#it is truly just a parade of sports movie tropes

[waitingona-mirabel]

Saturday, November 23 — The Final Labor: Based on the final task for the labors, write an AU featuring all your characters in a role. Choose an AU, set out a list of goals for yourself based on tropes within that AU (ex. a red shirt has to die if you’re doing Star Trek or someone in the group gets bitten by a zombie and doesn’t tell the rest if you’re doing an apocalypse), then write to your heart’s content! To count, each character must have a role and your tropes must be laid out beforehand.

SPORTS MOVIE AU

Inspired by High School Musical, Challengers, Miracle, that football book I read recently, that other amazing baseball romcom I read it's called You Should Be So Lucky, A League of Their Own TV Show, you get the idea

ROLES

Phineas: The announcer 

Tiana: Veteran of the team

Aquata: The scary opponent 

Annie: The sidekick

Mirabel: The underdog/protagonist

Lightning: The parent who doesn’t understand!

Smee: The opposing team’s asshole coach

Roz: The reluctant coach

Giselle: The love interest of the protagonist

TROPES

Down and out underdogs

For The Love Of The Game

Reluctant coach

Old rivalry

Unconventional coaching methods

Motivational speech

Star player gets injured

Rookie has a natural gift they never realized

The Game Winner

It’s Not My Dream, Dad, It’s Yours

Told with the framing device of a single game

Warnings: a minor injury, me TRULY messing up sports/soccer rules and terminology plz don't come for me, uhh complete lack of a setting is this high school is it college is it professional sports is it an adult rec league truly who knows!, anyway enjoy

LET'S GO!

Coin toss

The coin somersaulted through the air, almost as though in slow motion. 

“Tails!” called Aquata Triton, earlier than she was really supposed to, but Mirabel didn’t expect the Sharks to play fair.

The coin landed on Heads. Out of the corner of her eye, Mirabel could see the smallest hint of a smile from Tiana.

Luck had never really been on the Phoenixes’ side. And Coach Roz always said that was a good thing, because it meant they didn’t have to be reliant on it. But today, Mirabel was going to take every smidge of luck she could get.

180 Days Before The Big Game 

“No! Absolutely not. I’m retired,” Roz insisted, already rising out of her seat. 

Headmaster Chairmouse sighed and rubbed his temples. “Please, Coach. If you still blame yourself for what happened in ‘99…”

“It’s not about ‘99! But yes, that was entirely my fault-”

“It wasn’t, Coach. You took a calculated risk. That’s what coaches do. Just because it failed doesn’t negate twenty years of great work. A lot of that is luck. And besides— I’m not asking you to win a championship this year. I’m just asking you to give these kids a coach that gives a shit. Which I know you’ve got in you. Teach ‘em some skills, get ‘em trained up for the next year, and maybe by the time that rolls around, I can find someone to step in who actually wants to be there. Six months. Just give me six months.”

Roz didn’t really believe him. She was certain he was only asking out of desperation. But, even after all these years, it was hard to resist the call of the game that had once been her whole life…

“And I’ll throw in a bonus,” Chairmouse added. “Money that I’m sure you could use right now.”

“Chairmouse!” Roz said hotly, but his expression remained neutral. 

Chairmouse had her there, unfortunately. Two kids in uni…

“Fine,” Roz grumbled. “I’ll do it.”

Kickoff

“Aaaand, the Phoenixes will start off with possession, with Truitt taking the ball forward, now to Madrigal…”

Mirabel tried her best to block out the sound of Phineas Flynn, the ever-bombastic announcer. She knew he meant well, but his commentary always seemed to get her in her head. Mirabel just needed to focus. This was just like any passing drill. Just like practice.

“Madrigal passes back to Sommers on the left wing!”

Just like practice.

90 Days Before the Big Game

Mirabel didn’t really know what she was doing here. She wasn’t a soccer player, that was for sure. These weren’t even her cleats— they were Annie’s, and Annie had much bigger feet than her. Mirabel had to wear two extra pairs of socks just to keep them somewhat on her feet, and she was starting to think they might cut off her circulation.

WHEEEET!

The whistle pierced through the thick August air, and everyone jogged over to center field where Coach was waiting with her clipboard. She was an imposing woman, despite her short stature, in a pantsuit with a faded Phoenixes shirt. Annie had filled Mirabel in— she used to be the school soccer coach in the nineties, but after the team got completely walloped in the semifinals, she announced her retirement for good.

Apparently, she was back. Mirabel didn’t know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. But it didn’t matter much either way, because Mirabel didn’t expect to actually play for her. With any luck, Annie would. But Mirabel was just here for moral support.

“Alright, we’re going to start off with a simple passing drill. Pass and weave, pass and weave, you should all know this by now. Sound good?”

Everyone nodded. Even Mirabel nodded, though she had no idea what “pass and weave” meant. And she was too afraid to ask at this point. Again, she reminded herself. You’re not actually trying to make the team. Just don’t embarrass yourself too badly.

Thankfully, Mirabel was able to meander toward the back of the pack, since there were other girls much more eager to show off their skills. The drill didn’t look too complicated— one player would pass the ball to another, then they would switch places while the receiver passed to a third player. As long as Mirabel followed the other two, she would be alright.

Finally, it was Mirabel’s turn. Pass. Weave. Pass. Weave.

It only occurred to Mirabel by the third rotation that she was… kind of having a blast?

WHEEET!

“Okay, we’re going to try something new,” Coach interrupted. “We’re going to add in defenders.”

05 minutes

Mirabel, Tiana, and Anna didn’t maintain their momentum for long— within a few minutes, the Sharks had possession again, and Triton was charging down the field. Annie approached from her position behind the strikers, chasing Triton down and leaning into her to slide-tackle. Triton went tumbling to the ground, cursing all the way down.

“Bitch,” she muttered.

Annie just smiled and tapped the ball back over to Truitt.

88 Days Before the Big Game

Was that… Mirabel’s name at the top of the roster?

It didn’t make any sense. She’d never played organized soccer in her life; she just tapped a ball around the backyard with her cousins or with Annie now and then. Sure, Mirabel thought she’d actually made it through tryouts decently enough not to embarrass herself, but certainly not well enough to make the team. 

Maybe Coach really was crazy. Everyone was saying it at practice.

“No way…” Annie gasped, coming up behind Mirabel.

“I know,” Mirabel agreed. “Has to be a mistake.”

“What? No! You were amazing!” Annie insisted. “I just- well, I can’t believe Aquata Triton didn’t-”

As if on cue, Triton appeared, too, looking furious. She shot Mirabel a fiery look before storming off. Yikes…

Now Mirabel realized the problem. Aquata Triton had been the starting center striker for the past three years at Swynlake High. And now she was cut from the team, and taking her place was…

Oh. Oh shit.

25 minutes

Unfortunately, the Phoenixes didn’t hold onto the ball for long. By the twenty-five minute mark, it was becoming clear that they couldn’t win this game on luck alone. Maybe they wouldn’t win this game at all— although Mirabel was really trying not to let her mind go there. 

“At only twenty-five minutes into the game, everyone’s still looking pretty fresh,” Phineas Flynn commented as another Sharks striker tussled with the defense by the corner kick line. “But how long can they keep it up? There’s been a lot of talk about Coach Roz Peterson’s conditioning drills…”

85 Days Before the Big Game

“Alright, everybody listen up,” Coach announced, pacing the sideline as the newly-selected Phoenixes watched from the bleachers. Mirabel sat up straight, hands folded, like this was the first day of class. Some of the more seasoned veterans of the team lounged, skeptical of Peterson’s selection as their leader.

Truitt, the captain, leaned forward, elbows on her knees, her expression entirely inscrutable. 

“Odds are, I didn’t choose you because you’re the greatest player at this school. So get that idea out of your head right away, if it’s still in there,” Coach said bluntly. “I chose you because you seemed willing to put in the work. The hard, ugly, unglamorous work of conditioning your bodies and building up your strength. I don’t know if I’m taking this team to the championship. I’m probably not. But what I am hoping to do is set you up for success down the line, in years to come. So you may hate me for this, but just remember, you only get one year with me.”

Truitt’s shoulders betrayed the slightest movement. Was she disappointed that Coach was only sticking around one year? Everyone else seemed skeptical of her, or to think she was an unbelievable hardass.

Mirabel didn’t know how she felt. Scared, maybe.

“Alright, five laps around the field! Everybody go!”

Halftime

Roz glanced over at the Sharks’ bench, just in time to meet Smee’s gaze. Her eyes narrowed. While the players headed off to the locker rooms and doused themselves with water and Gatorade, the two coaches stared one another down.

Then Smee’s expression twisted into a smile, and Roz’s into a scowl. Absolutely not.

65 Days Before the Big Game

“I’m starting to think something is seriously wrong with her,” Annie commented as she and Mirabel approached mile four. “She’s got some kind of obsession with running.”

Today was a “long run,” which was different from the typical running-laps warmup. And it was different from the postgame-punishment-laps (which the Phoenixes had now experienced three times now— even after they’d won that third game. Apparently it wasn’t good enough for Coach Hardass).

“Well, soccer does involve a lot of running,” Mirabel pointed out, snickering. While she didn’t want to badmouth the coach, one look at her expression would tell the whole story. Mutual horror at Coach’s method had bonded Mirabel and Annie far more than anything else that had previously happened in their friendship.

“Y’all want the truth?” The voice came out of nowhere. Mirabel and Annie’s heads whipped around to see the captain behind them. 

Their eyes went wide. This was exactly what Mirabel had been trying to avoid. What if word got around? The new girl, who probably didn’t even deserve to be here, already complaining.

“I- we weren’t-” Mirabel stammered.

“It’s fine. I know Coach is crazy. Everyone does,” Tiana said breezily, which caused Mirabel and Annie to exhale cautiously. They didn’t let their guard down entirely, but… was their famously aloof captain actuallty going to be real with them about this? It looked like it. “It’s this weird rivalry she has with the Sharks’ coach. Apparently, they’d been the best in the league back in the nineties, always trading the title back and forth. And then something happened in ‘99. Not sure exactly what. I think someone got hurt, and the Sharks won in a blowout. Coach retired, and the Sharks have basically dominated the league ever since, while our team has been shit. I don’t know if she’s expecting a championship win, but I do know she’s determined not to let ‘99 happen again.”

And then Tiana was off, putting on the jets once again. Annie and Mirabel exchanged a glance. And Mirabel knew they were thinking the same thing.

Coach? Blaming herself?

It didn’t change how scared of Coach Mirabel was. But it did prove she was human.

Mirabel sped up, just a little bit. She could stand to push a little harder. Just a little bit.

48 minutes

“After a scoreless first half, we’re looking at a free kick right in the zone! Looks like this is Triton’s chance— she’s got an excellent scoring record on those.”

Mirabel knew Annie was fuming about that call. The Sharks had come running back onto the field with a vengeance, and only three minutes later Mirabel could count on both hands the number of penalties that should have been called. But it was Annie’s slide tackle that drew the whistle.

Mirabel joined the lineup. On a kick like this, it was all hands on deck, regardless of position…

“Tiwari dives for the ball and… a miss! The Sharks are on the board!”

The Phoenixes groaned as their opponents jumped all over Triton to congratulate her. But there wasn’t much time to mourn the loss of that point. Mirabel could feel Coach’s pensive stare from all the way across the field.

Then she looked in the other direction, where a pretty redhead was siting in the bleachers, giving her a thumbs-up. And that, combined with the righteous frustration with the penalty and the goal, was all Mirabel needed to get going again.

48 Days Before the Big Game

“Oh- my bad,” Mirabel apologized as she ran right into someone coming around the corner. The stack of books the girl had been carrying spilled to the floor, and Mirabel quickly knelt down to help pick them up. You would think weeks of training would make her less of a klutz, but it seemed like all hand-eye coordination completely left her body as soon as she stepped off the field. Or maybe she was just extra distracted today, by the Phoenixes’ seemingly unshakable losing streak.

When Mirabel reached for a book and the girl’s hand brushed hers, Mirabel looked up to see-

Oh. She was quite pretty, wasn’t she?

“I-” Mirabel stuttered.

“Sorry,” the girl said at the same time. They both giggled awkwardly. 

Mirabel blushed. “No, no, you’re good,” she said, studying the book. “Gabriel Garcia Marquez?”

“He’s my favorite. The worlds he creates…”

“I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t understand a lot of this book. But I thought the writing was really pretty,” Mirabel admitted, tripping over the word “pretty.” Oh, she was just hopelessly obvious, wasn’t she?

“It is really pretty,” the girl said, holding Mirabel’s gaze. “Sorry, I’m being rude. You’re Mirabel Madrigal, right? The new starter on the soccer team?”

“I- you know me?”

“Not really. But you are kind of famous now. At least around here. Apparently you’re the future of the team.”

The stars of the team, Tiana and all the others who had graduated now, had always felt famous to Mirabel. But she’d assumed that was because she and Annie were the only ones who paid attention to that stuff. Maybe not.

“Wow,” Mirabel said. “Uh, I’m sorry, I don’t think I got your-”

“Giselle,” she replied with a smile.

Giselle. It really did suit her, a name that sounded like singing.

“Nice to meet you, Giselle.” Mirabel held the book out, smiling shyly. 

“You can hold onto it,” Giselle said. “I’m sure I’ll run into you again.

And then she left Mirabel standing there, clutching the book to her chest, wondering what had just happened.

Something told her that everything was about to change.

62 minutes

Mirabel tried to steer her mind away from the other person she had thought might be in the crowd. The problem was that he might not, and that was really going to get her in her head. After all, the last time they had spoken, it had turned into a fight…

UMPH

“Aaand Madrigal’s down! That’s gonna leave a mark…” Phineas Flynn commented.

The ground hit Mirabel’s face as a Shark barrelled into her, and now she understood what people meant when they talked about “eating shit.” Well, whoever was watching in the crowd, they’d definitely just seen Mirabel embarrass herself.

But she picked herself up and chased after the ball, like she always did. There was no time to waste. 

37 Days Before the Big Game

The Phoenixes hadn’t lost every game. They’d tied the Gryphons and the Firebees, and even beaten the Tigers and the Lions. Granted, the Lions had all of their best players on the bench for that game since it was so early in the season and didn’t mean much. But it was still a win.

And then October happened, and the Phoenixes just. Kept. Losing. 

Mirabel was beginning to think it impressive. How could they be that bad?

She didn’t think they were that bad, after all. Tiana was a brilliant playmaker, and Annie was relentlessly quick. Tanya was a decent goalkeeper, too. But it seemed like every time they went out on the field, they made some improbable error, like shooting the ball into their own goal or running right into the referee. 

“We’re going to try something new,” Coach said as the Phoenixes stumbled into yet another practice, looking discouraged and exhausted from yet more conditioning. “I want you all to get out there and scrimmage. And don’t try to impress me. I’m not going to be watching. I’ll be in my office. Don’t even keep score. And don’t dictate positions. Pretend you’re eight years old and you don’t understand the rules of soccer.”

And then she was off. 

The Phoenixes stared at each other, as though unsure Coach was actually serious about that. But she disappeared into her office, just like she’d said she would. And then the blinds fell down, blocking her view out of the window.

“Alright, you heard her,” Tiana announced. “Scrimmage. No rules.”

Annie looked skeptical. “Shouldn’t we do some drills? Work on our passing?”

“Or our footwork, it was atrocious last season…”

The group descended into squabbling about what the real problem was, and Tiana looked like she was on the verge of giving up. That scared Mirabel. If they didn’t have Tiana taking charge… 

“Guys,” Mirabel began, but nobody listened to her. “Guys!” she tried again. “EVERYONE SHUT UP!”

The team froze, and now it was just Mirabel, looking a little bit terrified.

“What?” Tiana asked skeptically.

“Let’s just give it a chance.”

And, strangely, everyone… listened? They nodded and made their way out to the field, and Tiana even patted Mirabel on the shoulder and mouthed, Thank you.

Had Mirabel really just done that? She’d never seen herself as a leader, as someone who took charge. But everything was strange lately. She saw Giselle in the hallways and smiled at her. She got home late from practice and shoveled dinner in her mouth before cramming in as much studying as she could, barely seeing her father. And now, it seemed, she yelled at people at practice.

Mirabel didn’t know what to make of it. But she did know how to lace up her cleats and get back out there. 

70 minutes

The pressure was starting to mount. By Mirabel’s estimation, they were more than halfway through the second half of the game. Scoring was a tall order. Scoring twice was a taller order. But Mirabel was trying not to think about that. 

Coach always said not to look at the clock. That if you looked while you were ahead, you played cautiously or lazily. And if you looked when you were behind, you got panicked. Just breathe, Mirabel reminded herself.

“Hey,” Annie whispered, jogging over to her as they reset for a throw-in. “Just remember. Like we’re eight.”

And that day at practice came flooding back to Mirabel, the day Coach had abandoned them to play the most chaotic scrimmage they’d ever played. There was offsides and bunching and wildshots that had no chance of making it in the goal. And in the end, they’d all wound up lying on the ground, laughing harder than they’d ever laughed before. 

The Phoenixes had won after that practice, and it felt like a new beginning, even though they’d won once or twice before. 

The Shark threw the ball in, and Mirabel did something reckless that she rarely did: she leapt for the ball, positioning her forehead right under it, without much regard for where it was going after that. Mirabel trusted Annie to get it. And she did, charging down the field past the Sharks. 

It didn’t take long for the rest of the players to catch up, but one of those players was Tiana, and she was deadly in the end zone. When she slipped the ball past the goal line, the world seemed to erupt. 

Tied. With… actually, Mirabel had no idea how much time they had left. It was just like being eight years old, playing in the backyard.

25 Days Before the Big Game

“The good news is that we’re in contention for the divisional match, now that the Panthers are out,” Coach explained, crossing the word off of the whiteboard in the locker room. The team watched, laser-focused. 

“What’s the bad news?” Annie piped up. 

Coach looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“Well,when people say there’s good news, there’s usually bad news, too.”

“Oh…” Coach said, frown deepening. “Well, the bad news, I suppose, is that you shouldn’t get too excited. Anything can happen at any moment. We can only control the things we can control. Which is practice, practice, practice, and most of all…”

“Conditioning!” everyone groaned.

Coach smiled a rare, mischievous smile. “Now you’re getting it.”

84 Minutes

A single goal stood between the Phoenixes and the divisional title. The Sharks were starting to flag, and Mirabel knew, she just knew, that it would only take one perfect opportunity. She darted back and forth around the goal line, trying to give Tiana an opening to pass her the ball.

But that didn’t happen. 

The whistle blew, and an awful shriek pierced the air. 

“Truitt is down! Oh, that looked painful…”

Mirabel’s heart dropped, and she tore across the field toward her captain. “Tiana,” she breathed.

Tiana’s face was contorted in agony, and she held her knee tightly. “I’m okay,” she whispered, even though it was obvious that nothing could be further from the truth. “I’m okay.”

“You’re not,” she said. “It’s okay. We’re going to win this. We can do it.”

Coach was already making her way across the field, and Tiana just kept shaking her head. “No,” she mumbled. “I’m fine.”

But she wasn’t. When Coach helped Tiana to her feet, she could barely put weight on the knee she’d injured. She could barely walk, much less run. 

“Wait,” Tiana said, pausing to take her captain armband off and holding it out to Mirabel. “Here.”

Mirabel stared at Tiana in shock. The captain armband? But Mirabel was just a rookie, and there were plenty of other talented people on the team! “I can’t-”

“You can,” Tiana said through gritted teeth. “Do it for me.”

14 Days Before the Big Game

One match stood between the Phoenixes and the big game. If they won on Saturday, they were in. And it was all Mirabel could think about. Coach always said to go one day at a time, one practice at a time, one game at a time. To stay focused in the moment.

But all Mirabel could think about was Saturday. And the Saturday that could, maybe, follow.

“Mirabel? Are you even listening to me?” 

Mirabel’s eyes snapped up from the plate of spaghetti that she was shoveling into her mouth to meet her dad’s gaze. “Huh?”

He sighed. “That’s what I thought.”

“What?” Mirabel said, confused at his obvious irritation. “What is it?”

“I was saying that I think you’re a little too focused on this soccer thing. I know the plan was to get in shape before track season, but tryouts are coming up, and I haven’t seen you practicing.”

Mirabel’s eyes went wide. It was true. She’d been so focused on soccer that she hadn’t even thought about track. Or when she did think about it, she was thinking about how much more she liked soccer. Mirabel had only ever gotten into track because of her dad— because he’d been a track star, the incredible Montgomery “Lightning” McQueen, before an injury in college had ruined his career before it really got off the ground.

Maybe track wasn’t her dream after all. Maybe it was his.

“Dad…” Mirabel said hesitantly. “I might… want to stick with soccer.”

The hurt registered on Lightning’s face. “What? Since when?”

“Since… well, a while now. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Mirabel said quietly. “Look- if we make it to the divisional game, will you come? Then you can see what I’m talking about. If we don’t, I’ll get right back to training for track. But I really want you to see this.

But Lightning’s expression was inscrutable. “I’ll try,” he said. 

89 Minutes

Mirabel had no idea how much time was left. The whistle was going to blow at any moment, she knew. The pressure was on, the crowd was riotous, and time was ticking. Somewhere on the sideline, Tiana and Coach were watching. Out in the bleachers, Mirabel could see Giselle watching, too.

And then she locked eyes with him. Dad, Mirabel thought. 

A new energy seemed to infuse her, and Mirabel charged at Aquata Triton, who was racing down the field with the ball. Not so fast, Mirabel smirked at her silently. She pretended to miss a swipe for the ball with her foot, then quickly pulled the ball backward with her cleat just when Aquata had thought she’d won the mini-battle. The momentum did throw Mirabel off her balance, but she only hit the ground once she’d managed to tap the ball back to Annie, who charged forward with it. 

The crowd roared. Mirabel picked herself back up, ignoring the dirty look Triton had shot her, and raced after Annie to give her another opening. Annie expertly navigated the defense, practically running circles around them.

The goalie dove too early, and a defender closed in to block Annie from the net. But Mirabel had made it to the penalty line without anyone noticing her, and Annie passed her the ball.

Mirabel closed her eyes. She said a little prayer. 

“AND JUST AS THE WHISTLE BLOWS, MADRIGAL GETS THE JOB DONE!” Phineas Flynn announced, and once again, Mirabel was on the ground— but this time, it wasn’t her own doing. Mirabel’s teammates piled on top of her, a loud, sweaty, jubilant tangle of limbs. Mirabel wanted to stay in this moment forever.

2 Days Before the Big Game

“Giselle!” Mirabel jogged over to her in the hallway. “Here’s your book. Finished rereading it. Somehow.”

Giselle turned around, grinning. “I’m surprised you had time, with all the practices.”

“Me too,” Mirabel admitted. “I guess I make time for important stuff.”

“Good to know.” Giselle paused, once hand on the book, just looking at Mirabel. Her eyes seemed to sparkle in the artificial lighting of the hallway. “When’s the big game?”

“Two days.”

“Good luck.” Giselle kissed her on the cheek and walked away, and Mirabel just stood there, dumbfounded once again. 

Stoppage Time

The next thirty seconds built up slowly but steadily, pressure building like a firework getting ready to explode. They just had to hold off the Sharks until the whistle blew again, and that knowledge seemed to fuel the team with a new fire. They’d already done the hard work. They couldn’t lose now.

And when the whistle did blow, and Mirabel saw her father jump up off his seat and Coach Peterson throw her clipboard in a rare show of emotion and Tiana burst into tears, the world seemed to move in slow motion. Mirabel’s teammates crowded around her again and hoisted her onto their shoulders as the sun started to dip down, bathing everything in a beautiful golden light.

From her vantage point, Mirabel could see one more person she’d been looking for.

“Okay, okay,” Mirabel chuckled. “Put me down!”

And once her cleats hit the grass, Mirabel managed to get her jelly-legs to run to the bleachers, ignoring her exhaustion. She didn’t have to make it much further than that, because Giselle ran down the steps and kissed her while Mirabel’s teammates whooped.

It wasn’t a championship. There was no trophy. There wasn’t even a medal. But Mirabel didn’t care. She didn’t need a physical memento to remember this moment. She knew she could never forget it.

[carriagelamp]

Since it’s Pride Month, I decided this year I wanted to raid the library for a bunch of different queer books to read. Mostly graphic novels in this case, because I’ve had a hard time settling into much reading lately... thought hopefully now that it’s summer and I finally have my second shot I’ll be able to relax a bit more and dig into some heavier novels again. For now, enjoy some light, queer reads that I indulged in this June.

A Wolf Called Wander

A beautiful novel I had been hearing lots about. This story follows the young wolf Swift, who grows up knowing that he and his pack are the mountains, and the mountains are them. It’s in those mountains that he grows and learns and loves… until disaster strikes and he finds himself viciously torn apart from his family and forced out of the mountains that have always meant home to him. Forced to survive on his own. Swift then begins a gruelling journey that makes him face injury, starvation, and the everpresent danger of humans as he seeks a new place he can call home, and new people with whom he can form a pack.

This is all based on the true story of a tagged wolf known as OR-7, following the unbelievable route he took through Oregon and northern California! It was a very neat read, and I’d definitely recommend it if you enjoy stories told from an animal’s perspective because this book is a master class in it.

Bloom

I decided for June to try to read a handful of different queer books, and this was one of the first graphic novels I picked up. It is a super sweet story and the art is lovely. It’s about Ari, a boy who has just graduated high school and is now desperate to move away from his small town and his family’s struggling bakery, to join his band in the city where they hope to make it big. An agreement is finally reached: Ari’s father will let him leave, if he can find someone who can replace him in the bakery, which is how Ari meets Hector, someone who sees artistry and peace in baking. For anyone that’s read Check, Please, it gives off those types of vibes!

Boule et Bill: Bill est Maboul

Another book of Dupuis comics, because I can’t get enough of them! This one I just stumbled across and ended up reading on a whim but it was very cute. Geared younger than the others I’ve read, but still quite funny. It’s the charming hijinks of a young boy, his dog, and the family they live with. Each page or so is a different stand alone joke, a bit like Calvin and Hobbes except expanded beyond a single strip.

Chicken Run: Chicken Pies for the Soul

This was a ridiculous urge I got and had to follow. I recently rewatched Chicken Run (which is, of course, one of the best movies ever made) and felt the need to see if it had ever been novelized. Well, I found something better than a novelization! This is a chapter book with “advice” and stories written by the various characters, post-movie. It really does a good job with grasping the different characters’ voices and making something simple and funny out of it. It was very cute (and available on The Internet Archive if anyone else feels like reading something ridiculous!)

Doodleville

I picked this up on a whim and honestly, I shouldn’t have bothered. It was not very impressive. Very mediocre, awkward feeling artwork, and a story that only slightly manages to redeem it. The concept was kind of neat, and I did like how the ending came about, the rest was rather… plodding. I did not like the main character at all, her friends felt very Intentionally Quirky Aren’t We Cute :3 in a way that just tries too hard, and… yeah. Meh. It technically gets the “queer graphic novel flag” but it’s so in-passing that it feels rather excessive to give it that.

If you are interested, it’s about a world were doodles actually exist as living creatures that can be drawn into existence (the rather unsettling implications of which is never fully explored). This is all well and good, until the main character draws a monster and takes it with her to her art club... where it begins ravanging not only her doodles, but those of her friends. Together they need to work together to figure out how to stop this menace.

FRNCK v4

Phenomenal. I adore the FRNCK series, and book four wrapped up the first “cycle”, revealing several of the big secrets dogging the series so far, and changing how things are going to be able to run in the future.

If you haven’t seen me talk about it before, FRNCK is a graphic novel (a franco-belgian bande dessinée) about a young orphan, Franck, who’s chafing under the constant parade of uninterested foster parents that visit the orphanage he lives in. Determined to learn about his mysterious abandonment instead, he flees the orphanage… but finds himself tumbling through time, landing among a family of cave-people who rather reluctantly take him in and ensure this modern boy doesn’t die in the strange, dangerous new surroundings he finds himself in. You can get these ones in English as e-books, so if you want a really kickass graphic novel series to read please try these.

Haikyu!!

I’ve heard so much about Haikyu!! that I finally gave in and picked up the first book from the library. And I gotta say, it’s well worth the hype! This series really does capture the best parts of a good sports manga -- which is to say the team is filled with interesting, enjoyable character who all need to learn to pull together, boost each other’s strengths, and cover for each other’s weaknesses. Love me some found family tropes and this series oozes it in the best possible way. And then you also get some very cool action scenes as it makes high school volleyball seem like the most intense thing on earth. I can’t wait to continue it

Queer Eye

I haven’t been keeping up with Queer Eye but I was watching it ravenously when it first came out, and this seemed like a very cathartic book to read… and it really was. It had the same gentle, loving encouragement as the show. It doesn’t expect you to change your entire life, but to learn to embrace who you are, and take small steps to enhance those things. There a segment written (presumably) by each member of the Fab Five, explaining the mentality behind what they do on the show and how you can grow in those areas too. It’s very zen.

Spinning

I got this graphic novel out at the same time as Bloom, but it was the one that interested me less of the two... though that’s just because I have less interest in “real world” slice of life as a genre and this one is meant to be autobiographical. If you’re into that, you’ll probably love this because it really is stunning. Very pretty, and the format and pacing is all really well done. It’s a coming of age story for Tillie as she grows up dealing with a crosscountry move, complicated friendships, a burgeoning attraction to girls, and attending competitive figure skating classes.

This Place: 150 Years Retold

A stunning and heart-wrenching graphic novel told by a collection of different First Nation’s authors/artists, recounting oral histories about the 150 years since the colonialist formation of the country known as “Canada”. In other words, this is a post-apocalypse story, but one that really happened and that entire peoples are still fighting to survive. It’s very eye opening and beautifully told. Very strongly recommend the read, especially if you’re at all interested in history.

Torchwood: Serenity

Whoops, not technically a book. I had thought these were technically audiobooks at first, but rather they’re audio dramas that were played on the radio. Still, I decided to include one because I’ve been listening to them like a person possessed and they’re too fun not to at least mention. Let me indulge in my obsessions.

If you don’t know Torchwood, it’s a BBC series that spins-off from Doctor Who, focusing on the enigmatic and flirtatious Captain Jack Harkness, who is running the covert organization known as Torchwood, which is tasked to protect humanity from and prepare them for alien contact. It’s goofy and campy but also more adult and heavy than Doctor Who tends to get, so it is (in my opinion) a really fascinating series. Though it also has content warnings coming out the wazoo so maybe make sure it’s for you before delving in.

Serenity specifically is possibly one of the best Torchwood stories I’ve ever experienced. The Torchwood team concludes that there’s an undercover alien hiding in the idyllic gated community Serenity Plaza, and so that means it’s up to Jack and Ianto to go undercover as a happily married couple and flush out the alien without being discovered first. Even if it means being sickly sweet together, pretending to care about the local neighbourhood barbecues, and actually caring a bit too much about the Best Front Lawn competition. What is truly magical about this one, is that it manages to make it a Fake Dating AU despite the fact that Jack and Ianto are actually dating in canon. But they’re both used to dating as a pair of alien hunters with insanely dysfunctional lives, and who now need to figure out how to deal with domesticity. It is marvellous.

Wilderlore: The Accidental Apprentice

A middle grade novel that felt a bit like a cross between Harry Potter and Pokemon. It’s about orphan Barclay Thorne who wants nothing more than to be accepted in the rule-bound village of Dullshire, and live up to his apprenticeship as a mushroom farmer. He certainly wants nothing to do with the fearsome Beasts who live beyond the village, deep in the Woods or the sinister Lorekeepers that bond with them. It was, after all, a Beast that had killed his parents all those years ago. But when he finds himself at the very edge of the forest, hunting for an elusive mushroom, he is suddenly unable to avoid any of that. Not when a wild girl and her bonded dragon appear to summon a horrible Beast and end up getting Barclay bonded to it instead. Now, if Barclay ever wants to be welcomed back into his home, he has no choice but to venture into the Woods and find a way to sever the bond imprisoning him to the massive, monstrous wolf now imprinted on his body as a living tattoo.

I honestly can’t decide how I felt about this one. I feel like it’d be a really fun read for maybe a grade 5 to 7 student? I was a bit more meh about it. It was fine, but it was very hard not to draw unfavourable parallels to Harry Potter. But for a kid who’s never read Harry Potter? Or even an adult that has but is looking for something different to scratch that itch, this might be a good book to try. I’ll probably try reading the second book when it comes out.