them can cast. The students start kinda telling them off (you don't stand a chance, accord and lemres are gonna take apart this whole operation, etc) and a couple of them go way too far (probably both ami and klug tbh, raffina is iffy, def not lidelle and sig) so the big bad is like SILENCE CHILDREN and casts a curse on them. (It's targeted on the people who were speaking out too much- but maybe Amitie's protected b/c red hat shenanigans? Klug defintiely doesn't have the Tome at this point) It's a "fear curse", that basically gives the victim a phobia. In this case, it winds up being a fear of speaking- if they try to say anything, it basically gives them big panic/anxiety. These kinds of curses are super illegal and have been outlawed for centuries, but this guy sure does have one! The students have to deal with this while trying to escape. They wind up having to song-cast a lot since a lot of the magic here is stifled, but the air still holds magic. The air, being very conductive to magic, can also bring in magic from the sun and stars. They also know that these guys must want to keep them alive, since they still have magic... Anyways, somehow the kids manage to escape, Lemres and Accord remove the curses, and they all continue on their lives.

- fic idea 3 - This one would be probably earlier in the timeline? Lemres goes to investigate a camp (it's still all very hush-hush in the general community) but he gets caught. Feli and Klug are both super concerned, and Feli can't find him (they have magic blocking tools). They wind up having to work together (Klug lends her extra power to find Lemres, and then they go together to save Lemres.

I also have a bunch of ideas for "Klug does something stupid with magic and has to admit he screwed up and get help" b/c honestly, he's a smartass and canonically spends a ton of time in a library with books way above his skill level, of course he would read ahead on the magic curriculum and then screw things up! Most of my ideas boil down to "he curses himself on accident with something he thought would just be a useful spell" - gives himself a werewolf curse after overestimating how much lunar power he'd need for a transformation - makes himself invisible, intangible, and unable to be heard by anyone, with a spell that's supposed to help increase spiritual power (and he puts way too much into it again) - getting lost in a fae area in the woods while looking for sus ingredients and being tormented by fae - finds another artifact of great power but using it fries whatever internal magic systems they have, and congrats, he's now on doctor's orders to not cast ANYTHING for the next couple months!

And a few other ideas... - I kinda want to hop on the "let's give klug depression" bandwagon and so I have a few timeskip ideas where, after managing to free Aya from the Tome, he gets super depressed (he's struggling to find any reason to keep studying, he pulled this off, what can he do that'll be any better than this) and goes and burns all his notes and seals his own soul in the Tome. - also more wholesome timeskip of people kinda going their own ways but coming back to Primp and helping each other out - this ties in to the whole monster attack idea, where a big group comes in and is gonna attack Primp, and so Amitie (as a very powerful sun priestess), Sig (with much better control over his red powers thanks to Aya's help), Aya (who was given a body of his own on the condition that it's charmed such that he literally can't harm Sig), Lidelle (who's been studying in the forest and has a bunch of new spells and forest friends), Raffina (who's a professional martial artist in, like, 3 different forms, and has a new-and-improved highly efficient pouch), and Klug (who went and got a doctorate's in astral magic and can do some WILD stuff) all come back and protect Primp and impress each other with the things they can do :D

......that was a lot. But yeah! My brain won't stop making these things and telling very incomplete stories inside my head but tbh it's kinda fun

Question!

What are any Puyo AUs or fanfiction ideas you have?

You guys have really interesting ideas, and I’d love to see more! 💕

[acourtofthought]

“3 brothers 2 sisters and…a maid” imagine thinking this is a drag when the male who the “maid” is being depicted with was the sired by his father’s housekeeper, a maid who was degraded, belittled and tormented, and who he was only permitted to see for one hour ever week…

🤔🤨

I’ve never really been a part of an active fandom before so maybe I’m just naive, but the byproducts of this ship war are so insane to me. People really expose themselves with nasty takes like this, not to mention plagiarism 😭 it’s sad but I guess you really can’t change people unless they want to themselves

- not to start some mess 🧼💙

It's you!!! 😍😍😍

It's funny, isn't it? How some of the BS they come up with in an effort to tear down certain ships ends up being an argument in our favor?

Not that half the stuff they say is even valid but if that's really how they want to play it, it's so easy to prove why their remarks would benefit an Elucien or Gwynriel ship.

Gwyn's a "maid" they say? (ridiculous on so many levels) But..... there's no one that would see her value despite being a "maid" more than the son of a female who was mistreated as a servant. The fact that they say this stuff shows they pay no attention to what's actually been written about Az. It would be like a Lucien / Vassa shipper claiming that he prefers someone like Vassa over Elain because Vassa is royalty (which means they'd conveniently forgotten how Jesminda was a lesser Fae and Lucien loved her madly regardless). 🤦.

I enjoy debating the series and trying to come up with proof supporting Elucien or debunking other Elain ships. And obviously I'm a super huge Elucien fan. But I'll never understand being so obsessed over a fictional ship that I actually resort to threatening a real person for not agreeing with me.

However, as concerning as some fans can be and as toxic as things get, I'm still extremely thankful for the amazing people I've had the chance to "meet" in this fandom. Especially ones like you ❤️

[atherix0]

FERAL MUMBO MY BELOVED. MY ANGEL. MWAHHHHHHHHH. Shattering glass in his hand because Blondie fed on Scar, not caring about the GLASS in his HAND because BLONDIE fed on SCAR AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH god him caring more about protecting than vengenace is S U C H a good use of that trope though, what a genius way to snap him out of it oh my GOD. I loves him. My precious.

Also though you are doing some absolutely genius things with your magic system and they are absolutely SENDING me. I have an english degree so as you can guess, picking this stuff apart in your askbox is my JAM. The dichotomy of vampire and scar's magic [since its not quite fae or sorcerer] where vampires seem to use their magic much still, and gain magic through a 'still' action [drinking blood], and Scar has to move in order to cast which - So I've read through everything twice and going back and reading the chapter where Scar is casting illusions of Boatem for Grian to understand the history and looking at how he sways and moves through the very illusions he's casting like a gentle breeze, compared to the SPINNING and SLAMMING of him casting magic while he fights for his life is EVERYTHING to me.

Giving Grian the main POV of the story is also genius, because [well, given the 'not a watchr yet' tag, as of right now - ] it means the POV character is learning the magic as we go along, but Mumbo and Scar ALSO have to learn EACH OTHERs magic and livelihood, which means we STILL get that in other POVs. It's such a smart way to handle your worldbuilding and I'm actually doing something similar in a novel I'm writing rn [wherein the MC is a museum director being drug along on a quest by an Immortal, All Powerful Wizard] so I'm sitting here just taking notes about how you handle all the worldbuilding without infodumping it on us because I've never written fantasy before so im like 👀👀

Also I know she's NOT Pearl since you don't wanna make any of the lifers or hermits the bad guys, understandable, but I can really feeling the Pearl-in-Double-Life vibes being channeled through Blondie and what a genius way to handle that as well - Having an OC in a story that FEELS like another character makes it a lot easier to accept that they're there in the fanfiction and helps to avoid any self insert vibes. It's genius. She's scary but also. I love her. In a villian way.

Mumbo might be going feral but the safety and needs of his Coven friends is the most important thing and even Seeing Red he knows this <3 I just knew that I want Mumbo to be capable of going Feral(TM) but even if/when he does he still has enough sense to prioritize <3 ALSO because this chapter kind'a establishes that Mumbo has that Lord feel that he said you would "know when you [saw]" so it was important for me to draw a clear and stark line between Mumbo and the "bad Lords" (the ones who act like masters over servants rather than protectors of a family/pack) so <3

AAAA THANK YOU I love exploring magic systems and making them as unique as possible <3 Ooo that is delightful, I love seeing your analyses <3 YES YES YES YOU NOTICED Elves are always in motion when using magic (not just Scar, but Scar is the only Elf who uses a staff and unlike Sorcerers who require a staff to focus and direct magic he also needs to move his staff to properly channel his magic and just gjfdjds) and Vampires don't need to move at all (and in fact their most typical magic, which is magic absorption/Turning, requires being STILL to safely perform <3) I am so happy someone picked up on that hhfgdhjgfdjhshj YESSS it's a very gentle vs rough movement which gives the magic its different oomphs and I greatly enjoy the imagery of "graceful dance with the wind" and "dangerous dance in a hurricane" jhfgdskj, some parts you can definitely see him leaning more on Fae magic or Sorcery (spinning/twirling his staff and creating an ethereal wind and weaving spells on the spot and gentle movements vs heavy use of pre-set glyphs activated with a wave of his staff and charging the staff with raw magic but no actual spell etc etc) and one is much more suited for fighting than the other so <3

(thank you for remembering that tag because it's gonna get important again soon <3) I love love LOVE limited POVs bc it means I get to choose the character who knows the LEAST about a particular situation <3 Yessss originally the Midnight Series was written completely from Grian's POV, and the biggest reason I decided to split it up like this is because so much of the story gets lost BECAUSE Scar and Mumbo have to learn about each other hjfdskj and it's super important for me (as a poly person) that Mumbo and Scar develop a relationship both WITH Grian and WITHOUT Grian <3 Oooo I love that, that sounds so cool 👀👀 Fantasy is so much fun to write, fantasy and sci-fi are probably my favorite genres because what's sci-fi if not just technofantasy <3 I wish you luck, I believe in you!! And when it's published one day I will find it and be like <3 Anon <3

HAHA YES I really liked Unhinged Pearl but Pearl cannot be a villain in this series for multiple reasons I cannot explain cuz of Spoilers(TM) so I decided to channel her unhinged energy into this OC, it's fun and familiar but not a copy-paste so <3 Especially since she ended up being such a huge character in the story, turning out to be a bit of a main antagonist at this point jhfdsjk so yeah haha I love her and she's an irredeemable POS <3 I am so wary about using OCs but my wariness about OCs was less than my Not Wanting to Make Canon Characters Villains, I'd much rather let them be townsfolk and other magical creatures that befriend the main cast somewhere in the background than make them a character that the narrative is setting up to die <3 Haha-

Thank you so much this was wonderful to wake up to <3 <3 And now I'm back to writing <3

[elriel-oblivion]

So it's been four days so here's part two 😁 Just wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone who read/liked/commented/reblogged the last part! It was such an amazing response, especially given it was my first time posting my writing here, so thanks for all the love you shared 🥰🥰

Heads up, this part is actually part one from Elain's pov. Initially I wanted to continue from where the last part left off in Elain's pov, but as I was writing the background, I realised I'd written too much to just skip when Az gets to the estate and cut straight into a continuation of part one, so I ended up rewriting the whole thing in her view. So there's no new elriel moments, but you'll get a lot of new stuff anyway 😅 I would've said you don't have to read this part to understand part three, but when I was rereading the later parts a few hours ago, I realised there's some stuff that alludes to things in this part, so I strongly recommend you don't skip this 😅😅

Also, wow, some of my fave paragraphs I've ever written are in this part 😁 Bonus points if you can find them; there are four I'm thinking of in particular 😉

Word count: ~ 3.1K. Lemme know if you'd like to be tagged/removed 😊 Next part up in two or three days 😊

AO3

Ashes from the Deep

Part II

__

It had been a pretty uneventful day as Elain worked through her new plant textbook. Feyre and Rhysand had decided to spend the weekend away at the mountain cabin, Cassian and Nesta were away doing things she wished not to think of, and Mor was at the Winter Court.

Amren had only been round in the mornings, probably to check Elain was still alive. She'd glance round the living room, examine some of those fine crystal glasses in the display cabinet and then leave. There was no difference today, though Elain always felt Amren's scrutiny upon her even when that muted silver gaze was directed elsewhere; perusing Rhys' wine collection had become a tired ruse.

So besides preparing and taking her meals with Nuala and Cerridwen, Elain had spent her afternoon with her book, making notes and copying drawings. The twins had gone off on some errands, so she'd wandered into the garden at some point to tend to her many plants, telling them how lovely they each were. The crocuses looked particularly stunning this autumn day, their pale violet colour breathing life into the shades beneath some of the trees.

With her book, she'd identified new weeds, digging into the soil to rip some pesky ones out. Sometimes she didn't want the help of a tool; sometimes she needed to feel those roots on her bare skin.

Harvesting the carrots and beetroot was also on the agenda today, along with seeding for some spectacular displays next year. She'd been collecting the seeds from some of her summer blooms, like those soft clouds of baby's breath, saving them to replant. These she sowed directly into ground she'd prepared days before, her fingers digging into the crumbly clumps of earth.

Autumn onions she'd plant tomorrow, perhaps. Feyre always remarked on how their strong taste complimented meats well, so Elain wanted to harvest some fresh for her sister for once. It'd take a few months of waiting, but there was little else better than picking out and eating food one had grown with their bare hands and the essential ingredients of love and care.

Setting her book on the patio table, Elain surveyed the garden. It was a good day's work. Plants watered and sown, weeds uprooted, and hands sweaty and soiled, Elain was proud of what she'd achieved today. There were no distractions, nothing to take her from the one thing she always found satisfaction in.

After a long shower, she found herself back in the garden with a cup of tea and a blanket. The sunset washed the sky in a blaze of red and orange glory before it yielded to the cool tones of twilight then night. Elain sat in silence, hands wrapped around her mug. How long would it be until someone's arms were wrapped around her, until she felt the warmth her sisters finally had?

Silly, these thoughts. Immortality stretched far ahead, there would be time to develop that companionship. Months and years were but a heartbeat in the life of a High Fae. She wouldn't even notice the years pass.

Or so everybody else kept saying.

With her tea finished, she perused the book of recipes she'd borrowed from Nuala. Some recipes jumped out, ingredients for which she'd been growing for a few months now. Pumpkin pie sounded especially delightful, the gourd having almost darkened and hardened to ripe quality just a couple days ago. They should be ready for harvest tomorrow.

A chill wind sent Elain inside to prepare and have her dinner in pleasant silence. Even her mind was quiet tonight. After washing her dishes, she stood by a bay window, fingers idly tapping the windowsill.

Faelights bobbed like tiny lamps, dotted through the garden. The full moon was now high in the sky, its ghostly glow illuminating the datura flowers she'd seeded half a year ago. She pulled on her blanket and went out again for a better look at those gorgeous blooms, the petals opening only at night.

Elain couldn't be happier she'd found seeds of a triple-flowered variety. They'd grown to produce large trumpets, three layers of petals ruffled against each other. Somehow she thought of her sisters as she crouched and stared at the flowers, each layer so similar, yet fighting for space and breath as it unfurled before another. It was only when they were all fully open that they could sigh along the night breeze as one, an ethereal song of togetherness, tinged with notes of poignancy, only heard by those with the will to look deeper.

The white petals were stained with velvet violet, a true vision in her garden. While the others had given her passing compliments on the flowers, Azriel had seemed stunned the first time he saw them, citing them his favourite of all the plants Elain had grown so far. Something about their shape and contrasting colours, he'd mentioned.

She smiled fondly at the memory, where his eyes sparkled as he reached for one of the soft petals.

Her hand lashed out to grab his wrist. 'Don't touch them; the leaves and stems are highly poisonous.'

His brows rose. 'You wouldn't think that at first sight. But they're beautiful, Elain. Truly magnificent,' he said, his smooth voice so low, a voice that was night given sound. And how befitting, as even those datura flowers seemed enraptured by his presence, one shy petal finally unfurling towards him.

She beamed at him. 'They like you. Flowers like it when you talk to and compliment them - but these ones haven't given me the same reaction as they have to you. I think they really like you, Azriel.'

His answering smile was heartbreakingly tender.

A few more seconds passed before she realised she still held his wrist. She silently let go.

It was a shame she'd have to dig out the datura shrub and move it inside for the winter; it did look magnificent in the moonlight.

The sky shifted past its midnight velvet, and still Elain crouched, admiring the flowers. She shivered in the night's chill. The stars above twinkled and glistened, cold and distant as ever, yet stunning - infinitely more striking than they'd ever been when she was human. A thousand different colours sparkled in that vast expanse, the moon a phosphorescent queen in the centre of her court.

The Night Court truly lived up to its name in the wee hours of the day. Its opulence never failed to mesmerise her; the enhanced Fae eyesight was at least one thing she was grateful for from this body.

Her eyelids became heavy and she yawned. Why was she still out here? It was late into the night; she should be in bed by now. But the night was so beautiful and it was so quiet and she wanted to appreciate it all just once. Just once without the expectations of others, without having to wear that miserable smile all the time.

Of course, it didn't look miserable, which is probably why almost nobody ever bothered to look deeper into Elain. She should be used to it by now, but it still felt - wrong. That most overlooked her so long as she wore a smile. That most didn't think her capable of feeling the utter bitterness and loneliness she had once seen so plain on her sisters' faces.

And in acknowledgement of her sisters' hardships, Elain didn't fault them for not looking, for not seeing her. To see past the thick blanket of darkness in one's own mind was a trial in itself. But it had been years since the war now. And still they didn't notice.

They didn't notice that Elain was being shredded from the inside out.

It was almost laughable. But not funny enough.

No, it was not funny that people still treated Elain like a child, that people wanted to keep Elain in some weird impasse of a stage between child and adult. She'd thought finally carrying out her duty and giving her hand in marriage would show everyone that she was growing up: Elain Archeron, middle born but first married. Of course it was still on her own terms, to a man whom she'd loved. A man who'd seen her through the rubble of her family's lives. But she'd overall hoped doing what was expected of her would be enough.

Clearly not. She didn't even know who she was any more. Did she ever? Everything she'd once yearned for, gone. That fragile human life would soon be just a speck on the horizon of her past.

She sighed. Rebuilding herself was going to take a long time.

But what would she have to do for people to see her, to listen to her? Throw a rage? Fall into a drunken stupor and break a few dozen bottles?

She definitely could, but those were not her. She was Elain Archeron. And so she would wait. Patience wasn't a bad thing at all; she saw it on the shadowsinger's face all the time, that tranquility and calmness she so wished to feel inside.

Azriel. Her heart softened as he entered her mind again, and she dug her fingers into the soil, if only to occupy her fidgety hands. As sure as the chaos of her visions these days, there was a mess of butterflies related to him she wasn't willing to show. Or understand.

Elain and the spymaster? Now that was laughable. Truly laughable. He was wise and patient, while she - well, everyone already thought her a child, and though he listened like no other around her, surely even he couldn't glimpse the adult she so desperately wanted everyone to see.

No, it was foolish to entertain the idea of a relationship with him. No matter how much he saw.

No matter that he was the first to see her since Graysen.

Elain exhaled. She stifled another yawn, smoothing out the soil, then brushed her hands clean. She wrapped the blanket closer around herself and stood. Twinkling stars and velvety darkness and -

There, a knot of shadows materialising at the far edge of the garden, collecting and swirling into a larger mass before Azriel himself stepped out and sagged against a tree. His shadows whirled and obscured him, a dark fire with him burning at the core.

Elain's voice left her throat before she even thought to call him and she ran over to his figure slumped in the dimness.

She couldn't help but say his name again as she neared. 'Azriel!'

Those beautiful hands fiddled with a Siphon, but he looked even worse up close. Fatigue dragged at his body, a second weight to all the muscle and armour he already had to carry. Sweat and dirt clung to him, his hair. At least the shadows were parting, swallowing each other and misting away as they often did around her. Perhaps she should ask someday why they did that. But not today, not when his breathing was so laboured.

She raised a hand - to do what, she had no idea. She couldn't just touch him right now. 'You don't look okay.'

Something else limned his features as he huffed a light laugh and said, 'I'm fine, don't worry.' His voice was raw, so starkly different to its usual icy smoothness. It was common for him to guard his emotions, but in his state, this kind of thinking was just unhealthy. What would it take for him to be honest with her?

'You don't have to pretend with me, Azriel,' she said, lowering her hand. She studied the ground, embarrassed that she'd come up to him. What could she even offer in her pathetic childlike state when he was so clearly affected by his mission right now?

His hand rose. Her heart faltered, she had to do something, and she blurted, 'Can I wash your hair, please?'

His eyes widened, his entire composure crumbling. It wasn't often that the shadowsinger looked startled, but Elain was far too shy to show that she quite liked the effect her question had on him.

'You want to wash my hair?'

His face was so exquisite, it hurt to look at it. His eyes would be even worse; it wouldn't be the first time she was rendered speechless by their kind gaze. A myriad of colours swirled in their glistening depths - gorgeous greens and brilliant browns, all so natural and rich, if only she could look at them long enough to find their matches in the garden around her. Though, his eyes were an entire spectrum of colour in their own right. How would she ever pick out each and every shade?

And if she somehow did have the courage to meet his eyes now, what would she see of herself in their reflection?

A lovesick puppy? A doe-eyed, fearful fawn?

No, she didn't want to know.

So she swallowed and focused on his hair. Perhaps this Fae eyesight was a curse, for even his hair was shockingly fascinating. Only flat black from a distance, the faelights bobbing about the trees highlighted layer upon layer of silky raven locks up close. His hair was so dark it seemed to absorb the surrounding light. Mud stained one side of his head, and it was an effort to keep her hands from brushing it away, so she said, 'I'm positive that's mud and you shouldn't sleep with that in your hair. It'll only take a few minutes.'

He ran a hand through his hair, clumps of dirt falling out.

'You've managed to get some on your face, too.' There were light specks of mud and blood across his face, a more noticeable patch along his cheekbone, thrown into sharper relief by the faelights and his own weariness. Was that a cut beneath the patch? And another on his temple?

She leashed her arms.

What had happened? He wore the signs of a fight, but why would he come here when he knew Elain was the only one home?

His eyes bored into her face, but she refused to meet them. He seemed to lean forward then, stumbling.

Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous that he wouldn't even acknowledge he was in need. Azriel rarely stumbled. Any fatigue Elain had felt just a while ago was now burrowing down a little longer. Her voice was firm when she spoke. 'I'm washing your hair. It'll help relax you into falling asleep.'

His brows rose, but if Elain stood there one more moment she wouldn't have the courage to do anything for him. For herself - she could take care of someone else. She could do for Azriel what she hadn't done for Feyre all those years as a human.

And for Azriel, she could tend to the male who'd provided her with comfort and safety in this world of distress and danger.

So she pulled him along, clenching her jaw and refusing to look back. Her heart hammered in her chest but she continued, hand wrapped round his armoured arm. Her hand slid down to his wrist but just as she was about to replace her grip, he grabbed her other hand and pulled her into him.

The shadows instantly began to ensconce them, dozens of those cool tendrils twining like vines. The estate loomed huge before them, and Elain gripped Azriel's hand tighter. 

'My bathroom,' she said. Beneath the low whisper of those shadows, her blood thrummed, her heart so painfully obvious against her ribs now. It would be a wonder if the spymaster wasn't aware of it. Though she did hear another flutter above, right by her ear. But as expected, the shadows made quick work of their journey and she didn't have the chance to dwell on it further.

Now out of the comfort of Azriel's hold, Elain set down her blanket and made to grab a chair from her bedroom. His dark presence was so overwhelming that she exhaled lightly as she entered the room and took the chair. She dragged it to the sink, avoiding his gaze, and pulled a towel, soap and a large jug from the cupboard by the door.

As she settled the soap and jug on the sink, she dared a glance at him. He was still clad in full armour, those black scales gleaming like obsidian over his skin, his Siphons glistening jewels across his body. 'I think you'll have to collapse your armour for this,' she said.

He inclined his head and tapped a Siphon, those scales lashing back into each other with cruel elegance. They were a mirror of their master: cold, controlled and unyielding, forged from scintillating darkness. He was a night sky riddled with stars; light existed if only one bothered to look for it.

Azriel's great wings righted themselves as he stood straight, now looking smaller in just his black tunic and trousers. Something about him seemed vulnerable without the armour, so Elain breathed, 'It's beautiful, all of it.' The hulking armour, the classic simplicity of the tunic and trousers, and the male who wore them all.

He was just so wonderful, Azriel. An enigma that could see her own. Her heart clenched.

Azriel rustled his wings, colour blossoming on his cheeks.

Elain blinked and pulled the chair out a little. 'Please sit.' As he sunk down, she rested the towel on his shoulders, hovering her fingers above his forehead. Her body tensed and her fingers remained suspended. It was like a spark of tension flickered in the space between their skin, teasing her, tempting her, taunting her.

After all, she'd offered to wash his hair, an act that would certainly require touching. But why was she so hesitant? She'd touched him before - kissed his cheek, even. Although that had been in the heat of adrenaline, a mark of her gratitude where a simple thank you wouldn't suffice, not for risking his own life for hers.

This was - what was this?

She finally lowered her fingers through that tense spark, pushing his head back against the sink. It was exhilarating, this contact, but he lowered his wings, shifting on the seat. Elain moved into the space he gave, turning on the tap as he went still. Just as her body was taut, taut as the skin of a drum.

She checked the water. Warm. It was time to start.

Azriel was looking up at her. Something like yearning swirled in his eyes.

He looked so tired. It made her heart ache.

'You can close your eyes,' Elain whispered. And he did.

___

Feedback's welcomed; thanks for reading 😊

If anyone wants to know what the datura flowers look like, CTTO:

@illyrian-lover-flower @julesherondalex @nooriee @mis-lil-red @verifiefangirl @tswaney17

[forest-hashira]

ok i've been on a big nonfiction kick this year and a lot of them have been bangers, but i'm also gonna include some of my favorites from high school/uni (where i got an english degree, so i read A Lot). so, in no particular order:

arc of a scythe trilogy by neal shusterman - i haven't read the third book yet, but i almost didn't walk at my high school graduation ceremony bc i refused to turn the second book in until after i finished it. it's probably my favorite dystopian series i've ever read, bc the concept of humanity having overcome death and having to designate a group of people to curb the population even the tiniest bit? it's a lot to grapple with and i fucking eat that shit up. starting a reread soon! also i have special signed editions of this series. i never go out of my way to get special editions of books.

into thin air by jon krakauer - krakauer's firsthand account of mt. everest's deadliest day (up to that point anyways; it was in 1997). krakauer was invited to join an expedition as a journalist, and just about everything that could go wrong on the way down from the summit, did go wrong. it's gripping, it's terrifying, it's insane. buddy read it with my best friend from high school and we've been on a mission to get everyone possible to read it. cannot recommend it enough.

empire of pain by patrick radden keefe - i knew i didn't know all the details of the opioid crisis (i was a little too young to know what was going on when all the court stuff started happening), but upon reading this book (after watching dopesick, which is also really good & i highly recommend) i realized just how little i knew. all i can say is i hope all the sacklers rot in hell forever. please please please read this book.

an enchantment of ravens by margaret rogerson - standalone fae fantasy book. it's about a romance, but it's YA and not romantasy, so it's not crazy steamy, which i personally prefer. i've read this book no joke six times since it was published. i even bought a second copy and annotated it for a friend last year for christmas. could quite possibly be my favorite high fantasy book of all time. i think about rook almost daily.

s.t.a.g.s. by m.a. bennett - another high school read that holds up upon rereading as an adult, and also another book i annotated for a friend who fucking ghosted me like a year later lmao. it has some of my favorite things: the lake district, tons of film references, fucked up rich people getting (at least somewhat) exposed for their fucked up-ness. this one is also YA so it is about high schoolers, but i actually think it adds to the craziness of the plot. the playlist i made to go with this book is probably the best playlist i've ever compiled.

rozencrantz and guildenstern are dead by tom stoppard - technically a play, but i think this is my favorite assigned reading from high school. it takes place alongside hamlet, focusing on rosencrantz & guildenstern. there are some appearances from hamlet characters, but mostly it's just about r & g. it's an absurdist play, and it gets a bit existential, but it's so good, and definitely worth a read if you're familiar with hamlet - and honestly even if you're not, the context just elevates it imo.

the shepherd's life by james rebanks - i read this during study abroad before we went to the lake district (one of the most wonderful places i've ever been, btw). it's a memoir written by a shepherd from a family who's been shepherds for multiple generations. he recounts how he started to hate the job, tried to leave for school, but wound up back in his family home doing the work he'd hated not too long before. i never thought i would be interested in knowing how sheep are raised in northern england, but i actually found this fascinating.

there there by tommy orange - read this two back to back semesters in uni for 2 separate classes, and i actually sat down and read it cover to cover both times (both in the same calendar year). tommy orange is native american, and this book is about a group of native americans living in oakland, california. all their separate storylines are mostly disconnected throughout the novel, but they all come together at the end in one of the craziest ways possible. warnings for sexual assault/abuse, mentions of genocide, and gun violence.

on earth we're briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong - it's been a hot minute since i've read this one, but it was also an assigned reading while i was at uni (for one of the same classes i read there there for), and i remember it put me through a rollercoaster of emotions. vuong is a poet, but briefly gorgeous is a novel, and i love the way his prose flows in an almost lyrical way. the main character/narrator, who isn't given an actual name, is the son of vietnamese immigrants, and deals with figuring out his sexuality and growing up in a place that doesn't really accept him, both for his race and for being gay. it's very emotional, so be prepared for that. i want to reread but i'm not sure i'm emotionally prepared rn.

anyone else who wants to add anything to this is more than welcome to! i'm always open to recs

What are your favorite books and why?

I’ve been seeing weird discourse going around about anti-intellectualism, and people are always always talking shit on booktok. I’m tired of it.

No judgments whatsoever—doesn’t matter what age group it was written for or how awful the author might be—I want to know your favorites, I want to know why you love them, and I want this to reach as many people as possible, so please don’t hesitate to tag others!

I’ll start! In no particular order:

A Series of Unfortunate Events - the series that got me into reading in the first place. Also the series that holds the first book that ever gave me a visceral reaction while reading it.

To Kill a Mockingbird - has one of my favorite literary figures of all time (Atticus Finch), some of my favorite quotes, and really just kind of changed how I viewed the world and the privileges I have in it.

Dune - changed the way I look at world building entirely. I’ve only read the first book and only because it was assigned summer reading, but I’m so glad I did. I’ve never looked at fiction the same way.

The Priory of the Orange Tree - I actually can’t pick just one or two reasons. It’s really a fantastic book all around. The world building, the history, the characters, the settings, plus how it all comes together in the end. I’ll never not recommend it to people.

Your turn!

@lady-lauren @kweenkatsuki-fics @entirelysein-e @aceofbooks @monst @theoxenfree