#it was supposed to be a story about sweet girls who learn magic from their two gay teachers

[astraechoes]

[yuri-is-online]

I imagine Deuce!Yutu is either A. The Ultimate Honor Student with perfect grades and a plsmile that makes old nannies and mothers swoon (Yutu: "Thanks, its because me and my parent are the local "weirdos" I had to overcorrect and become a golden child (':") OR B. just as bad as pre-NRC Deuce was, a gang member who'd jump anyone who'd look at him wrong (but still cried until he was sick when he watched My Girl (1991) behind Yuu's back. They told him not to because they knew it was sad, he didn't listen).

I imagine Yuu's main memory of Deuce to their Yutu was how much Deuce believed in self-improvement and redemption, always trying to be a better man, which either version of Yutu can't help but admire or respect, despite their complicated feelings over their absent father.

Upon meeting him in the "current" timeline as a student, A or B either can't help but give Pop's an A for effort, despite missing the goal sometimes or finds him a little cringe for being such a tryhard.

I had to google the movie you mentioned and got jump scared by it taking place in Pennsylvania. Pretty sure I have driven through the place it's supposed to be set before... and fuck just reading the synopsis made me cry I don't think I could watch it ;-; poor Yutu should have listened to his parent.

notes: they/them used for Yuu, for context on the fyuuture kid au can be found here and here.

I feel like I have read too much Tokyo Revengers because... we can have both: an honor student with a delinquent mean streak sounds like a good set up for Deuce! Yutu. Not that I think he would behave like Kisaki does exactly, but still. Dylla mentions in the White Rabbit event that she wasn't on the best terms with her mother when she was a teen, and we know about how Deuce was in middle school, so the idea of Yutu having a bit of a temper and rebellious streak to him does make a degree of sense. Sadly, I think that extends to his interactions with Yuu... so things are about to be angsty on two fronts today.

Much like Deuce, Yutu was just the cutest baby. He loved all things cute and fluffy. Bunnies, kitties, puppy dogs, he was such a sweet little kid who really loved chasing around butterflies in the great outdoors. He really loved to read, and learned how to do so at a very early age. When Yuu was having a bad day he would pick out one of his favorite books and insist on reading them a bedtime story so they could take a nap without any nightmares. If he was especially worried he would bring his favorite nightlight with him.

Not that anyone would ever dare to suggest it given what Yutu is like now, but he was very afraid of the dark as a child. He still is, there's just something about the void that exists in the darkness that screams danger to him. When he's isekaid to Twisted Wonderland it evolves into an extreme fear of blot and phantoms. I'd like his unique magic to have something to do with light or stars, something inspired by the Second Star to the Right from Peter Pan? I think it would be cute for someone afraid of the dark to be able to provide their own light.

When Yutu reaches middle school there's a noticeable change in his relationship with you. He's still polite, still bringing home good grades and unoffensive comments from his teachers. But he's a bit cold, as if he is purposefully putting emotional distance between you. His friends all treat you respectfully, but you just have a feeling, left over from somewhere, that you know what is likely going on but you can't put your finger on what. He gets angry when you try to ask questions, yelling something about how you just don't understand, maybe even throws in something about this being your fault...

I wrote about Riddle! Yutu having some fights with Yuu, but Deuce! Yutu's fights are so much worse. While Riddle! Yutu typically comes out of his room blubbering big fat tears ready to apologize, Deuce! Yutu feels the need to double down and save face. He does believe his parent has amnesia, he's seen how they act, but what he does not get is why they insist on feeling so fond of his dad and refuse to move on. In his mind their life could be a lot better if Yuu was willing to be honest with themselves about who his dad probably was. Yutu is very hung up on why Deuce felt the need to be redeemed, focusing on self improvement is all fine and good if you are someone worth redeeming but he's not around for Yutu to judge. And Yuu doesn't remember...

He's young, stupid, and angry, and he takes it out on anyone who looks at him wrong. What's worse for authority figures who want to help is that he's veeeery smart about how he does it. When he jumps someone you can bet there won't be cameras around to see it. When the police start troubling Yuu about what he's doing it's mostly just in the hope that they'll be able to talk some sense into their kid rather than to arrest Yutu or anything like that, but it doesn't work. Yutu gets to see the same thing that his dad did all those years ago, his parent crying because of his behavior but there's no grandparent Yuu is asking advice of. Since I am in the mood to be extra cruel, let's say the day that fight takes place, the day Yutu sees Yuu crying is the day he hears a very important name for the first time.

Deuce. His father's name is Deuce and the reason why he wasn't around was because he was from the other world that came to swallow up him and his parent the instant they began to remember. He doesn't get time to cover up the signs of his rebellion, or really a chance to say sorry. He has to look Grandpa Crewel in the face and admit that he made Yuu cry and added to the overly stressed mess their life had become. Everything they said about Deuce was true, and what's worse he was like him.

I feel like Deuce would be the sort of person who wanted to make a lot of home videos. Cater probably would be too, but he'd store most of them on his phone and I think that would be lost to time by the time his Yutu came home. Maybe it's because of the ghost camera, or his desire to be an "honor student" evolving into wanting to be an "honorable husband and father" but Deuce totally bought a video camera to take cheesy videos to show Yutu as he grew up. Instead the kid gets to see fragments of a life he could have had as he listens to his dad tell him about his life and how he met Yuu.

"Honestly I have no idea why they said yes." Deuce is a dork. A complete dork who looks so... young and life like in the video. He knows what features he took from Yuu but watching Deuce talk, he can pick up on the ticks, the way his mouth sets when determined. The look of shock that always made Yuu laugh, it bursts into view when he hears Yuu laugh as they enter the frame to snuggle into Duece's side, to press their face against his cheek with a happily contended sigh. "Y-yuu you're making me look uncool in front of the baby."

"He's not here yet!" You giggle and for the first time in a long time Yutu feels himself choking up as he watches his dad get all silly looking at the thought of his arrival.

"We're really looking forward to meeting you kiddo. I promise, nothing will ever happen to you. I'm not going anywhere."

"Well. Technically kept that last promise didn't you." He tries to play it off like a joke, but Crewel isn't laughing and neither is Yutu.

Gets put in Heartslabyul, but isn't exactly determined to be an honor student like his dad. While Deuce enjoys a good fight or the feeling of the wind in his hair... Yutu mostly got into fights because he was angry and needed someone to take it out on. Because of that temper he struggles with learning and controlling his magic but he still does pretty well with the practical academic side of things. He's proud of his ability to understand these things, and takes a lot of comfort in knowing his dad would be excited at knowing he was good at things like math and science.

Like with the other Heartslabyul boys, he had to fight his father's phantom. He sees putting Deuce to rest as part of his penance for how he treated Yuu in the years leading up to getting isekaid. He refuses to go back in time until he's able to lay this version of his father to rest next to Yuu so he can promise both of them, to their faces, that he'll create a world where they all can be together and live as a family.

Deuce is extremely friendly to Yutu! He wants to learn as much about Yuu's world as he can so he can help them feel as at home in Twisted Wonderland as possible. He makes sure to let Yutu know that extends to him too once Yuu warms up to having him in the friend circle, Uncle Ace is much less enthusiastic but it's clearly from a place of care towards Yuu. He starts to warm up when he sees Yutu trying his hardest to tutor Deuce, though he claims it's because he just thinks it's funny but really it's because Ace wants to see Deuce succeed.

Very correct on his feelings about Pops. His dad is so wildly cringe it's unreal. His effort is inspiring until he starts getting embarrassed for losing his temper and stuttering, or seven forbid you look at his grades. The more he interacts with both of you the more certain he becomes that Deuce would never have abandoned him... and that he is so getting grounded when Deuce learns about how he treated Yuu. And what's worse is that Yutu sort of wants him to.

Surprisingly that's not what happens at all. When Deuce learns who Yutu is, whether by sleuthing or through a violent confrontation with a monster from the future, when the whole story is laid out before him and his son bows to beg for his judgement it doesn't come at all. His Pops yanks him up by the collar and turns him towards Yuu.

"Say all of that again to your parent." Deuce's voice is as stern as it is serious. Yuu looks distraught, not quite to the point they were on the day everything changed but getting there as Yutu immediately breaks down and chokes, crying and begging for your forgiveness and saying he's sorry as Deuce brings all three of you together into a strong embrace. "I'm not the one you need to make things up to, but it's ok. I know exactly how you feel and we'll work through things together."

Deuce doesn't feel like he can be overly angry at Yutu for taking after him. He does feel the need to apologize to Yuu, profusely and in private, for putting them in so much danger and not being there to help Yutu work through his temper. If I was writing this as a story, I'd make Yuu sort of afraid of Yutu's feelings? I could see them blaming themselves and things being a bit awkward within their relationship with Yutu where they had been very good before the reveal. With Deuce being the loving and understanding partner that he is, the bridge is once again mended and the whole family gets to indulge in hobbies that aren't beating the shit out of other people.

Yutu gets back into reading, and starts looking up manuals and histories of blastcycles so he has something to talk to his dad about. He was right about his dad being extremely proud of him for being smart, he's that classic mechanic working class dad who can't stop talking about his kid who went to college and has pictures of him in his garage he makes sure to point out to everyone who comes in. Said person is really just Ace who really wants to make fun of Deuce and Yuu for being cringe together but is too focused on this whole world ending thing and wants everyone to be more focused on that.

Deuce promises that he is, he has a lot of confidence in the ability of your little group to be able to win against stacked odds. You've done it before you can do it again. Yutu couldn't have picked better allies, he's really determined to show him that and be a dad his son can be proud of. He repeats his promise to Yutu that he's never going anywhere, even though the kid never told him anything about the tapes because he really means it. He wants that world little Yutu dreamed of and older Yutu swore to fight for to be a reality, and it's his job as an honorable dad and future husband (he gets so flustered when he says that) to be the one on the front lines of fighting for it,

... just please please please do not tell Yutu about the egg incident. He doesn't think he could handle that embarrassment.

[helvegen-s]

Rage, rage | six

index

Pairing: Azriel x Hybern!Princess!OC

Summary: Nimue was a gift for the King of Hybern. His shining jewel, the perfect heir. However, she is clear about who the villain of the story is. When she saves her father's enemies from a tragic end, she realizes that now it's the Cauldron who has a gift for her: a mate.

Warnings: fighting, mentions of ptsd, just some fluff, enemies becoming friends and becoming lovers

Days and weeks passed, and Nimue found different ways to entertain herself and pass the time.

She had learned to appreciate Nesta's company, Feyre's older sister, with whom she spent long hours in silence, reading, sitting side by side in the library. She was a rough and direct person, but there was something that made them understand and fit together, like two sides of the same coin. Perhaps it was the fact that both had been inside the Cauldron that made Nimue understand her attitude, even though the others didn't.

She also spent long hours sitting with Rhysand. Sometimes Feyre, Morrigan, Amren, Cassian were present. Never Azriel.

They asked questions, and she answered the best she could: where the bulk of Hybern's forces were located, how many troops it had, who supported the King among Prythian's courts, what he was going to do with the Cauldron...

For many, she didn't have the answer, and she couldn't ignore that feeling of uselessness when she shrugged at their questions. She should have known all that. Her father didn't trust her in the slightest, not even to entrust her with the most absurd of information.

She had also started spending time with Amren, with whom she could spend hours and hours talking about the world, about magic, about how everything was related. They shared their own perspectives on the world, as Nimue found in the small female an equal: two ancient and powerful minds trapped in bodies that were too small for them.

However, the knowledge that Amren transmitted to her about Prythian's history was incredibly vast. Yes, Nimue had knowledge of the things the Cauldron had transmitted to her, but she still had so much to learn that she couldn't help but tremble with excitement.

On the other hand, Nimue also felt drawn to the fragile Elain. Like with Nesta, she felt a connection with the female, due to her relationship with the Cauldron. The Cauldron itself had said it, it had given her two sisters, and Nimue felt her chest swell just thinking about it.

According to Nesta, the Elain she saw now was a mere shadow of what she had always been in reality: a sweet and bright girl, warm like the spring sun, but extinguished by the traumatic experience of the Cauldron.

However, on rare occasions, when she and Nesta sat in silence reading in the company of the quiet and lost Elain, Nimue would look up from the book to find the middle sister smiling at her, a smile that the princess gladly returned.

On the other hand, she had begun to forge a sweet and slow friendship with Feyre: they sat together to have tea (Cassian had taught her, what a wonderful beverage), and the brunette told her story, from the harsh poverty and through Tamlin and the Spring Court, to Rhysand and the Inner Circle.

Nimue couldn't help but marvel at seeing Azriel through Feyre's eyes, as she told her what she had experienced with them.

She was gaining everyone's trust little by little, building it day by day with small demonstrations. However, Azriel kept slipping away.

Sometimes she felt a flash of something on the other end of the bond: joy, anger, disappointment, surprise. She supposed it was moments when Azriel let his guard down and his emotions escaped through the invisible thread that connected them.

When she crossed paths with him in the hallways, he simply looked away and walked past. When everyone in the house gathered for dinner and they coincided next to each other, Azriel didn't open his mouth all night or engaged in conversation with whoever was on his other side.

Nimue wanted to get closer to him. She wanted to know him, to see him with the eyes with which Feyre saw him: a loyal and good male to the core, willing to sacrifice everything for his people and with incredible insight. A trained warrior with a dark past that Feyre didn't tell her much about.

So she began to get up before the Sun shone in the sky. She dressed appropriately and cheerfully made her way to the training field that Cassian had shown her. There, every morning without fail, she found the two Illyrian males training: with swords, with spears, with daggers, with fists...

Every time Cassian saw her cross the training yard's gate, he couldn't help but burst into laughter. On the other hand, Azriel rolled his eyes and was already in a bad mood for everything he had left to do that morning.

But he couldn't help but think how funny the situation was, seeing Nimue arrive there morning after morning, sit and watch them train with a sweet smile on her face, sometimes with her gaze lost following some birds flying around her.

Azriel wanted to be angry. He wanted not to trust her, he wanted to see her as an enemy, he wanted to convince himself that she wasn't clean.

But it was so, so difficult for him.

It was so difficult for him to convince himself that she was a spy for her father. Especially when he caught her alone in the hallways of the house, asking out loud for any kind of sweet or cake and eating it as if it were the first in her life. Especially when he saw her reading silently in the library, next to Nesta and with a smile on her face for whatever she was reading.

Especially, when at dinners he caught her staring at him, with furrowed brows. Azriel pretended not to notice. But he always saw her on the other side of the table, oblivious to all the conversations around her, gripping the knife and fork and staring at him, with that expression of incomprehension that reminded him so much of a sulky child.

He wanted to maintain that facade and not give in. But it was so difficult for him to ignore that feeling, that pressure in his chest every time he saw her, every time he perceived her scent of sea salt and belladonna poison in the house's rooms.

Especially at night when he got into bed, he found it hard to ignore the emotions that slipped through the bond: half asleep and with his guard down, Nimue let out such waves of loneliness and melancholy from her end of the bond that sometimes Azriel felt like he was going to cry himself.

So, one morning, amidst the thick morning fog and the singing of the newly awakened birds, he headed towards Nimue on the training field, under Cassian's surprised gaze.

"Why don't you show us how you fight in Hybern?" he said. Nimue stood up like a spring, her face tinged with excitement. Azriel had to take several deep breaths to assimilate the amount of joy that went straight to his chest. He cleared his throat, "Just to know what to expect in case of a battle."

"Of course."

Nimue walked up to Cassian, who volunteered to fight against the princess first.

"No magic, just hand-to-hand combat. I must also add that I don't usually fight against women, but it doesn't mean I'm going to–"

Cassian hadn't finished speaking when Nimue gave him a series of blows so fast that not even Azriel could register: first stomach, then knees, neck, and finally a finishing blow that left the Illyrian lying face down on the ground and groaning.

Azriel let out a laugh almost without thinking, and when he felt Nimue's gaze on him, he did everything to hide it.

"For the Mother," Cassian coughed, getting up as best he could from the ground. "Warn before."

"If I warned you, it would lose all the fun," she said, smiling. She turned to the Shadowsinger and pointed at him with her finger, "Now you, pretty face."

Azriel felt a chill run from his heels to his crown, and swallowed to prevent his thoughts from wandering further.

Around his shoulders and wings, his shadows fluttered as they laughed softly.

How funny she is.

Yes, very funny.

And pretty.

Yes, we want to touch her and smell her. She smells really good.

Azriel clicked his tongue and shook his head, heading towards the princess. He positioned himself at a safe distance to avoid a surprise attack like the one she had used with Cassian, and in a defensive stance, he couldn't help but give her a wicked smile.

"You'll see what this pretty face is capable of."

At a speed only a fully trained soldier could move, Nimue traced a parabola towards Azriel, approaching from his left side and crouching to avoid any counterattack. He prepared to receive the blow, contracting the muscles of his abdomen.

But the blow never came.

Nimue fell to her knees, fists raised just an inch from Azriel's body.

"I can't," she whispered. She dropped her arms to her sides and stood up, face to face with Azriel. "I'm physically unable to harm you. I can't."

Azriel frowned, internalizing every feature of the female: the arch of her eyebrows, the angle of her eyes, the light of the first rays of the sun reflected in her iris, that slight tremor on the left side of her lip that he had noticed occurred when she was tense...

He never had the pleasure to be this close to her, the only times such a thing happened he was so blinded by rage that he couldn't appreciate such a raw beauty.

He snapped out of his reverie and entered back into that mental state of combat.

Taking advantage of Nimue's distraction, he prepared to aim a direct punch at her jaw.

But just an inch away, his body stopped completely, as dictated by a greater force.

Stop.

His hand immediately unclenched, and under his own gaze, he saw how his body acted alone and by instinct: as if drawn by a magnet, his own hand rested on Nimue's cheek, who buried her face further in that sudden contact.

They held each other's gaze, unable to act upon that pure and raw instinct. Azriel's hand on Nimue's face, his thumb tempting fate on the corner of the princess's lip.

Even through the leather glove, he could feel the warmth emanating from Nimue, like that of a bonfire on a cold winter night.

The princess raised her right hand, gripping the Shadowsinger's forearm and ensuring he didn't stop touching her.

She didn't want him to ever stop.

No one had ever touched her like that, with pure warmth. She felt like she was burning wherever the male touched her.

She didn't want Azriel to ever stop touching her.

But Azriel snapped out of his reverie, again, and as fast as lightning, he moved away from the female, breaking all physical contact.

At his side, the hand that had felt the sweet touch of her skin kept clenching, as if asking for more.

Such soft skin.

Let's touch it again.

He had gone too far, letting himself be carried away by the raw instinct that bond imposed on him.

Yes, it had to be that.

He definitely didn't want to get lost again in the gray eyes of that female, clear as the light of the brightest star in the sky.

Definitely not.

Feeling the heat rise to his face, he hurried to leave the training field before his own shadows came up with the Mother knows what, leaving behind a confused Nimue.

What had just happened?

What had all that been about, why had it felt so natural, so good?

Cassian had watched the whole scene, apart, with his mouth shut and thinking about who he would run to tell first: Feyre or Morrigan.

Maybe both at the same time.

Taglist:

@lilah-asteria @agentsofsheilds @leptitlu @just-here-reading @glitterypirateduck @saltedcoffeescotch @krowiathemythologynerd @donttellthecats @annblvd @annamariereads16 @crazylokonugget @smoooothoperator

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

TransRightsReadathon Sales & Freebies!

I will be collecting books that are reduced or made available for free by authors for the TransRightsReadathon here. Feel free to share any that you know of that I might have missed:

Queeird: A Collection of Unusual Trans Masculine Erotica edited by Max Turner | ebook 2,80 £, paperback 6,30 £

Androids and aliens, werewolves and vampires, furries and… tentacles? This is a collection of unusual, and at times monstrous, erotica featuring trans masculine characters. From the ridiculous to the romantic, expect kinks, quirks and tropes. All the stories feature trans masculine main characters, with a variety of cis, trans female, trans male and non-binary lovers.

Deck the Holes by WrenVLothaire | ebook 0.50$

It’s Yule, a celebration Aloysius is well versed in but never has the time of year been his favorite. But with Malachai, a partner with whom he’s come to love and cherish, this holiday may not be as somber as it’s always been. This time he has a surprise in store. Let’s just hope the owner of the home approves of the decorations. t4t, trans man MC

Tales of Genesis I-III by H.S. Wolfe | ebook free, (the book one that these short stories are based on costs 1.99$)

Out of the Rain by TinyLesbianRobot | ebook 0.50$

Echo interrupts a lazy morning with a strange request of Ender. The first in a series of shorts set in the Genesis universe and can be read as a stand alone without having read In The Garden Of Echo t4t, trans man MC & trans woman MC

The weather has taken a turn, forcing Flax and Lost to rush for shelter.  But now that they've found a place to dry off, Lost's drenched clothes are clinging to her, and Flax is finding it difficult to keep from staring... This story is a non-canon short set in the world of my novel 'Messenger': just under ten thousand words of warm, fluffy, robot-on-angel-on-human smut, a cozy and affectionate scene between women who love each other a whole lot. transfemme MC

Rien Gray's Trans Rights Readathon Sale | ebooks 60% off, $6.00 for 2 books

Follow a fellowship of sapphic knights as they’re seduced by witches, queens, goddesses—and each other—in a dark, lush fantasy inspired by Arthurian legend. genderfluid butch MC, agender MC

Valerin the Fair by Rien Gray | ebook free (+ other free sapphic books)

genderfluid butch MC

Our Monsters by Jemma Topaz | ebook 69% off, $1,23

Rosemary Dulahan, answering a strange job posting, arrives in Monstertown – a place inhabited by magical beings from another world. Navigating the politics of sphinxes, lamias, and secrets, she must learn how to get along with her non-human coworkers and maybe romance a few monster girls along the way. There's nothing she wants less than getting caught up in a murder mystery troubling all of Monstertown… but the mystery doesn't care what she wants, and she's about to discover the darker side of her new world. trans woman MC

A.A. Fairviews TransRightsReadathon Bundle | ebook free

In celebration of the second TransRightsReathon you can grab A Doctor's Touch and Peaceful in the Dark for free.  Following a trans masc vampire and queer werewolf- these stories are as sweet as they are sensual.  transmasc MC

Bury your Gays & Bound in Flesh | ebook free

Anthology of tragic queer horror & anthology of trans body horror by ghoulish books

The Fealty of Monsters by Ladz | ebook free

Winter 1917. After years on the run from a dangerous cult, twenty-three-year-old Sasza and his father have established themselves among the Odonic Empire’s ruling class. But there’s a problem: Sasza is a vampire, and vampires aren’t supposed to get involved in human governance. What the aristocracy doesn’t know, after all, cannot hurt them. Unfortunately, Sasza is far more involved than a stealth vampire should be. Not only does he work to quell the rumors of the vampires’ responsibility for an unsolved massacre, his lover is also the pro-proletariat Ilya, the Empire’s Finance Minister, who tries to recruit Sasza into the same cult hunting him. Then—the Emperor declares war against the Vampire States. Diplomacy has failed. Sasza quickly learns that he will do anything to preserve peace–including giving in to the monstrosity he spent so many years concealing from even himself. nonbinary MC

Trans Readathon by Wicked Witch Writes | ebook 50% off, $5

Your Body is Not Your Body anthology | ebook $1,99

A centaur seeks illicit surgery in an alien bodily modification club. Two medieval monks react to their transformation and demonic pregnancy in very different ways. A resourceful trans teen destroys sports bigots through the power of pluckiness...and abundant body horror. A stellar cathedral crosses galaxies to dump the corpse of God into a star before the mission devolves into a panoply of psychedelic orgies. A doxxed teen falls victim to violent assault and dishes out some harrowing retribution of their own. Over thirty Trans and Gender Nonconforming creators unite to voice their rage, and the rules of conventional Horror go out the f$%&ing window in this collection featuring murderous pleasure-bots; proselytizing zombies; acid-filled alien cops; science run amok; sorcerers, ghouls, cannibals...and that barely scratches the grave-dirt.

Blood from Stone by Bellamy Scott | ebook PWYW

Hitting a deer while driving a country road is unfortunate, but common enough that no one expects it to re-order the fabric of reality as they know it. For Sam, a rogue stag on a summer night takes his husband, his life, and his name in a single blow. As months of grief pass, he things he's begun to get used to his new reality, until an encounter with a childhood friend changes it all over again. BLOOD FROM STONE is a story of an old lady doing good deeds for bloody boys on the side of the road, of poisoned wine, and of a trans man Becoming Real.

Becoming Light by Riley Nash | ebook free

When people meet me, they see a bright faced, happy-go-lucky kindergarten teacher who will do anything to support his friends. Not everyone knows the struggle I’ve faced to become the man I am today.  Now it’s finally time for the gender-affirming surgery I’ve been dreaming of for years. But when an emergency leaves me without a caretaker, the only person who can take me in is my best friend’s aloof, reclusive, and incredibly sexy dad. The one who has no bedside manner and struggles to communicate. The one I’ve had a crush on for years. The deeper we see into each other’s worlds, the stronger the attraction gets. I’m not sure either of us can make it through the next four days without giving in. Trans man MC

​TransRightsReadathon Sale by Matthew Zakharuk | ebook 50% off, $2.50

a story of trans transhumanism + a dystopian gothic

[taldigi]

So I'm curious: What is SHY? All I've heard about it is that it's a better version of Miraculous Ladybug.

So SHY is about a socially anxious girl who is chosen to be she superhero for her country. She has to learn to be a hero and discover herself as well as her powers.

She has a guardian critter. (Shrimpy)

The magical item used to turn her into her a hero is connected to her heart.

Purple artifacts/magic is used to corrupt people via their emotions. Its very close to how akumas work.

But the process of defeating them is about processing those emotions so the rings can be removed, rather than just smashing the item. It's put into detail in the show, but it really is "Akumas if they were good"

It's not a 1-1 story in the slightest, it has a lot of interesting but it really does live up to that claim that it's ML but better. It has a lot of elements that would have been a positive alteration in ML, tho- like an international cast and a heroine who gets to learn about it and the mysteries of the world on-screen (as a new hero).

Shy's design really hits that sweet spot on the appeal of Ladybug's design coulda shoulda had. She has little floppy ears on her hood and swoopy bits on her back to give the design some flow during action shots- while still being a superhero-esque fit. Even though she shows more skin than Ladybug does, she feels less sexualized overall. (Teru is 14 and Marinette is 13-14 as well.)

a fun comparison of similar poses.

Ultimately, Teru goes through steps that Marinette SHOULD have gone through, rather than be an ultra-confidant girlboss from the beginning who's anxious when the plot calls for it.

though, the appeal of ML is that it's.. uh, supposed... to be a duo sort of hero show. Shy doesn't have a catboy partner, just Shrimpy.

Also, LOOK AT THEM

I rest my case

[ecargmura]

Maho Aku Episode 6 Review - THIS MAGICAL GIRL SAYS F*CK

All my life, I’ve always wanted to see a magical girl who says f*ck. This anime grants my wish. I was also really curious on the magical girl lore of this story and this episode actually delivers on that. It feels like it answers a lot of questions about the familiars and magical girl lore.

There are many familiars as there are magical girls. It is a familiar’s duty to guide magical girls. The Bird Familiar in this episode says that they’re somewhat equivalent to angels. This makes me wonder why the Cat Familiar is such a scumbag if he’s supposed to be an angel. Because of the Cat’s true nature, I can’t help but assume the Bird is only manipulating Hibana. My ultimate question is why these familiars need to guide magical girls. What is their ultimate goal?

Hibana is just hilarious. You see this cute and innocent girl and you wouldn’t expect her to swear like a sailor. I love the gap. Her magical girl transformation has voices singing F*CK in the background opposed to Byakuya who has voices singing her name. I do like seeing the difference in her relationship with her familiar compared to Byakuya and her familiar’s. They have a more friendly and harmonious relationship while Byakuya’s relationship with hers is manipulative and exploitative. Though, I’m surprised that Hibana uses brass knuckles in addition to her staff. It was hilarious seeing her beating up the minions while cursing. Afterwards, she only uses her staff. I guess she uses two weapons and interchanges when needed. I honestly wonder if she’ll form a bond with Fomalhaut later on or if Fomalhaut is just comic relief.

There’s also a nice moment between Mira and Byakuya as the latter misses the former as he didn’t show up for days. She wasn’t aware that there were other magical girls out there, but she was more worried about Mira, which causes him to embrace her. Sweet. I’m glad that the appearance of a new magical girl isn’t causing dumb drama like Mira being fond of magical girls in general as he seems to be only attracted to Byakuya. Gotta love a loyal man.

Now I’m curious about Byakuya and Hibana’s relationship. Given that Byakuya grew up in an orphanage, I’m assuming Hibana was on the same boat until she got adopted while Byakuya was left behind. I wonder if Hibana had always swore or if it was something she picked up after getting adopted.

The Bird Familiar is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa, which is a crazy choice. Hibana is voiced by Mariya Ise, whom you might know as Killua from Hunter x Hunter, Ray from The Promised Neverland and Series from Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. I think she’s a perfect casting choice.

I can’t wait to learn more about Byakuya and Hibana’s relationship and where the story will go from here as more magical girls are introduced. Will this be a source of conflict for Byakuya? I’ll be tuned in next week to find out. How about you?

[thewebcomicsreview]

Anonymous said:

do you have any advice on writing character motives and backstories? all of my characters either have motivations that are too extreme when their stories are taken into view, or their backstories feel laughable and it makes their motives look ridiculous

My snap answer is “Lean into the extreme-ness and have it be part of the character”. My more detailed answer is thus:

A character’s motivation is the most important aspect about them, because a character that is not motivated is a character that doesn't want to do anything and it's hard to write a character who doesn't want to do anything.

Making Comics, by Scott McCloud

So, while I suppose it's possible there are excesses, I would say that giving your character a strong motivation is worth giving them an outsized backstory to fit. If you're writing a series about solving mysteries and your main character doesn't want to solve mysteries, then you'll have to keep coming up with excuses to make the plot happen. So, one way of writing character motivations is "I want the character to do X and if the character also wants to do X it'll be easier to write".

When I wrote Legend of the Hare, the idea was that Jill would join up with the rabbits right away and we'd be off into Magical Girl Adventures, but when I was actually writing the pages (which I was doing as the chapter was being written, which is a terrible habit), I realized that I couldn't come up with a good reason for Jill to agree to join the rabbit war, so....she didn't. I got her super drunk and sent her home with a weird new tattoo and basically had to start the comic over until she had a reason to sign up and we could start the plot. I think I did an okay job of making it all look planned, but I basically threw out my entire outline for the entire comic because my protagonist wouldn't go along with it.

In Saffron and Sage, which is in many ways a reaction to Legend of the Hare, Saffron's motivation is clear from literally the first panel of the first page. I have thus never, in nearly 200 pages, sat around trying to figure out what Saffron would do. But this created its own problems, which is that Saffron's entire motivation wasn't really "established" so much as "thrown out offhandedly" for the sake of having a cool in media res opening chapter. It wasn't clear why Saffron was so invested in rescuing Faunus, and I got enough feedback that I eventually did a flashback chapter that I'm not super happy with but c'est la vie.

So those are the two lessons I've learned. Your character should want to do the thing you want them to be doing, and there should be some definition for why they want that. Sometimes the "why" is pretty obvious

And sometimes it needs a bit more meat.

(Another aspect that's important, though, is that motivations often drift over the course of a character's arc. Indeed, the most famous kind of character arc out there is the Pixar "want vs need" style, where a character's initial motivation is "bad" and they get a "better" one after they grow as a person, but the initial motivation is the one driving most of the plot)

And it's sort of difficult for me to answer your question of "how to establish backstories for motivations" when I don't know what your characters' motivations are meant to be, but lets use the example of a high school romantic love quadrangle, since those are often kind of silly. Here's a basic setup

Sweet Dear Innocent Melody, the protagonist, is in love with Chad Footbalman, the quarterback. But Chad is in a somewhat dramatic and troubled relationship with That Skank Felicity, who is way hotter than Melody and also the villain. Meanwhile, local nerd The Virgin Simp keeps flirting with Melody, who rejects him. Melody will do the generic teen movie makeover thing to get Chad's attention but eventually he'll realize he loves her for who she is. Our planned endgame is that Melody and Chad get together, and Simp improbably hooks up with Felicity, so everyone ends up happy. Very generic teen movie plot. (It's also a very straight one, but shh)

Just from this setup of point A to point B, some potential motivations start to come out of the void. Felicity is hotter than Melody, and we know that Simp's happy ending is getting with Felicity. So Simp's motivation can be "wants to touch boobs". He's kind of a creep and a big part of why he's harassing Melody is that he thinks she's "achievable". We want him to be unlikable (so that Melody doesn't look bad for rejecting his advances), but not so much that the audience wants him dead or anything. We don't wanna go full Mineta here. He can also be the one who gives Melody the fashion tips to get a proper makeover, since he's been studying hot girls enthusiastically.

....Actually, having the dude who's super about wanting to have sex with women also inexplicably being an expert in women's fashion is a very stereotypical "closeted gay dude pair" of traits, which is a possible different ending. Hm. Lets table that thought for a minute.

So Melody wants Chad. That's easy enough, you don't even necessarily need to explain it in more detail than that. Why does Melody want Chad? Is it because he's a handsome jock and she has more in common with Simp that she wants to admit? Well, the story is "She tries to get a makeover and Chad loves her as she is", so Melody's character arc is learning to believe in herself. It's not a story about learning to see the inner beauty of other people. She knows that Chad's actually a cool dude and not just a handsome jock, she sees the real Chad etc. She saw Chad, like, pet a bird or something and now she's head-over-heels for him. We don't need an elaborate backstory here.

Chad wants Melody but he doesn't know it yet, so he starts off wishing his girlfriend was [character trait here], which just so happens to describe Melody. He really wants to start a ska band and wishes he knew a trumpet player who shared his love of ska, which just so happens to describe Melody, sure. The ska obsession doesn't have to be revealed early on, it can be a twist that's revealed around the point he and Melody start connecting.

Chad's basically just Sami Zayn

So, when I started writing this, my idea was that That Skank Felicity wanted someone to wait on her hand and foot, which is an "evil" motivation that'd make Simp the perfect boyfriend for her in a Meghan Trainor's "Dear Future Husband" kind of way, but then I decided that Simp's aggressively horny because he doesn't want to admit something about himself, so the planned ending doesn't fit the motivation I came up with. I could change Simp's motivation to have him be straight, or change the planned ending, but let's see if we can't come up with a way to square the two ideas...hm...

Okay, got it. Felicity is super into the tradwife aesthetic. She wants to look and live a certain way, and she doesn't care about Chad as a person at all, she just wants to have a quarterback boyfriend because it's part of The Aesthetic and she cares about The Aesthetic to an extreme degree. She's the villain in a cheesy rom-com, she's allowed to be kind of ludicrous like that. Plus it fits into our theme of "looks aren't important it's what's inside that counts" to have a villain who's obsessed with looking a certain way. And then she can be catty about the makeover outfit Simp made for Melody, and Simp and Felicity can have like an entire enemies-to-lovers arc in five minutes. Boom. Okay. And then Simp realizes she's trans and Felicity's all "The only thing better than ONE hot 1950s housewife..." and they start dating.

Now we have our motivations:

Melody wants Chad (and needs to learn the self-confidence to get him) Chad wants a ska enthusiast Felicity wants to live the aesthetic of a stereotypical hot girl So does Simp, who is a trans girl spending most of the story as an in-denial egg, which is a bit of representation I wasn't actually planning to put into this story (Maybe, um, we change the name) but it fits all the needs of what the character has to do.

And that very long tangent is kind of how the thought process works. What needs to happen in the story? What motivations get me there? Are there any unexpected details of the motivations and do I like them enough to put them in the story? Those kinds of questions can be really helpful, especially early on when all you've got is a doodle of your OC and a dream.

Off to visit their girlfriends

[maboroshi-no]

So now that you finished LN13 - what is your opinion on it? What did you like? Was there something you didn't like?

I am not sure I can organize my thoughts well but I'll do my best 😅.

Overall, this volume was really dense! A lot happened and a lot of information was given on various fronts: dark magic, the organization, Monkey Girl's past life, worldbuilding, Uncle Stuart...

Lots of intriguing parts:

Who manipulated Katarina's body when she lost control of her body? Could it have been the OG!Katarina part in her?

Why could Maria feel the use of dark magic without seeing dark magic? Can Marquis Dieke(?) use dark magic in a special way?

Why would Marquis Dieke(?) be in the organization? If he pulled the strings in Raphael's incident, does it mean he manipulated Raphael?

If the man really is Marquis Dieke, shouldn't Raphael have a role in Fortune Lover 2? Raphael can't be the second hidden capture target?

What's with Marquis Dieke(?)'s resemblance with Laura? Still, they can't be the same person since the man has wind magic while Laura is said to have fire magic.

Why didn't Sarah say a single line in this story? Why was her face hidden when Katarina saw her unconscious on the floor?

Why did Sarah go on her mission with thugs this time?

Why did Uncle Stuart dust off the leaves on Katarina's head even though he appears to hate her?

Is the fact that Nathan is missing on the day we see Uncle Stuart supposed to lead us to think they are the same person?

Dark magic was already around before normal magic was developed in Sorcier? Could dark magic be some kind of fundamental magic?

How will Sorcier's old tales impact the story? We have already seen the place to power up magic in LN7, now there is a mention of the founders of Sorcier again. How about the tales of the rampaging beast?

Is it a coincidence that Katarina lost control after getting back the pocket mirror object?

How did OG!Katarina learn magic?

So Maria is not immune to dark magic after all?

If the organization attacked Maria to prevent her from using her spell, why didn't Marquis Dieke(?) try to capture Maria?

Why didn't Pochi come out when Katarina was fighting?

the cold thing in Katarina's body, the black thing in Geordo's heart. I wonder if they are related

could the black thing in Geordo's heart be dark magic? Could he be manipulated by dark magic? Could he have dark magic inside him?

The volume was heavily focused on Cezar's romance. I was surprised Cezar was given so many sweet moments as if to set him up as Geordo's rival. The moments are nice but I am kind of neutral regarding Cezar. He has so many sides to his personality that it feels inconsistent at times: the sulking little brother, the workaholic concerned for his country, the adventurous and easygoing mercenary, and the two-faced prince. I didn't like it when he willingly deceived Maria and decided he would work on making Sorcier indebted to him so that he could marry Katarina. It felt like he wasn't a kind person concerned for his country after all. He also had no afterthoughts about Liam even so he almost made him cry with happiness. But Cezar is kinda fun in mercenary mode. I loved his moments with Katarina in chapter 4.

Also, I love Jean. Each time Jean appeared, I loved it. How he smoothly played wingman is fun to see.

But since this volume was focused on Cezar, the romance didn't develop at all for the others. Keith barely had any lines, and Nicol and Alan didn't get even one line, which is a shame.

I loved Maria's scene when she confronted Cezar. Seeing Maria with so much fighting spirit was a sight. I was surprised she was willing to confront a prince because I thought she didn't compete with the others because of their high-ranking status. She confronted Cezar, used the fiancée card against him, and smoothly prevented him from going home with Katarina. It feels like she has learned from looking at Geordo and Keith bickering, and looking at Mary scheming against Geordo.

I definitely love how Raphael had so many scenes in this volume. I like how it might imply he will have a big role later on, regardless of his possible connection with Sarah.

I also loved Laura's scenes in the volume. Whether Laura bonds with Katarina or with Raphael. Supposing Laura is Marquis Dieke, I wonder how he would consider Raphael.

It seems like Cezar is still in Sorcier by the end of the volume. Katarina has finished his route, so maybe he will lose his "capture target" status and ask for his member card in the harem? There were also so many stories about Monkey Girl's older brother that it feels like he might be revealed in the next volume. Also, with Marquis Dieke(?) mentioning how Katarina could work on their side, I wonder if it will happen in the future.

[tomb-of-flora]

You know what, I've decided I'm not done rambling and oversharing for today.

So in my personal life, I am not quiet about the fact that I really liked High Guardian Spice. I don't even really understand what people didn't like about it (and I don't want to hear it, so fuck off with that). I find the characters really endearing, I LOVE the character designs, I was excited to learn more about the old/new magic divide and what was going on with the world, I really vibe with its sense of humor. In some ways it honestly feels like it was made for me—and I've seen it 3-4 times so I can confirm that those feelings hold up to rewatch. It was a lot of fun and it had a great voice!

I love a lot of the characters, but my particular favorites were Amaryllis and Snapdragon. I love any character who calls people "poors" with her whole chest and just has such a fun time with being an asshole, but I also love how Amaryllis acts with people that she *does* like and getting to see her personality persist while still seeing a kinder side of her. I love that she is terrible, but also like, a person at the same time. Snapdragon is a whole different story, which is kind of what I wanted the bulk of this post to be about before I got on my soap box about this show.

Snapdragon's arc as it was forming has to be one of my favorite depictions of a budding trans girl that I've ever seen. I love the way she flocks to the mean girl because she gets to feel at home there. I love the way she's so torn up by insecurity and the idea of who she is supposed to be that everything she says/does feels so confused and twisted up by those emotions. I love the way she's sweet when she's comfortable and you really get to see those pieces of her when she feels like she can be herself, but it's so often cloaked in every other part of life that's been draped over her against her will.

Most of the perspective characters I have written in the past and will write in the future are trans women (a consequence of wanting to feel seen by media, I suppose) and honestly I just hope they're half as good as Snapdragon. I felt so seen in who I was growing up and all the ways I was aching to just exist. I felt so seen in the pace of her progression and the way it was so confused and felt like it was going to come with so many sidesteps, but from an outside perspective the trajectory is very clear and exciting. Truly one of the most comforting and fulfilling depictions of someone like me that I could ever hope to see, and when I feel doubt about the characters I'm writing and the ideas I have, I just remember how happy that character makes me and it really pushes me to keep going and sharing pieces of myself in the hopes that someone else can see them and appreciate them too.

I really love this show, and so many things about it felt so catered to me and my taste, but that's something that I will genuinely always carry with me with tenderness and gradtitude. High Guardian Spice reminded me how amazing it feels to see yourself in art, and it made me want to share those pieces of myself.

(anyway all this to say, Snapdragon my beloved. Her and Sam from Get in the Car, Loser leave my heart so full)

[miupow]

✨️💛🔮!

about me ask game !!

✨️— out of all of the comments you've recieved on your fics, what are two or three of your favorites?

these four comments i've gotten over my year on tumblr have stuck with me so much. shout out to everyone who's ever sent me feedback on my works, they make me cry (in a good way!)

"if this fic was a dessert, it would be TOO SWEET! u guys i was smiling so hard reading this, my roommate was like “why are you so happy?” i honestly loved every second of this and each kiss was so uniquely beomgyu. the “i’m done with my games; pay attention to me!”, the “so soon you won’t even have time to miss me”…i could go on on about this!!" -- @chasingthatjjunie on five kisses.

#oh my god i’m silent after this one#one so cute to have a summoning circle in a hyperpink room I love it so much#two LOSER VIRGIN INCUBUS#the jokes about god made me giggle#some lines that SOLD me#am I doing good little human?#fuck no i’m not done I need more I can’t stop need to make you cum again and again#if it’s ever too much tell me please 🫠#oh god you’re going to ruin me#you marked me up pretty girl now I have to return the favor I could just eat you wholePLEASE#be a good girl and beg for it maybe i’ll give you that firstborn you want so badly!!!!!!!!!! IM RUINED IM WEAK#AND HOW HE JUST KEPT GOING 🫠#READ THIS NOW PLS -- @biteyoubiteme on under the moon.

If i knew what kind of masterpiece I would experience by reading this I would have cherished every word and sentence a bit better. -- @lowsuga on just like magic.

i just wanna say this might be the best hyuka smut fic ive ever read. me personally i feel like out of five i find him the hardest to write, because he just seems so sweet, but i love how you used that side of him in your advantage when writing this fic. you're literally so smart! this is also my first time reading bdsm, and this fic made me like it. i feel like this sparked something in me and i might just look for more haha! the transition of him being sweet to freaky is really goosebumps! this was so good lia, love your works so much -- @seolis-world on duality. (i miss u sm)

💛— what is the most impactful thing you've learned about writing?

just how much motivation and ambition needs to come from within. to stop writing for others and to write stories that i enjoy writing. how much joy and whimsy will come back to you once you stop focusing on requests and the desires of your following

🔮— any advice for any writers experiencing writers block or burnout?

don't worry about notes or followers. don't compare your works to the works of other people, especially if they're bigger, more popular blogs. don't write about what you think other people would like, write about what you would like. and most importantly, don't ever forget that writing is supposed to be fun. a writing blog is a hobby, not a job, so don't let it become one. don't let your worries make it not fun or exciting anymore.

[cjbolan]

The movie’s OK, but here are all the reasons I prefer the book. Mainly because of the title character...

Book!Aquamarine had a unique look different from most mermaids. I loved the descriptions of her turquoise skin, silvery hair, webbed hands, and blue fingernails. Sounds more like something from a horror story, yet instead it’s in this sweet children’s fantasy. Lagoona from Monster High is perhaps the closest thing in appearance to Book!Aquamarine.

Book!Aquamarine has a much bigger character arc. She’s introduced as this mean rude selfish spoiled brat -- even the book calls her spoiled (”she was the  youngest of seven sisters, and had always been spoiled. She’d been  indulged and cared for and allowed to act up in ways no self-respecting  mermaid ever would.“). By the end she’s a nicer and more considerate person, even resucing someone from drowning near the end. Also love how his book points out that being good-looking doesn’t mean you’re a good person (”her watery beauty didn’t mean the mermaid knew her  manners.”)  Always a valuable lesson for kids. Looking back, her bribing Hailey and Claire with wishes felt like the movie’s easy way out of giving Aquamarine any real character flaws.

Book!Aquamarine is a more multifaceted character. Even at her bitchiest she has some redeeming qualities. I like that she’s tenacious and passionate enough to risk death to get what she wants. Also there’s no sea king father or mean girl to keep her from Raymond. Instead, Aquamarine’s biggest obstacle is herself. Only her own stubbornness and bad attitude are stopping her from getting what she wants.

Book!Aquamarine is more resourceful. Rather than rely on magical items (the starfish earrings, shellphones, wishes, etc.) , or her tail turning into legs, she has to build good relations with the people around her to get their help. No magical shortcuts like in the movie. In fact the magic seashells don’t appear until the ending. I imagine as a reward for all the characters’ hard work to reach their goals.

Book!Aquamarine is unapologetically herself. With the exception of Raymond, she never hides her mermaid identity from anyone. And rather than Aquamarine have to learn about the human world, Hailey and Claire had to read about the ocean and Aquamarine’s world in order to help her. 

Book!Aquamarine has much more at stake. I mentioned earlier how there’s no sea king father or mean girl to keep her from Raymond. In the book she has much bigger problems to worry about. Where if she doesn’t get Raymond, she risks sickness from the pool chlorine and certain death from being away from the ocean for more than a week. 

Off topic but Claire has a better arc too. She overcomes her fear of water much more gradually, unlike the movie where all it took was a leap in the ocean with Hailey. Also I like how the book never explains why she’s afraid of water. Because hydrophobia (fear of water) is much more common than people think. Especially in my country. By not giving a reason for it, Alice Hoffman helps normalize hydrophobia, making those with it feel less ashamed and more able to overcome it.

I realize how hypocritical it is of me to love Aquamarine for being a bitch, while hating Mary P. Windsnap for the same reason. But Aquamarine is in a standalone story. I have no prior expectations of her, so I can believe she’s supposed to be bitchy and unlikeable. Also Aquamarine is only 16 years old. We were all bitchy at 16 at some point XD. Unlike Mary P. who is implied to be much older, and should know better.

Enjoy!

[Image description. The Becky movie version of Aquamarine with legs, listing all the ways she’s different from her book counterpart, next to the Stacy book version of Aquamarine, wheelchair bound and with a mermaid tail, listing all the ways she differs from her movie counterpart. End description.]

[freetobeeyouandme]

Chapter 3: I Get My Ass Kicked by an Elven Princess

The next chapter of my Byler Isekai AU is now up on Ao3! We learn about Will's backstory, get some Byler bonding, and most importantly, Mike gets to use his new sword. What could go wrong?

Tags: M, Graphic Descriptions of Violence, Fantasy AU, Canon Typical Violence, Canon Typical Horror, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn

Summary:

Mike Wheeler hates High School, so when he almost dies and falls through a portal to another world, he’s not going to complain. Especially not when that world does not only have swords and magic but seems to work exactly according to the rules of his favorite tabletop role-playing game. But his euphoria might be short lived because the party of adventurers he falls in with turns out to be the target of an evil god and the fate of the world might rest on their shoulders. So, exactly like his games of D&D. Except the wanna-be Paladin soon realizes that being a hero is much harder in real life than it is in-game. - Or, Mike gets isekai’d into a world where D&D is real.

An excerpt and taglist below the cut:

Excerpt:

By the time Mike, Will, and Jonathan make it back home, the number of people they have to give the bad news to has halved. Because the Byers’ house only has so many beds, Lucas had left with Dustin, ceding his to Mike, and the pair had taken Max with them. Mike’s not sure what to do with the elf’s sudden kindness, but as the sun sets on Hawkins, the day’s excitement catches up with him and he’s not going to turn down a bed. He is a little disappointed to find Dustin had taken his backpack and everything but the books inside of it with him though.

When they arrive, El and her parents are playing cards, the Sorceress and her father competitively while her mother seems to only have joined to while away the time. Mike had finally found a moment to ask Will and Jonathan about their family situation on their way back when Jonathan mentioned that Mike should show the sword to Hop. Apparently Hop wasn’t the boys’ actual father, although neither of them seemed fond of the man who was. Hopper and their mother had found each other years after she left that man, and he had taken to her sons as if they were his own. And when Will and his friends brought El home, he had immediately become protective of the girl. Mike thought that was sweet, and the Byers genuinely seemed to love each other, something he wasn’t always sure applied to his own family.

True to Jonathan’s word Hop watches almost hungrily as Mike pulls the sword from the leather scabbard Murray had also provided while Will tells them about the Wizard’s ‘prophecy’. It’s the first time the harengon looks at him with something other than contempt, but Mike isn’t sure he likes this other expression either.

Thankfully Hop turns back to his cards when Mike’s eyes meet his, apparently unwilling to admit his curiosity. He pulls a red, beautifully illustrated card from his hands and throws it on top of the pile on the table.

El drags her eyes away from the sword and growls when she sees what her father has done.

“You got a plan on what to do with it?” Hop asks, nodding at the sword with feigned nonchalance.

Mike considers it. “Learn how to use it, I suppose. I’m not going home so I might as well take advantage of this.”

“Learn to use it how?”

He frowns. “Uh, like you use a shortsword, I guess?”

Mrs. Byers laughs, looking up from considering her own cards. “He means what class you had in mind.”

“Wait, you get to choose your class?” Of course, back in his world, he had chosen his characters’ classes, but that was a game and he was the author of those characters’ stories. He hadn’t expected that to translate to real life quite so literally.

Hop huffs a barely audible laugh that has Mike stare at him in disbelief. He didn’t think the man was capable of expressing joy.

“It’s like with every other profession,” he explains, with a shrug. “You pick what you think suits you and hope it works out for the best. But trust me, there are enough green-eared youngsters who think they want to become some world famous Wizard and remain the same green-eared nobodies even after years of study.”

Next to Mike, Will rolls his eyes. His expression is fond, though. “I thought we’d agreed, as a family, to never speak about that again?”

“You were a Wizard first?” Mike asks, intrigued. He places the sword on the table where everyone can continue ogling it and takes a seat.

Will shrugs as he joins him. “Well, emphasis lies on tried. I sucked at it and then I got lost in the woods for a week when I was twelve or so and Selune helped me find my way out. So that put an end to it.”

“So you decided to dedicate your life to the goddess?”

“I’m a better Cleric now than I ever would have been a Wizard, and besides, it’s not all that different serving her. Except she helps me finally understand magic.”

Mike weighs his head. It makes sense, although he’s not sure he understands that kind of religious devotion. He supposes if the god his parents believed in was a little more hands on, a little more available and granting his followers magic powers, it would be easier to believe in him. But as it stands Mike doesn’t think he’d be capable of the same kind of faith as Will seems to have in his goddess – not even if some god were to come to him in his dreams tonight.

Far more important to his choice: “Do you think I could learn magic?”

“Every living being has a connection to the magic that flows through this universe,” Will explains. “In some it is stronger than in others, and it manifests in different ways. Not everyone can actively channel magic, but I don’t see why you couldn’t try. Here.” He grabs Mike’s sword, and before his mother can reprimand him for doing that at the table and before Mike understands what his intention is, he drags his thumb over the sharp edge of the blade.

Mike has never considered before what color the blood of fantasy creatures such as dragonborn must be, but what wells up in the path of the blade is red and runs in a thick rivulet down the pad of Will’s finger. He swallows at the unexpected sight of it.

Will hisses slightly as he cuts himself, but his expression when he presents the cut is tranquil. He takes Mike’s hand with his uninjured one, guiding it to hold his bleeding finger, then nods towards the cut. “Don’t worry, I can heal myself if this doesn’t work.”

Mike grimaces. “You might have to. Maybe I will be a wizard.”

Will laughs with a nod at the sword. “Murray said he’s seen you wield that, so I doubt it.”

Mike feels his cheeks warm at how correct that assessment of him is. He’d played a Paladin in Hellfire’s last campaign, and he’d become partial to that class. Pure spellcasters were too complicated for him because there were always too many spells to memorize, but he did like the versatility of having some magic at his disposal. And while he wants to learn some magic now – why wouldn’t he, if magic is real here? – he also wants to learn how to use the sword he’s been given. He won’t have that opportunity if he ever goes back home.

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[stuffymcstuffsworld]

Our time spent together♡

There are twenty-four hours in a day, eight of which are devoted to school. So you might think it's near impossible to spend a decent amount of one on one time with your thirteen children in a single day.

Well... you're wrong. See, it doesn't matter the order or how long you spend with each child as long as they know that they are seen and heard by you. That they can come to you even if you're busy. You wanted to encourage their interests and be a rock that could lean on.

Now, for some, it was extremely easy to bond with, childs play. Others, it was harder to understand. You sometimes weren't sure if you were getting through or if you were slipping up. But you supposed it took patience on both ends.

Iruma

On a technicality you spent the most time with Iruma, you lived together 24/7, so it would be ridiculous if that wasn't the case. Still, though, you made sure that you were available for him the most because he was your "son." And he mattered more to you than any free time you might desire.

It was the little things that made Iruma the happiest you noticed. Eating together, asking about each others day. And lots, we're talking a whole mountain of physical affection. Not that you minded you gave as much as you got.

Of course, it did help that you always had the love of Irumas life. "Snacks." You made sure to always have something on hand just in case and in large abundance knowing certain individuals' appetite.

Sleeping in the same bed sometimes occurred as well when Iruma was feeling lonely or scared. How could you say no when he asked so cutesy like? Plus, waking up and seeing him try to burrow beneath you, and the covers was so precious.

Alice

Alice was... very passionate. And while you did like how he was protective of Iruma, you had to remind them every now and again that obsession can be dangerous.

Other than that, you found that Alice had very refined taste outside of his iruma obsession. They knew much about high society and edicate. They were interested in studying magic.

Alice had been inspired by the fireworks Iruma had suggested and asked you if you knew of other such wonders. So you experimented a lot with his fire abilities playing with the temperatures and colors.

You would also find times to dance and share photos with him. Encouraging his closer friendship with his peers, including Clara, much to his dismay. You laughed and teased him about that, reminding him of all the times he would say never only to be slowly worn down by her outlandish charm.

Alice was such a sweet child and genuine with their feelings. Sometimes, you worry about how often they put their heart on the line. But from what you've witnessed in hell so far, emotions were pretty much all or nothing.

Clara

Speak of the little devil, and she shall appear. She was by far the easiest one to spend one on one with. She constantly asked to play games, or she would climb all over you, seeking her own fun.

You knew instantly that Clara wasn't the type who liked to be alone. That you could deal with easily because you ensured that Clara never felt alone or used by others. You had found a few older students trying to get free stuff from Clara once, and that made your blood boil.

After saving your little jelly bean, you would just hold her and start rambling made-up stories or games you used to play as a child. She was quick to learn all the rules of those games and loved showing them to her classmates.

You would let her play with your hair and do your makeup. You would sing songs to her and watch as she drew pictures. Clara had a creative imagination. Sometimes you would lose all sense of time when with Clara and that was the best part. You didn't want your time together to end.

Elizabetta

A sweet girl, the gentle sort who didn't favor one person but preferred to treat all with a sense of love. It was a bit difficult to wrap your head around. But she was still young. She didn't need to have partners or go on dates just yet.

Elizabetta's aware of her beauty. How could she not be from all the constant stares and drooling messes she leaves in her wake. She made sure to use it to her advantage.

She shone brightly in the music festival, which was great. Her confidence was winning over her classmates and the crowd. Still, you couldn't help but wonder. Was this the real Elizabetta or an act? Ment to trick others into believing someone like her did not have issues.

Elisabetta was a fashion-forward girl. She made the trends, and she looked good in anything. So, during your one on one times, you would help her practice with makeup or style her hair. You even sewed cute patches on her bag of all of classmates, which had caused her to happily ask everyone for their bags so that you could both make more.

She had looked so proud as she handed back each bag, and it honestly made you want to laugh. So cute. All of your kids had a cute side!

Soi

Soi was well ... very shy at first. But once he got to know you, boy, did he not hold back what was on his mind. He was curious and often had questions.

He liked that you held conversations with him even when he had rapid-fire questions. You often relaxed as he played his horn, sometimes humming along with the melody.

He liked being involved in things, so you were glad that once his classmates were aware of him, they had invited him to join anything and everything they were doing. Though sometimes when he wanted to be alone, he would just cling to you as he hid. You found it adorable and didn't discourage the behavior. It was a lot better than you constantly wondering where he was.

Much like the rest of your kids, Soi did like physical affection, and sometimes, you would shower him with praise. You would, on occasion, be handed his phone. The first time, you didn't understand until you heard his father's voice on the other end.

That started a whole thing where if Soi's father crossed whatever line Soi had drawn, the phone was given to you so you could verbally tear the older demon to shreds. Which Soi seemed to like about you? You decide it's best not to question that.

Lied

Lied was happy enough playing games all day, but as his designated parent, you had to draw a line somewhere on the amount of time he spent playing. You didn't want to be the bad guy. You just wanted to make sure that Lied took his classes seriously and did his homework.

Which meant most of your one on one time was spent studying. Not forcing him to look at the textbooks and stare blankly at pages, he didn't understand for hours on end. No, the way to get Lied to study was to make it a game.

You make triva cards and developed a point system. If Lied got a certain amount of points, he would earn rewards. You made sure to change the rewards every week or so that way he would keep interest. This actually became a popular method to encourage all the kids to study, so you often did large group compitions to for bigger prizes.

But when after an hour or so of doing homework and studying, you would play games with Lied or watch movies. His tail would wave excitedly around before it would settle wrapped around your arm or loosely at your shoulders. The biggest Cheshire cat grin on his face.

Kerori

Twirl, spin, step, step, twist. You and Kerori kept to the beat of the music as you helped her rehearse for her latest show or event. Kerori was extremely dedicated to her craft you would give her that.

A merciless tyrant when it came to her own performance and the perfection she must show. You both would end up sweating buckets as you went over several routines and nitpicking lyrics. As long as Kerori was happy in the end, it didn't matter much to you.

This girl was constantly climbing up some imaginary mountain she had conjured up for herself. You could only hope she'd be satisfied with whatever she found once she reached the top. Constantly climbing on your own can be so lonely.

You would rest your feet with her and relax your sore muscles chatting away about the latest rising star and so forth. Kerori seemed to shine as she spoke more and more of her passion. Hopefully, she would always shine.

Goemon

One on one time with Goemon was a constantly changing event. Something different every time. It was somewhat what amusing to know he had so many interests.

The little swordsman was such a bright and cheerful soul that it made you wonder where he got so much positive energy. Especially in Hell of all places. Either way, he was very eager to try everything.

Sword training, arts & crafts, cooking. There were times when you would have to slow him down a bit to complete one project at a time. Ensuring he doesn't overwhelm himself.

And frankly, you thought the young demons' goal of making 100 friends (followers he always corrected) was sweet. Although he definitely had some kind of rose tinted glasses on if he thought they would always get along with each other.

Either way there you found yourself now teaching the excited extrovert how to knit. Observing as he made pleased sounds of triumph or huffed a little on tricky loops. What a peaceful moment.

It was almost familiar. Something about it reminded you of your old life. But it felt warmer somehow. Like replacing an old memory with something similar, yet newer.

You wondered if one day you would forget ever being human. Watching as Goemon proudly showed off his new "scarf" to you. Accepting the gift with a smile, you offered him a new ball of yarn for his next attempt.

Picero

Sleepy grouchy baby. If Goemon was your extroverted child, then Picero was your introvert. Even Soi wanted to spend more time with people than Picero, who would fuss about being around noise and people.

But that was fine, wasn't it? Picero just wasn't the social kind, and devi knows Goemon forces him to interact with enough people. So when it came to spending time with the little dreamer, it was really basic.

Snacks, cuddles, naps, and lullabies. Not necessarily in that order. It was quite soft moments of tender care that was soothing. Although the only lullabies you knew were human and you had to be careful not to slip into your old tongue while humming the melodies.

So sticking with some of the darker songs just in case the words did slip out in hopefully demonic speech. ☆If the seven hell's collapse, although the day may be my last. You will be okay~ When I'm gone, you'll be okay.☆

Kamui

To be frank, you weren't entirely sure what to make of your one on one time with the small avian. Your little baby bird who insisted he was a gentleman but also acted like so lecherous even by demon standards. At times, he would amuse you greatly with his antics, but as a parent there were some actions that you would not tolerate.

Not if they were to be dubbed as one of your children at least. You found it a little difficult to discipline Kamui, though. He was still a teenager, still learning and developing. You didn't want to discourage him from expressing his desires or that finding others attractive was wrong.

Yet, you didn't want him to behave so crudely and certainly not wanting him to be attacked by several women for his behavior. Granted, he did get a little tamer after all that training, but also worse... you weren't entirely sure how that was possible, but you certainly gave Mr. Hat a piece of mind for locking your children up in cages with wild, untamed animals.

Regardless, though, most of the time spent with Kamui was over tea and a game of cards. Gossiping over the latest rumors floating around the netherworld. His feathers puffed up with pride as he poured you tea.

Weren't you so lucky that all of your children had a cute side. Sipping tea in the gardens while listing to Kamui reveals the latest scandal. 'Yes,' You thought for a moment. 'So lucky.'

Allocer

Debates... to some it all into one word, that was how you would find your time spent with Allocer. Your child who absorbed knowledge like a sponge. Thank Devi, you had some practice when it came to battles of the mind.

In order to prove to Furcas-San that you were right on many occasions, you had to find the demonic equivalent to what would have been your human resources. And you found that it came in handy when speaking with Allocer as well. The boy loved to discuss everything.

Curious child, precious son. So you found your time spent as though it was a lesson itself. Discussion of laws and magics, theory, and hypothetical actions. Theology, biology, philosophy, and endless amount of material brought forth as you went. Raiding the library as you went to reference your sources.

Sometimes, you both could be found surrounded by a large pile of books with papers spread about both asleep. Others would find you both talking a mile a minute about some complex theory that probably only Furcas-San could understand. But that was to be expected.

Allocer was a beast, after all. A beast of knowledge that devoured any and all info. Sometimes, there were days you'd worry he wasn't getting enough mental stimulation in classes. You would probably have to go over that with Kalego-San at a later date.

Sabro

Sabro was a proud child. He seemed to bear no shame, and the first few months you knew him, he did not care much for authority. Yet, he had grown. He had learned to respect his teachers, and he was aware of certain boundaries, unlike some of your children who sadly still needed to learn.

Sabro was intelligent as he was strong. It seemed that spending time in his battler had helped him to grow in wisdom and understanding. You were very grateful for that. As long as he had something that kept his interest and encouraged him, you found no wrong with it.

Sabro wasn't used to being coddled. Even from a young age, he had things expected from him. And yet, for some strange reason, there you were. The guardian of his rival tended to his cuts and scrapes. Asking if he was having fun or if he wanted water.

He thought it strange that even though you were smaller than him, you would stretch up and pat his head. Not demanding he get stronger or become faster. No insisting that he needed to be the demon king.

It was refreshing. During your times together, Sabro found himself relaxing more. Just enjoying that someone didn't want him to be anything other than himself. And when he did speak of becoming demon king, you never corrected him or said iruma would be instead. You never told him he couldn't be the next demon king.

You just listened and gave small comments here and there. "You've thought about this a lot, haven't you" or "I'm sure it will be wonderful." You were proud that he actually put real thought into what he would do if he became king. Besides, it was such a long way away and a hard goal to reach. You wanted him to try his absolute best in reaching for it.

Jazz

Jazz loved living with you. Ever since you took him home, he loved every moment of it. He liked how everyone knocked on his door and waited instead of barging in. He liked that he wasn't forced to do all the cleaning and cooking anymore. Most of all, he loved not seeing his stupid older brothers face.

Jazz liked being an unofficial older brother of sorts to iruma and the attention he received from you. Sometimes, though, he'd worry you might change your mind and send him back. And on those days you decided he needed to spend time with you the most.

You would show him a sort of tricks to use. You knew better than to try and stop him from being a thief. Jazz was always gonna have sticky fingers. But that's just what made him one of your boys.

You got him an advance lock picking set and showed him how to use the tools he didn't recognize. Practicing slight of hand moves that had tricked him before. You made sure he'd recognize the art of creative wording. You wanted him to know all about what the world could throw at him.

You knew better than any seeing as humans were cunning enough to survive in a world of demons before the two worlds became separate. It wasn't always about brute strength or power. Even money did mean much when it came down to pure survival.

Jazz seemed to recognize your willingness to teach him. A way of saying, "Now you'll always carry a part of me with you." The complete opposite of his brother, which usually meant. "You're on your own."

Jazz was shy about affection, but it was the little things that made him the happiest. Stroking his cheek, forehead kisses, welcome homes. Those made him over the moon as he would sit down and tell you about his day.

[tsutsumi-kurose]

Hello! I have two questions for you :D 1-Do you think that in this arc or at some point we will see about Nene's past? I think it's a little strange that being the protagonist we don't see almost anything about her past even after 118 chapters (see you tomorrow yeiii!) maybe through Aoi? The truth is I would like to know more about her and I wanted to know your opinion! 2-Do you think that apart from the meeting that Tsukasa and Nene had in the red house and the festival was the only one that happened? In my opinion not, maybe Tsukasa had already met her apart from what we saw on screen, he seems to know her so well that one would think that he has known her all his life despite the fact that Tsukasa was little and from the past he spent so little time with her… Well I hope you see this and thank you very much!

happy new chapter day, anon!! ☺️

with regards to nene’s past, I honestly haven’t thought much about it past the little glimpses we’ve seen!! at least not in terms of her having any sort of significant backstory, in the traditional narrative sense… I think the mysteries about nene have struck me as not necessarily having their answers in the past, but now that you bring it up, it is a really interesting thought!!

I think the story has not delved too much into her past because it sets her up as a girl with a very normal life who stumbles into the supernatural world. of course, we do learn that it’s not that simple! she can see supernaturals because she’s close to death! this would’ve been a simple enough explanation, that could’ve been fitting for a girl with a normal life. maybe she was supposed to die a tragic but mundane death.

but what sakura tells her in hakubo’s boundary brings this into question!! supposedly, nene will die when she destroys all the yorishiros!! but can’t she only destroy them because she’s close to death? it’s a very circular logic!! this makes me think that her powers and death and life have been inextricably twisted by some sort of power…likely the god that keeps getting referenced, but who knows? how many gods even are there? is there just the well/pit god, or is there another power out there? maybe there is something in her past, something specific to her, that could have some answers!

I am team nene is magical somehow, beyond just being close to death. she has such a specific power to remove yorishiro seals, and all the time slips we’ve seen before this arc have happened to her specifically. but up til now I’ve just assumed it had something to do with time magic tangling her life up with the yugis. or rather, i think it’s something that’s yet to come that time magic has spread through her life. but the idea that her past could have some relevance to what’s to come is really

interesting!! I have definitely had the thought that we see so little of nene’s home life with her parents… but I guess I just assumed it wasn’t super relevant to the overall story? since the story has so much to do with the school as a setting, and the school and the red house as sources of magic… but it definitely does raise questions!! you are right that it feels strange to know so little about our main character!!

I also love your idea of getting insights into nene’s past through aoi, that would be so sweet 🥹 I love their relationship so much, they’re clearly so important to each other, so I’d love to see more of how they got that close and what they’ve meant to each other!!

and for your second question: YES yes I do!!!!!! yes I do wonder about this yes I do think about how many times the tsukasa we know has visited future nene through the jumbled time stream I think about it so much it haunts me!!!!!! its my favorite thing!!!!!! what does he know about her how close does he feel to her for things she hasn’t lived yet but he has!!!!!!! I love the two of them so much I love how intertwined their lives are I love how intrigued they are by each other I love how they orbit each other and hanako I love them so much!!!

there are so many questions of course about how much tsukasa has the power to do this, though. is it his choice? was time really easier to manipulate at the festival? how did he come to do this? he seemed very intentional about the time travel at age 12 in ch103(?), which definitely gives the impression he had done it before!! he seemed confident, unsurprised… not like “woah holy shit i time traveled” lol so yes anon I think he has done this before!! I think him telling her to ���play with us again” in that scene also sorta confirms this for me? that he’s lived something he knows is in her future. and I can’t wait to see it!! I’m so excited to see more of these two together!!!

thank you sm for the ask! I hope you have a good day anon!!

[hjellacott]

Aladdin was a great story to begin with. A poor orphan who goes from zero to hero with the help of a funny, wicked, crazy genie, a stubborn and hot-headed but kind and sweet and compassionate princess WITH A FUCKING TIGER FOR A PET, a chubby, silly sultan, and a baddie who's at times simply histerical, with a parrot and all. Who wouldn't LOVE Aladdin? It was my favourite film since babyhood. I couldn't decide what I loved more, the animals, the landscapes, the catchy songs, the badass princess, the sweet and handsome Aladdin (and his awesome pants), or the blue, funny genie (Robbie Williams I'll always love you).

I loved the remake as well, which for me was interesting because I traditionally hate (and fear) remakes. But this one had interesting changes that kept the essence and everything I originally loved while offering a "how about we do this...?" that was quite fantastic. It was as if they'd taken the originally story, respected it, kept its essence, and then thought "you could've included this and not change the essence but enrichen it but I suppose it would've been too long for a cartoon film, how about we include it?" I mean the scene of the local dances? with the typical Arabian parties? my god that was awesome. And the idea of the princess being more badass and stronger and with political ambitions was actually fitting. The remake only took what was already there to begin with and pushed it to the next level.

And then take Snow White. Take Rapunzel. Cinderella. Beauty and the Beast. These stories are uninteresting in this day and age, and educate girls to be something we no longer feel like being, they're not empowering precisely. But we allow them, and read them to our children, and put the movies because 1) It's just cartoons, 2) they teach our children the world we used to live in, 3) they teach about European folklore and mythology 4) they teach about classic literature authors, 5) they allow us to show our children something they can judge for themselves as they grow and learn from, thinking for themselves instead of us planting our ideas and adult lenses on them and ruining the magic and fun for them.

What we don't do, or at least we SHOULDN'T do is try to transform them into modern, female-empowerment badass princess stories that they're not, with human remakes that look and feel far more real, and that attempt to erase history, clean the original story (only to ruin the little that was worthwhile of them) and shame anybody who enjoyed the original for some reason (like the magic, the songs, the pretty dresses or the funny dwarfs). The result will always suck, and it only gives the message of "if you look at children's stories with adult lenses and therefore find them horrible and problematic but you liked them as a child or read them to your children, them you're a racist, sexist asshole and you suck, here's our improved version".

[bookwyrminspiration]

I Need Bookrecs but I can’t Just look any up cause all I get is booktok stuff :/

please help

Well I can recommend some things I/people I know personally enjoy! I don't know what you like, so I can't tailor them specifically to you, but hopefully it's still a helpful start :)

(and if anyone would like to reblog with their own additions, that's welcome to!)

A Chorus of Dragons by Jenn Lyons: A series I've talked about a lot recently. High Fantasy with incredibly complex and thorough worldbuilding, following Kihrin, a thief raised in a brothel as he discovers an unwanted royal heritage and the knowledge that he is destined to destroy the world. With an entire cast of engaging, unique characters (several queer in various ways) that drive the story, follow along as past lives are uncovered and these people who want nothing more than to live in peace are forced to fight for that right and figure out how to save humanity from the jealous hubris of people who have lost sight of what horrors can be justified for the greater good.

The Memoirs of Lady Trent by Marie Brennan: A series written like memoirs by Isabella Trent, the most famous and accomplished dragon naturalist ever who redefined the world and how dragons are understood with her accomplishments. But before she can be recognized, she had to establish herself in the field as a young woman in a time when women can't even vote--but she refuses to give up and travels the world for her passion, recounting the places she's been, people she's met, cultures she's glimpsed, and dragons she's studied. Very engaging and grounded, realistic in its depictions, isn't afraid to tackle topics like how harmful the "not like other women" idea is and how gender roles are detrimental to everyone.

I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane: I haven't read it, but my partner loves it. In this world, you gain a second shadow when you commit a crime, and Kris has one. And when her wife dies in childbirth, their new baby gains a shadow, too. Told as though Kris is talking to her dead wife, it examines grief, resistance, surveillance and prejudice, and is undoubtedly much better than I'm making it out to be with my vaguely informed knowledge.

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd Jones: A standalone about a girl trying to provide for her siblings as a gravedigger, one of the only ones left in her small village who's still cautious of the supposed undead magic on its outskirts. But when a map-maker with an unclear past shows up offering money in exchange for guidance to the fabled locations, she can't turn it down. Explores death and grief and learning to live on without the people you care about, very sweet and introspective.

Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro: The beginning of a new series, following two boys, Marlowe and Charlie, as they're discovered and taken to a mysterious institution for their magical gifts that allow them to access--in their unique ways--the space between life and death. But there are secrets at this institution and misguided ideas of how best to save everyone from the shadowed figure hunting down little Marlowe, driving their new small band of friends to action to try and keep everyone safe. This book is slow and deliberate, but charming; the kids all act their age and there's no romance, but plenty of finding and choosing your family.

The Expanse by James S.A. Corey: Phenomenal sci-fi set hundreds of years in the future; people are colonizing Mars and a marginalized, oppressed class of people live in the Belt. Tensions run high between all of them, but James Holden is just getting by as an ice hauler before his ship is blown up and he and a few others find themselves at the center of a conspiracy. An important woman's gone missing and when she's found, the very foundations of their world are shaken as a physically impossible biohazard rewrites history and science, taking the story to places beyond where the characters ever saw themselves going. I haven't read it myself, but my dad has and I've seen the show (which is incredible) and I really want to read it myself. Cast of distinct characters and the show is one of the most scientifically realistic out there

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto: A short, bittersweet standalone about grief. Following Mikage as she processes the death of her grandmother, she becomes close with one of her grandmother's friends from a flower shop and his mother, finding herself again and learning to live with it. Notable for its casual depiction of a trans character (that mother) in this book from the 1980s. It's a lovely read, introspective and thoughtful.

The Black Witch Chronicles by Laurie Forest: I'm not caught up with this one, but it starts following Elloren Gardner, granddaughter of the last prophesied Black Witch--but she doesn't have a single spark of magic in her blood. So she's starting at a new University to become an apothecary, but there finds her beliefs about the world--and her people's superiority--challenged as she's forced to room with two winged icarals, who she doesn't think even deserve to be here. The world turns out to be much more complicated than she thought and she needs to figure out where she actually stands. A high fantasy with a more in-depth world building, but I've only read the first 2 books so far. And in the first Elloren has a lot to unlearn, so prepare to cringe at her actions and thoughts for a hot minute--but the magic and politics of the world I remember being quite interesting.

Babel by R.F. Kuang: I've spoken about this frequently; a standalone about colonialism and language. About the literal power of words and necessity of violence. Follow young Robin Swift, taken from China as a child and given a new name so England can send him to Oxford, where his language can be used to power magical silver bars and strengthen the empire. But this exploitation of him and the people he's come to think of as family rests heavy on him, and a series of experiences drive his thoughts towards revolution and pain. Warning, this is a heavier book, especially for those who have personal experience with language/culture loss and disconnect, with the effects colonialism.

The Martian by Andy Weir: A standalone about an astronaut who gets stuck as the only person on mars when his crew has to flee the planet when a storm hits. Trying his best to survive alone until someone can hopefully come get him, the story is told through his Log entries--and he is quite the little shit of a narrator. Surviving on humor and fuck it we ball mentality, he's either going to survive and be famous for it, or die on mars and also be famous for that. An incredibly fun read that touches on the bonds of humanity and what we'll do to help others, and how hard people will fight to survive and keep their hope alive. This was also turned into a movie, and not a bad one!