#it’s a new adaptation of bee’s novel

[thebellekeys]

changes i think luca guadagnino could (should) make in his upcoming “american psycho” film:

set the film in the west coast, preferably the bay, silicon valley, nocal in general. the real american psychos of the 2020s drive teslas and work for apple. finance bros just don’t measure up to tech bros these days. plus i think california’s homelessness problem would make patrick’s own hatred for the poor and vulnerable more impactful.

have an openly gay actor play patrick. this isn’t necessary, per se, just my cooper koch agenda at work, but i think it’d be a great nod to the homoeroticism of the text and bret easton ellis himself having been closeted. especially since patrick tries (and fails) to present as the straightest dudebro ever.

play into patrick bateman’s donald trump obsession even more by having sebastian stan play trump in a cameo. goes without saying but the novel has been, unfortunately, rather clairvoyant. i just think it’d be genius to lean into that.

not to be obvious again, but patrick should have the personality of one of those health and lifestyle influencers who also hit their vape nonstop.

cast a ridiculously hot nepo baby (i’m thinking kaia gerber or lily rose rn) as evelyn. that’d make the bit of patrick being lowkey more into paul than her even funnier.

[the-owl-tree]

Deer's Xenofiction List - The Good, the Bad, and the Furry

Compilation of my xenofiction books I've read, my opinions on them, and ones that I've yet to get to. Will be updated as I go along, if I remember. Books I have not read have an asterisk (*) in front of them. Not a complete list, I will update as I gather more titles.

Adaptations will be listed along with the source material and not as a separate entry.

While I am accepting additions to the list, please make sure your suggestion isn't already listed.

Last Updated: 24-06-2024

-New additions to the books section

-Categories and sub-categories being considered: short films, animal transformation (human to animal).

-Content Warning: Mentions of sexual assault, animal abuse, animal death, and violence. Only a handful of entries have content warnings because they were given to me prior. Please look into the works beforehand to see if you feel comfortable engaging with them, this list is not a content warning guide.

Books

Warriors by Erin Hunter - A long-running series following the drama of four groups of feral cat groups in a forest.

Rating: sucks just read the first arc and nothing else. unless you have childhood nostalgia for this series you probably won't like anything that comes after.

Seekers by Erin Hunter - another animal series from the erin hunter team. It follows a group of bears searching for a safe place to live.

Rating: It's fine. I only read the first arc. While it has a much drearier tone than Warriors at times as it deals with growing environmental impact of global warming and human interference. If you like Erin Hunter's writing style, you might like this one.

*Survivors by Erin Hunter - Look we just gotta get these out of the way, these guys have a monopoly on kid's animal books. Survivors follows a dog named Lucky (yes. really) trying to survive in an area abandoned by humans.

Rating: I read the first book and nothing else. I'm sure it's...fine, suitable for a dog-obsessed young reader but as it is, no one's really rushed to recommend it to me. I'm sure it has fans somewhere, but I can't really speak for them.

*Bravelands by Erin Hunter - uuuhhh animals? in Africa? Surviving? I guess? Sorry my bias against Hunter is showing, but at some point you start to wonder what's going on here, you can feel them trying to recreate the success of Warriors.

Rating: idk what to tell you, never read it and probably never will. If you're a person who likes lion stories, you might enjoy this, maybe? Been told the hyena rep is appalling, another sad day for hyena lovers everywhere.

*Bamboo Kingdom by (you guessed it) Erin Hunter - It follows three pandas (apparently) each in different panda kingdoms.

Rating: I couldn't tell you shit about this one to be honest. You want more bears? Here's bears!

The Bees by Laline Paull - A novel following the life of Flora, a sanitation bee in her hive who rises through the ranks of her devout society.

Rating: Unfocused at times and a rushed ending, but a gripping story nonetheless. Would recommend!

Pod by Laline Paull - Follows the life of Eira, a spinner dolphin from an "exotic tribe" who is forcibly taken into another group of dolphin's to become a member of their leaders harem.

Rating: This book relies on the mythos of "dolphin rape" with numerous, non-graphic sexual assault scenes. While interesting concepts are introduced and, at times, the plot becomes compelling; it otherwise flounders its premise with messy execution and poorly thought out ideas. Also there's an American spy dolphin named Google, make of that what you will.

*The Wildlings and its sequel The Hundred Names of Darkness by Nilanjana Roy - A book about a small band of cats lives in the labyrinthine alleys and ruins of Nizamuddin, an old neighbourhood in Delhi.

Rating: Recommended multiple times to me by different people, no warnings given.

Varjak Paw (and sequels) by S. F. Said and illustrated by Dave Mckean - A short book about Varjak, a Mesopotamian Blue Cat, and his journey to learn an ancient art from his family’s past.

Rating: Varjak Paw is unique with striking imagery and interesting ideas. However, the writing in itself is far from anything special. The book it at its best when accompanied by Mckean’s striking visuals.

*The Underneath by Kathi Appelt - An abused dog hides under the porch of a home to escape from its owner. Based on a reply I've been given, do not ask me to expand anymore on the plot of this book, I have no goddamn clue.

Rating: Described as a formative book for reading xenofiction, it’s been recommended highly! Contains heavy topics such as animal abuse, be warned.

*Fire Bringer by David Clement-Davies - A novel following a red deer named Rannoch and a prophecy that looms over him.

Rating: It seems to have a decent fanbase and it's been recommended to me a handful of times.

*Bambi, a Life in the Woods by Felix Salten - A coming-of-age novel following a roe deer named Bambi. Best known from the 1942 Disney film.

Rating: If you're a deerhead, check it out I guess!

*Raptor Red by Robert T. Bakker - Often (favorably) compared to a textbook, Raptor Red follows a female Utahraptor. Written by a paleontologist, it's meant to be a realistic look at dinosaur's social habits and their interactions with their world.

Rating: Yet to read but sounds cool as fuck. This book contains a heavy emphasis on realism and world-building, with little dialogue. It may be slow for some readers!

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell - Horse girls, certain English classes, and so on, Black Beauty is fairly well-known. Though for those unaware, Black Beauty follows the titular Black Beauty's life in Victorian days.

Rating: It's a classic! Pulls at your heart strings! Just typing this out makes me want to reread it.

Watership Down by Richard Adams - Similar to Black Beauty, I can't imagine anyone reading this list doesn't know about the tale of a group of rabbit's trying to survive a harsh world.

Rating: It's well-written with a lively world, but its treatment of its female cast reveals a deep gendered bias in the writing.

*Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert. C. O'Brien - Mostly known from the (excellent) Don Bluth adaptation, the book follows Mrs. Frisby and he encounter with a group of highly intelligent rats.

Rating: Yet to read.

*Redwall by Brian Jacques - A 22 book series following a group of anthrophormic animals who live in Redwall Abbey and their call to action to defend themselves from "vermin".

Rating: Yet to read

Guardians of Ga'Hoole by Kathryn Lasky - A 31 book series following a group of owls and their attempts to thwart evil. The first arc follows Soren and his attempts to find the owls of Ga'Hoole and beat the 'Pure Ones' while the later books act as an epilogue and prequel.

Rating: First half read and loved! Highly recommend! Handling of Kludd is...meh.

Note: It has an animated film adaptation! While not entirely faithful, it still does a great job keeping to the themes of the books, trimming the fat, and telling a complete story. It also has two video games, one on DS and one on ah other consoles? Both are fun, I like the Wii version.

*(sorta?) Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland - Most people reading this will know this one! It takes place in a world of dragons with seven tribes. The first arc follows the exploits of prophecized dragonets and their attempts to end a war.

Rating: I've yet to finish it. The writing is skewed for a younger audience but is charming nonetheless.

Note: It has a graphic novel adaptation illustrated by Mike Holmes.

*Duncton Wood (First book of the Duncton Chronicles) by William Horwood - A novel the three groups of moles in Duncton Woods and the tyranny of a powerful mole named Mandrake.

Rating: Not yet read, heard good things! lots of mole sex apparently.

The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams - After escaping an animal research facility, Snitter and Rowf escape out into the wild where they must survive a hostile world.

Rating: ough. my heart. would recommend.

Note: Well-known for its animated adaptation, would recommend it as well.

*Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel - The first in the Silverwing book series, Silverwing follows a bat named Shade who loses his colony during a migration to the south.

Rating: Yet to read but I've heard good things!

Note: Currently has an animated television adaptation, go check it out!

*A Black Fox Running by Brian Carter - The story follows the tale of a dark-furred fox named Wulfgar and his human nemesis, Scoble the trapper, over the course of time.

Rating: Yet to read.

*The Books of the Named/Ratha’s Creature (First book of the Ratha’s Creature series) by Clare’s Bell - Ratha’s Creature is set in prehistoric times following the story of Ratha, a Dinaelurus nimravid(?) and her role as a female in her Clan.

Yet to read, often recommended in the Xenofiction scene.

*The Taken (Book one of the Foxcraft trilogy) by Inbali Inserles - Follows the story of Isla, a fox kit who loses her home and family and must survive in the world of “furless” while mastering Foxcraft.

Recommended by @girlashfur

*Hurry Home, Candy by Meindert DeJong and illustrations by Maurice Sendak - Described as "heavy", Hurry Home, Candy follows the life and struggles of a dog named Candy.

Recommended by @mosshugs

Felidae (the first book in a nine book series) by Akif Pirinçci - A crime novel following Francis the cat as he tries to uncover the truth behind a series of murders in his new neighborhood.

Rating: I haven't read the novel and nor do I want to, but I did watch the adaptation. It's a grisly one but apart from the violent murders and striking imagery in the film, you're not missing much by skipping it. I can't really recommend this one for a variety of reasons.

Important: I can't stop you from reading the book or watching the animated adaptation, I watched the animated adaptation, but please do not financially support the author in any way. Pirinçci is a far-right dipshit and does not deserve support.

The Animals of Farthing Wood by Colin Dann - With eight books under its belt, The Animals of Farthing Wood originally started as one book about a group of woodland animals trying to find a new home after losing their old one to human development. It was followed by six sequels and one prequel.

Rating: Haven't read the books but I love the animated adaptation of it! I recommend checking out both.

*Ragweed (First book of the Dimwood book series) by Avi - A book about the adventures of a mouse seeing the world.

Recommended by @meanling

*A Dog's Life: An Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M. Martin - Written by the same author of the Babysitter's Club series, A Dog's Life chronicles the life of a dog named Squirrel.

Recommended by @meanling

*Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker and illustrations by Junyi Wu - Scary Stories for Young Foxes is a book consisting of several stories all told by a mother to her kits.

Recommended anonymously

*The Sight (and its sequel The Fell) by David Clement-Davies - Set in the same universe as Fire Bringer, The Sight follows a pack of wolves cursed by a lone wolf, Morgra, whose powers foretell the destiny of one of the mother wolf's pups: Larka, a white wolf gifted with a mysterious power known as The Sight.

Not yet read.

*Last of the Curlews by Fred Bodsworth - A realistic depiction of the journey of the last of a critically endangered and soon to be extinct bird.

Not yet read.

Note: Has an animated adaptation!

*Wish Tree by Katherine Applegate - From the same author as The One and Only Ivan! While this story includes animals, it's main character is an old oak tree named Red! The perspective is really interesting. She is both the neighborhood wish tree, and a home for many animals. A family of Muslim refugees move into the neighborhood, with the kid, Samar, becoming attached to the tree.

Not yet read.

*Pax by Sara Pennypacker - A war approaches and Peter must release his pet fox when his father enlists. The story alternates between Peter as he starts a journey to find his pet, and Pax who is learning to survive in the wild.

Not yet read.

*A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Perry - Inspired by the wolf 0R-7 (Journey), we follow Swift. After a rival wolf pack attacks, Swift's family scatters and must find a new home, taking an 1000 mile journey across the Pacific Northwest.

Not yet read.

*The Tygrine Cat by Inbali Iserles - Alone and lost, a young cat called Mati is struggling to be accepted by a colony of street cats in the bustling marketplace at Cressida Lock. What Mati doesn’t know is that he is the last of a vital, age-old breed and that a mysterious feline assassin named Mithos is close on his trail. With his enemy nearing, can Mati learn to harness his ancient powers — before a deadly feline force destroys both him and his newfound friends and takes the spirit of every cat on earth?

Not yet read.

Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis - The ancient Greek Gods make a bet and endow fifteen dogs from a shelter with human-level intelligence.

Rating: I can't say I loved this book but nonetheless I appreciated it's prose. If you can get past outdated pack dynamics and some...questionable writing around its female characters, there's a lot to appreciate. Mind you, this is a book for adults and does not shy away from sexual material.

Comics (Webcomics included)

Beasts of Burden written by Evan Dorkin and illustrated by Benjamin Dewey and Jill Thompson - The comics follow along the adventures of the ‘Beasts of Burden’ a group of animals who investigate paranormal happenings in their neighborhood.

Rating: With gorgeous art and an interesting world, I recommend! Just be warned, it is bloody and the sory doesn't hold your hand.

Note: Beasts of Burden currently has 21 comics published in Dark Horse Comics.

What Lurks Beneath by ArualMeow - A feral colony must grapple with a food shortage while simultaneously tussling with the divide between two groups of cats.

Rating - A highly compelling read. Each character plays a role in the unravelling drama of three siblings and you will walk away loving someone.

Note: Ongoing!

I Hope So by Detective Calico - A rewrite of My Pride turned into an original story, I Hope So follows the story of three lionesses navigating both the complicated politics of the lion prides but also the harsh environment they must survive in.

Rating: Slow to update but absolutely worth it! I Hope So is a charming and interesting read. It’s yet to finish but it’s far enough that you'll be able to invest yourself in the world and characters with no trouble!

Note: Ongoing!

Tofauti Sawa by TheCynicalHound - A revenge story that follows a spotted hyena named Sahara.

Rating: Tofauti Sawa is not here to endear you to its protagonists or hold your hand. It can be a tough read but a worthwhile one nonetheless. I need to catch up but I recommend it!

Note: Ongoing!

*Golden Shrike by Doeprince - A story about twin deer and their friends and their search to retrieve three fallen stars for a bored God.

Rating: Yet to read but I've heard good things!

Note: Ongoing!

*Doe of Deadwood by Songdog - It follows a deer who has a pact with a demon that takes the form of a tree. It has some heavy themes and light gore.

Recommended by @beeloaf

Note: Complete!

Jet and Harley by Doeprince - Described as a beautiful piece on grief and moving on, Jet and Harley stars a kitty cast and gorgeous artwork.

Rating: Recommended anonymously. It's still starting but it has some strong set up and charming writing going for it, I recommend keeping an eye on it!

Note: Ongoing!

Preeny Has to Repeat 6th Grade by momodriller - A love letter to adoptables and the creativity of young artists, this charming comic utilizes designs bought from adoptables on DeviantArt! It follows the story of Preeny, a young cat with a magic brush tail and what happens when her whole world turns upside down.

Rating: Beyond adorable, charming and sweet. There's a lot of love put into this webcomic and it shows! Highly recommend.

Note: Ongoing!

Africa by Arven92 - The story of a female leopard named Africa and her quest to protect her family and loved ones while her territory comes under threat.

Rating: Gorgeously drawn and with a story that twists, Africa pulls no punches in showing you the wickedness of its antagonists but also the enduring bond of a family.

Note: Ongoing!

*Oren's Forge by Teagan Gavet - A webcomic that explores the dynamics of predator and prey and what happens when those divisions fall in the story of a pair of pine martens and their journey for sanctuary.

Rating: Not yet read

Note: Ongoing!

*Pride of Baghdad written by Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon - A graphic novel falling the fictionalized account of the real life escape of four lions from the Baghdad Zoo after an American bombing in 2003.

Rating: Not yet read.

Content warning for graphic violence, gore, animal death, and a brief one panel depiction of sexual assault.

*I Didn't Know by Songdog - A comic about a cat exiled from her Church.

Rating: Not yet read.

Note: Ongoing

*Fox Fires by Pipilia - This ongoing Webtoon follows a Tanuki named Raate as she goes on a journey to find the missing "Fox Fires", a gate between the land of the dead and living. She encounters many friends such as birds who are messangers for elves, magic cats, and normal mean wolves.

Not yet read.

Note: Ongoing

Manga & Anime

*Silver Fang Gin and Ginga Densetsu Weed written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Takahashi - The original and the sequel respectively, the manga series follow Akita dogs, Gin and Weed. While Silver Fang focuses on Gin's search to fight the monstrous "Red Helmet", Weed follows the titular Weed and his search for his father.

Rating: I've not read this but upon getting recommended it, multiple people warned me about the misogyny in the series. Ye be warned. Additionally, the manga is (apparently) very gory!

Note: Both have anime adaptations. Weed's opening is a fucking banger go watch it at the very least.

Beastars (and Beast Complex by extension) written and illustrated by Paru Itagaki - In a world of anthromorphic animals, Beastars follows Legosi, a young wolf navigating his complicated feelings towards other species and learning more about his world.

Rating: Beastars is action-packed, fun, emotional, and dramatic! The first half is a compelling story of identity and how we interact with one another and the complex forces of society that drive our feelings, all wrapped up in a wonderous animal metaphor. As a coming-of-age story, it carries themes of desire, sexual desire, yearning, shame, and more. The second half is eeeeehhh not as strong, but I still recommend it nonetheless!

Note: Beastars currently has an anime adaptation by Studio Orange! It looks fantastic and has some really nice quality of life changes. Highly recommend.

Chi's Sweet Home written and illustrated by Konami Kanata - An adorable slice-of-life story following a cute kitten named Chi adapting to her new home.

Rating: It's just plain cute! If you're looking for something adorable to help you relax, I recommend this one. It's for a younger age demographic so don't go in expecting deep storylines or anything.

Note: Chi's Sweet Home has two adaptations: one with traditional 2D Japanese animation and two seasons and a 2016 3DCGI adaptation. I'd recommend the original adaptation but that's pure preference.

Nyankees written and illustrated by Atsushi Okada - A comedy manga that depicts street cats as brawling "yankees", drawing them as both cat and human to depict their brawls over food, territory, and ladies!

Rating: It's funny, I can't deny the humor in this one makes me chuckle. It's a little racy but otherwise, a fun, light-hearted read.

*A Cat's Tale written by Sae-Him Kwon and Hyeon-Jung Kim and illustrated by Kwon-Sam - A thrilling tale of murder and deception from the animals living on the Sae-Min's farm from the point of view of an elderly cat.

Rating: Yet to read, discovered on Anime-Planet's search system.

Monotone Blue written and illustrated by Nagabe - A story set in high school, it's a BL manga that follows Hachi the cat and Aoi the lizard.

Rating: Yet to read, but I adore the author's other works so I have high expectations!

*Neko to Ryuu written by Amara and illustrated by Sasaki Izumi- A cat raises a baby dragon as her own.

Rating: Yet to read but come on, that sounds adorable.

A Story of Seven Lives written and illustrated by Shirawaka Gin - A Story of Seven Lives follows Nanao, a former housecat turned street cat after a terrible tragedy.

Rating: It's a tearjerker and absolutely adorable. The artwork is lovely and all the cats' designs look fantastic. if you're interested in a simple drama about the relationship between cats and people, i would highly recommend it.

Note: There are human protagonists! If you want pure animal protagonists, maybe skip this one.

*The Walking Cat: A Cat's-Eye-View of the Zombie Apocalypse by Tomo Kitaoka - Zombies roam the earth and civilization as we know it is dead. When Jin—a young man trying to survive the chaos—rescues a cat from certain death, the unlikely duo sets off on a quest to find a mysterious island where Jin’s wife may be alive. Witness the zombie apocalypse through the eyes of a fearless feline whose curiosity may kill him yet.

Rating: Not yet read.

PLEASE READ: Due to its setting, this series has been given a handful of content warnings, please heed this warning before you read. Content warning for gore, death, sexual abuse, physical abuse.

Film

i'm not gonna put every disney or dreamworks film on here i'm sure a majority of us know that disney makes a lot of already popular animal films. if possible, i'd like to spotlight some films that weren't made by big studios and/or don't get a lot of attention. Further note, some of these are adaptations of children's books. I'm cheating a little here mainly because the adaptations are more well-known and probably more appealing for readers of this list than the original books. Uh, sorry.

The Brave Little Toaster directed by Jerry Rees - The film follows the adventures of sentient kitchen appliances and the search for their owner.

Rating: Aimed for a younger audience, it's an adorable viewing for all ages.

Isle of Dogs directed by Wes Anderson - In the year 2038, canine flu breaks out in a futuristic Japan and all dogs are sent to 'trash island' where they fight to survive. One day, a young Japanese boy crashes down on trash island to find his dog.

Rating: The stop-motion animation is gorgeous, the writing is fun and charming, and the visuals are amazing, however the film has rightfully garnered criticism for its stereotypical depiction of Japanese society and 'white savior' narrative around one of its human characters.

Chirin no Suzu (English Title: Ringing Bell/Chirin's Bell) directed by Masami Hata - On a farm, Chirin witnesses the death of his mother to a wolf. Distraught and filled with rage, Chirin vows to get revenge and trains to do so.

Rating: A fantastic and visually striking film, the film's cute aesthetics hide a sombre and darker story. Would recommend!

*Vuk (English Title: The Little Fox) directed by Atilla Dargay - A Hungarian animated film that follows the life of a fox and how he must use his wits to survive.

Rating: Not yet watched.

Arashi no Yoru Ni (English Title: One Stormy Night) directed by Gisaburō Sugii - On one stormy night, a sheep and a wolf take refuge from a storm in the same abandoned home and befriend each other...unaware of what species the other is until later. They strike an unusual friendship that's tested when their respective groups begin to clash.

Rating: Cute, sweet, and well-animated, One Stormy Night is well known for the romantic undertones of its two leads. I think it's adorable and highly recommend.

Note: It received another adaptation of the same source material, a 3D animated show where they made the sheep a girl. Do with that information what you will.

Leafy, A Hen into the Wild directed by Oh Sung-yoon - A farm chicken dreams of one day living a life in the wild and raising her own clutch of eggs and, after faking her death to escape, finally gets the opportunity to do so.

Rating: A gorgeous animated film with moments that will tug at your heart strings. It's got some kiddy jokes with poop and fart jokes but they're not too distracting. Would recommend!

Note: Please find a version with the ORIGINAL ending, not the censored one. It is more thematically fitting and one heck of a gut-punch.

Underdog/A Dog's Courage directed by Lee Chun-baek and Oh Sung-yoon - After being abandoned by his owners, a dog joins up with a pack of other dogs in search of 'paradise'.

Rating: Despite some poor pacing and wonky tonal problems, I think this movie is still worth checking out! The character designs are cute and it's decent entertainment if you've got some time.

Note: There's a post that says this movie is about dogs escaping to North Korea, it's not true. They escape from North Korea to South Korea.

Padak directed by Dae-Hee Lee - A dark and sometimes brutal film about a wild fish that ends up in a restaurant fish tank that overlooks the ocean. The film stays there and the audience is given a tense, nerve-wracking narrative of life and death.

Rating: A fantastic, emotional movie that uses its limited setting to its full advantage. It's brutal and unforgiving but one hundred percent worth the watch.

Khumba directed by Anthony Silverston - A film that follows a zebra with only half his stripes and his journey to gain the rest of them in hopes of being accepted by his herd.

Rating: It's fine, a little wonky but it has a lot of heart.

Earnest and Celestine directed by Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar and Benjamin Renner - A gorgeous 2D French animated film based on a series of children's films about a bear who takes in an orphan mouse in an anthropomorphic society that does not approve.

Rating: you're going to get cavities at how sweet this film is. Charming, funny, and visually stunning, you would be remiss if you didn't watch this wonderful film at least once.

The Land Before Time directed by Don Bluth - After tragedy strikes, young Apatosaurus must embark on a journey to find the Great Valley.

Rating: It's a classic! A bit cutesy and meanders at times, but still worth a watch.

Note: Pretty well known for the host of direct-to-DVD sequel movies it produced, a television series, and a video game.

Television (Online Productions Included)

My Pride directed by Maddi Patton - My Pride is an independent internet production that follows the tale of a disabled lion named Nothing trying to exist in her cruel society.

Rating: My Pride is clearly a work of passion, one can’t deny the creator clearly had a vision of what she wanted from this show. However, the execution is flawed and the handling of disability has been (rightfully) criticized. While the animators and voice actors have clearly put a lot of love and effort into the project, the writing falls short of what it could be.

Note: The series ends on a cliffhanger and has been discontinued. You have been warned.

My Little Pony (Generations 1-5) developed by Hasbro - If you like ponies, here you go! While G1 did have a human character, G3 to G5 are purely horsies. Each generation has a different story and main cast to follow.

Rating: Very obviously for a younger age demographic, the generations do have their own charm! G4 is popular for a reason with a sleek style, witty writing, and a lovely cast of characters.

Azurehowl and Azurehowl Reborn created by azurehowlshilach - Bet this one brings back nostalgia lol Azurehowl is set in a world where wolves have the magic of dragons! It centers around Ruuza who may be more special than she realizes.

Rating: i gotta rewatch this one to make my thoughts clear but i remember finding it charming. Azurehowl Reborn appears to be the remake/reboot of the original series.

Note: Ongoing!

Twelve by Petpyves - An original series about May and Imp, a duo who's jobs are to jump from body to body and guide them to a better end, results vary. It's a work of love and has some really strong concepts and writing, as well as doing its best to handle more mature subejcts with respect.

Rating: It's rough around the edges but nonetheless a great show to binge! I recommend it, though it's been a while since I watched it.

Note: Complete!

No Evil by Betsy Lee - In the land of myths and fables incarnate a group of spirits live their casual lives alongside humans, until a cataclysmic force thought to be dealt with shows once again in the world. A prequel series to the webcomic Brother Swan.

Rating: Not yet watched.

Note: Complete!

Burrow's End by Dimension 20 - A Dungeons & Dragons campaign following a group of stoats.

Rating: Not yet watched.

Note: Complete!

Video Games

Okami developed by Clover Studios - You play as the wolf Amaterasu on her journey to save the world from forces of darkness.

Rating: A classic for a reason. Fun to play, great story, lovely characters. Would recommend!

Stray developed by Bluetwelve Studios - In a walled city populated by robots, you play as a cat.

Rating: ending made me bawl. Gameplay is a bit clunky, the platforming is essentially hitting buttons to automatically jump to your destination instead of you jumping yourself. Otherwise, would recommend!

*Tokyo Jungle developed Crispy's! - Set in a deserted, furistic Tokyo, you can select from a wide array of animals to play as and survive.

Rating: never played but maaan do I want to.

*Spirit of the North developed by Infuse Studio- You play as an ordinary red fox whose story becomes entwined with the guardian of the Northern Lights, a female spirit fox.

Rating: Yet to play.

Untitled Goose Game developed by House House - honk

Rating: honk

*Copoka developed by Inaccurate Interactive - You play as a pigeon trying to build a nest in a totalitarian state.

Rating: Yet to play.

*Seasons After Fall developed by Swing Swing Submarine - 2D platformer where you play as a fox in a magical land.

Rating: Yet to play.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon developed by Spike Chunsoft - A rogue-like RPG in which you take the form as a human turned Pokemon and must navigate your world. There are currently seven games to choose from, each with a unique world and story.

Rating: I love PMD, I'm putting it here because I'm biased. I love it a lot and it fits the criteria so here you go!

Cattails & *Cattails: Wildwood Story developed by Falcon Development - With the creator known for their WC fan game, Untold Tales, Cattails branched out from the bones of the fan game and became an original game of it's own! In this RPG, you play as a cat where you can hunt, fight, find love, and solve puzzles. Wildwood expands on the base mechanics, adding in farming, characters, and more!

Rating: I found the first Cattails to be cute and simple. It's not an intensive RPG, the mechanics become repetitive after a while. If you're someone who likes getting into the rhythm of a grindy rpg, you'll like this one. Not yet played Wildwood but I've heard it's great!

Rain World developed by Videocult - You play as a nomadic slugcat in a brutal world with only your wits, agility, and strength to survive. Eat, hunt, flee, and hibernate while finding out the secrets of your world.

Rating: Okay. this game is HARD. Like unfair hard. Imprecise controls, brutal difficulty, and sometimes really unfair save points - this one is tough. However, it is gorgeous and it's really fun seeing all the beautiful environments the creators came up with. Enemies are also incredibly complex, reacting to each other and you in different ways. It's an acquired taste, while it wasn't for me personally, I would recommend giving it a try at the very least.

Miscellaneous

Additions that aren't necessarily xenofiction but pertain to it in some way.

Cheek by Jowl: Animals in Children's Literature by Ursula K. Le Guin -A fantastic essay that explores the role of the animal in children's literature from its role as something to reflect human society, or how it teaches children about animals. Furthermore, it explores the ways in which xenofiction can intentionally or unintentionally reinforce human bigotry through what we deem the "natural" order of the world.

Rating: Please read if you're interested in xenofiction! A fantastic essay that kicks you off thinking critically about what xenofiction has to say. The essay has a striking section on Watership Down that I highly recommend reading.

Cardinal West (YouTube) - A YouTube channel that discusses xenofiction. Videos that I recommend to start with are:

How (Not) to Write Xenofiction: A Literary Autopsy of “One for Sorrow, Two for Joy” by Clive Woodall (CW for discussions of sexual assault)

How Adapting The Fox and the Hound Changed Animation

[helix-enterprises117]

Halo: A Beginner's Guide

For all of you newcomers out there, here's a list that I've wanted to do for a while now. For those who are new to Halo, likely introduced by the TV Show, and want to get into it, here's my 2 cents on how to ease into the franchise.

The Games

Play the original four games PLUS Halo Infinite in chronological order. The spin-off games (Reach, ODST, the Wars games and the Spartan games) are all completely optional, but they are there for people who want play other games that aren't centered around the Master Chief. I recommend just watching all of the cutscenes of Halo 5: Guardians in some supercut "movie" Youtube video, since the 5th game is... bad and, story wise, you're not missing much.

So in this order WITHOUT the spin-offs:

Halo: Combat Evolved

Halo 2

Halo 3

Halo 4

Halo Infinite

If you want to play the games WITH the spin-offs included, then in this order:

Halo Wars

Halo Reach

Halo: Combat Evolved

Halo 2

Halo 3: ODST

Halo 3

Halo: Spartan Assault

Halo: Spartan Strike (Note: This game takes place in two different time-periods, so just play this after Spartan Assault for convenience sake)

Halo 4

Halo Wars 2

Halo Infinite

My advice: Play the main four (+ Infinite) FIRST, then replay the main-games WITH the spin-offs in chronological-order.

Books & Comics

Here comes my favorite part!

Books

Halo: The Fall Of Reach, Halo: First Strike & Halo: Contact Harvest - The FIRST books in the entire franchise, these books set the stage for the entire setting of the Halo world. The first half of The Fall Of Reach is Master Chief's origin story, while the second half is about, well, "the fall of Reach." First Strike is a book that takes place in-between the first and second game AND, for a high-octane action-book, has a shocking amount of shipping material. And finally, Contact Harvest details the early years of the Human-Covenant War AND further fleshes out the Covenant as an antagonistic force by showing their side of things.

Halo: Silent Storm & Halo: Oblivion - For those who want MOAR Master Chief, these two books focus on a younger Chief fighting the Covenant in the earlier uears of the war. These two are probably my favorite Halo books thus far.

Halo: Ghosts Of Onyx & The Kilo-5 Trilogy - It's crucial to read Ghosts Of Onyx first BEFORE delving into Glasslands, the first book in The K5-Trilogy, since Glasslands takes place IMMEDIATELY after Ghosts Of Onyx. Anyways, these stories are for those who are bored of Master Chief and want to read about other, admittedly more fascinating Spartans. Kurt and Naomi are definitely among my favorite Spartans that aren't named "Master Chief," "Blue-Team" and "Silver-Team."

Halo Evolutions - An anthology book with each story taking place in some corner of the Halo universe or another, this is a book I recommend for world-building purposes.

Comics

Halo: The Graphic Novel - Just like Evolutions, Halo: The Graphic Novel is an anthology series thay tells different stories from different corners of the Halo universe for world-building purposes. These stories are all new stories and are NOT comic-adaptations of any of the stories in Evolutions, so don't worry about basically reading the same stories twice; The Graphic Novel has a similar concept, but all of the stories are different.

Halo: Blood Line - Black-Team is the coolest group of Spartans in the entire Spartan-II Program; they're group of misfit loners (who secretly have feelings for each other) who answer ONLY to ONI (the CIA of the Halo universe) and wear black suits of armor with roman-numerals etched onto their visors. They do cool-guy shit together, and this comic follows their story.

Other Material

Audio-Dramas

I Love Bees - Taking place in various different points in time, I Love Bees was an ARG that was turned into an audio-play long after it was deciphered. I won't spoil anything that happens, but I will say this: Shit gets kinda crazy.

Hunt The Truth - Another ARG. This fictional podcast was made to promote Halo 5: Guardians and... it's the best damn part to come out of that stinker of a game; Hunt The Truth's narrative is SO much more interesting than Halo 5's story, it HURTS. Anyways, it's about a reporter uncovering the truth of the Spartan-II Program as ONI starts a smear campaign against the Master Chief to cover their own asses.

Movies & Shows

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn - This web-film was promotional material for Halo 4 (as it's title suggests), and it follows a group teenaged military-school students going about their lives as Lasky, a confused cadet who is struggling to find a direction in life and live up to his family's reputation, grapples with the struggles of military-life in his academy.

Halo: The Series - If, by some off-chance, you WEREN'T introduced to Halo via the show, here's the recommendation. Form your own opinion, but here's my advice: Like what you want to like and don't follow the word of mouth.

Halo Legends - An anime anthology that, just like Evolutions and The Graphic Novel, world-builds the mythology of Halo by telling different, disconnected but ultimately in-continuity stories set within the game's universe. Odd One Out, Homecoming and The Package are my favorite shorts in the film.

Machinimas

Red Vs Blue - What else? Seasons 1 - 14 are my recommendations, don't watch anything else beyond that because it SERIOUSLY drops in quality. Just wait for it's final season, Season 20, to come out; you're not missing much with seasons 15 - 19.

The Spartan Legacy - A seriously underrated series. Made by a Youtuber under the name: 'Chronicler177,' The Spartan Legacy takes place in an alternate-continuity where Chief disappears and never comes back after the events of Halo 3. As a result, the Spartan-IVs and Vs (both of which are more interesting than in-canon; and the Spartan-Vs are a new creation within this web-show itself) are created to take his place.

WHEW! That's all, ladies and gents.

@authortobenamedlater, @silverpelt3600, @ionlymadethissoicouldleaveanask, @makowrites, @mrtobenamedlater, @biomecharnotaurus, @killer-orca-cosplay, @cheezbot, @caffeineyum, @asimplesimpsimping.

[allsoundwavesarebeautiful]

TF 1 thoughts:

-Bee knows what mountains are, but none of them knew about the deer, grass, or the fact that the landscape can violently transform while you're standing on it. of course Sentinel would be controlling what information about the surface gets into Iacon, but it makes me wonder what exactly he was telling people

-when they say Sentinel took everyone's cogs, do they mean it was literally him, with his own hands? new mechs would only be made when he was around in that case. how does reproduction work in this version of Cybertron? it's got to be something like IDW's forging, since they're born with cogs. does he control the hot spot or wellspring or whatever sparks come out of, like physically control it, the button to turn it on is in his office or something?

-is Iacon the only city still around? did the others get blasted by Quints or was Sentinel keeping them deliberately isolated? i'm leaning towards the former being more likely, which is really bleak, but there's enough room to say another group could have survived. the High Guard survived as long as they did, after all, though they're the military so it makes a lot of sense for them.

-D-16 is the last of the main group to rename himself. Orion Pax has no numbers and so is unlikely to be his original designation, Bee is workshopping nicknames, Elita One has a number but it feels like a nickname plus if her original designation had "1" it in she definitely would have kept it lol. it's only after killing Sentinel that D-16 takes on Megatron. i feel this reflects their personalities: Orion Pax feels the most like a real name because he's the revolutionary; Elita One desires to be the best while working within the system, so she keeps the number, while her actual chosen name reflects her ego independence; Bee has a nickname picked out but wants others' approval before he starts using it because he wants to be part of somebody's group; D-16 believed in the system, and even after the deception was revealed, subconsciously might have felt he wasn't "worthy" of a name until he destroyed the system.

some of these might have possibly been addressed in the novel adaptation, but i haven't read it

[zarvasace]

I'm thinking of sharing some more original work, art and lore mostly, but I have... a lot of it. Do any of these sound interesting to you? More detailed descriptions beneath cut, but I tried to capture vibes!

In a slightly more high-tech modern world, the fey live in a floating city. They are aloof and have a policy of non-intervention... which means that the only fey people see are the mischievous, villainous kind. Through fey gifts, curses, and blood, various heroes rise to the challenge. This is a fairytale/superhero/modern fusion!

Original works!

Fairytale Superheroes

Characters include Pine (from The Ugly Duckling), Dawn (from Sleeping Beauty), Blythe (from Snow White), Andrew (from Snow White and Rose Red), Kala (from The Little Mermaid), and Dave (from Aladdin).

Random pieces written, mostly focusing on Blythe's angst.

Unveiled

In a modern, like-ours world, a secret community of magical people thrives: fairies, vampires, shapeshifters, centaurs, selkies, you name it. Their government and organization is scattered, but comes to a critical conclusion one day: to reveal their existence to nonmagical humans worldwide. Cue product placement, social media handles, trending tags, accessibility concerns, new legislation, new controversy.

Story focuses on Vivelle, a vampire, her kidnapped fiance Zachary (she didn't kidnap him, bad guys did), and a huge cast of side characters with different origins and approaches to the new order of things.

Lots of random pieces written focusing on different characters, some plot bits with Viv and Zach, some longer whump-y angsty ones.

Into Technology

The city of Scindite rises a mile above the ground on a massive stalk, built on a disk that turns a full rotation every day. It's protected and policed by graduates of an Academy, which is doing under-the-table research to give people superpowers. Successes are celebrities, elite soldiers and operatives. The Academy's failures are held in a long-term care facility... Except they're actually memory-wiped and dumped beneath the disk of the city, left to fend for themselves among the jungle and gangs of the city's underside.

Characters include Damian, Renna, Bee, Wyatt, Elden, Cosmina, and Cole. They each have little superpowers and are doing their best to survive on the underside.

A whole short story written, other pieces and backstories too. I wrote a FS story in this world once for Febuwhump.

Lucite

Ankifrah is a demon princess of hell, and just a little rebellious. After an incident involving a volcano, she's sent up to the mortal world to go to a year of high school. She's grumpy about it, but it IS just one year. She makes a friend named Will, and together they try to solve a string of violent murders before the killer can sacrifice everyone on prom night.

Maybe half of a novel written?

Vacea

Sci-fi trappings. The planet Vacea has a complicated system of magic that allowed it to withstand attacks from neighboring warring planets. Now they thrive... until the youngest prince, a shadowchild with stigmatized powers poisons a noble, starts a failed revolution, orders the king and queen to be assassinated, and is captured. Behind the scenes, though, is a radical group from a neighboring planet utilizing abandoned technology from before the treaties that would have given their soldiers access to Vacean magic.

Characters include Slyn, Mattie, Rinter, Gin Ha, Emmeline, and Vath, people with a variety of -child magics and expertise. This was whump before I knew what whump was.

Some random scenes and also maybe a third of a book written

Unhallowed

The Unhallowed Lands are their own brand of magic, vibes aiming for a high-fantasy feel without the elves and dwarves of lots of fantasy. Lots of worldbuilding and new humanoid fantasy species! There are the Terrible Royalty, who are more plant than animal; the Saihrwn, with colorful hair and a literally musical language; the Cobbs, immortal Frankenstein-ish people with an eternal outlook; the Lialts, magic-touched humans with a huge variety; the giants, with their agriculture specialties and unique martial styles; and the small folk who don't have a special name (yet.)

Main story follows Ward, the kingdom's heir, Laurel, a giant, and Rike, a Saihrwn, as they try to work through the kingdom's traditions and establish friendly contact with the non-magical people, all while fending off cosmic forces and evil kings.

Big story half-written, but aimless, some smaller pieces written. I also did a FS oneshot in this world, if you remember!

Disabled Princesses

If I only ever get one thing published, I want it to be this. Considering adapting one of my above worlds (Vacea or Unhallowed most likely) for this series. I want to write some middle-grade novels about princesses with disabilities doing cool things. I have a few characters in mind but haven't actually pinned much down yet.

Literally nothing but notes written at this time.

[mindblowingscience]

A new nematode species has been discovered in soil-dwelling bees at the University of Tsukuba's Sugadaira Research Station. This species shares a close relationship with a model nematode Pristionchus pacificus used in developmental and evolutionary biology studies. Its unique physiological and ecological traits, such as a specific relationship with flower bees and hypoxia adaptation, make it a promising research material. Nematodes, a diverse group of invertebrates, are believed to rival or even surpass insects in species count that have over a million known species. Phylum Nematoda includes harmful (parasites, agricultural, and forestry pests) and beneficial species (biocontrol materials, model organisms). However, with less than 30,000 identified species, our understanding of nematode diversity is incomplete. Hence, continuous collection from various environments is likely to reveal new, potentially, valuable species. In a new study published in Nematology, nematode diversity surveys were conducted at the Sugadaira Research Station, Mountain Science Center, University of Tsukuba (Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture), located in a high-altitude, cold region. The aim was to identify nematode species consistently detected in the soil-dwelling, eusocial bee, Halictus (Seladonia) aerarius.

Continue Reading.

[khan-crete]

tagged by @unstablerate!! tyty <3

Last song: tragedy by the bee gees

Favorite color: OURPLE BAYBEEEEEEEE

Last book: well. i'm reading I'm in Love with the Villainess vol. 4, which, well... okay so i watched the anime. thought it was fun and liked the characters (plus it actually talks frankly about gender and sexuality which is nice, more so in other adaptations tho) so i read the manga. got pretty into it but the light novels are way ahead of it in the story. turns out the writing is not the best. but i'm persisting and enjoying it in spite of that lmao. kinda the epitome of the idea that just because something has lots of lesbians and some trans people doesn't mean it's necessarily good

Last movie: i think the last one was the new beetlejuice! it was fun

Last TV show: fringe!! watched a few episodes a couple weeks ago and it's p fun! it's got some neat if gross body horror scenes and concepts, but it's also silly even when it doesn't mean to be. peak 2009. plus, watching a show with someone you like is always fun <3

Sweet/spicy/savory: OOOO uhhhhhh i think savory. all are good tho

Relationship status: single but i'm bi and (theoretically) poly so like. hmu 😘

Last thing I googled: kissing face emoji LMAOOOO

Current obsession: probs it's i'm in love with the villainess? i've gotten p invested lmao. i've also made a lot of posts about half-life 2 lately but that's kinda a baseline, constant obsession

Looking forward to: extended time off work i think lmao. gonna have a four-day weekend for thanksgiving! also next time i can hang out with friends!!

tagging: too many friends to tag you all but i'll try lmao

@lord-of-the-bi @miss-morland @theladysherlock @ahawkmet @mothmansbigfatass @abyssal-gaze @basicallyaturtle @paleo-maniac @eggtimeiguess @mattibee

@butch-snorlax @rabidvampdude

[sun-and-moon-mushroom]

Day 9: Bees

AO3 link

Shen Qingqiu had never thought he would have to worry about Slumber Stinging Bees. They were one of the more boring creatures that Airplane-Shooting-Towards-the-Sky had invented for the world of Proud Immortal Demon Way — despite living in the Demon Realm and producing a honey with aphrodisiac qualities, they didn’t look that different from a regular swarm of bees. Even if he did run into them, they had adapted to defend themselves from demons, so the venom of their stings had little effect on humans, and none at all on cultivators.

What Shen Qingqiu had not accounted for however, was Luo Binghe. In the novel, Luo Binghe had only run into the demonic insects much later, long after he had unlocked his demonic powers and conquered both realms. With his heavenly demon heritage, he was naturally immune to the effects of the venom, and was able to save wife #224 from a potentially eternal slumber with nothing more than a quick kiss — which quickly turned into a sex scene that Shen Yuan had once hastily skipped over, only mentioning the very unrealistic usage of the honey in his 1500 word comment at the bottom of the page.

That aside — Shen Yuan was now Shen Qingqiu, and had brought some of his most promising disciplines out on a mission to deal with a Lakeside Lumbering Beast (a creature somewhere between a brown bear and a walrus that he had really wanted to see in person to check if some of his theories were correct). Along the way, they had run into the Slumber Stinging Bees, and he hadn’t even realised what they were at first, until Luo Binghe exclaimed in shock as he was stung, before he suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Shen Qingqiu had to act quickly to avoid Luo Binghe’s demonic heritage being revealed too early — he told the other disciples, who had gathered around his limp body with worry, that it was probably an allergic reaction, and he would take Binghe back to the inn they were staying in to recover, while they continued to investigate the forest.

This led to where he was now — sitting on the edge of Luo Binghe’s bed, looking at his peacefully sleeping face. In the novel, Luo Binghe had cured his wife… but this Luo Binghe didn’t have any wives yet, and didn’t seem to have even hit any of the romance milestones with Ning Yingying yet! It wasn’t even an issue of trying to find a girl who liked him either… the curse specifically worked by keeping the victim asleep until someone that they loved gave them a kiss. Someone who loved them giving a kiss wouldn’t do anything, not unless it was reciprocated.

Maybe he could go back to Cang Qiong and ask Mu Qingfang about alternative cures? No, that wouldn’t work— the moment he heard about Binghe’s condition, he’d put the pieces together and realise that his disciple had been affected by a venom that only targeted demons. Would Binghe just end up sleeping forever then? Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad… if he was aware enough to dream, couldn’t he interact with the world that way? But still… would Shen Qingqiu never get to taste his food again? Never get to see a smile on his face? Never get to hear that voice call out to him again, not even once?

Before he could even try and stop it, he felt tears start to roll down his face. Leaning over Binghe, he solemnly placed a kiss on his forehead.

“…Shizun?” Luo Binghe asked, bleary eyes looking up at him from a face still slightly wet from where his tears had fallen. Shen Qingqiu pulled himself back, like he’d been slapped in the face, faster than he’d even been when a new chapter of PIDW was released. Rushing out of the room with a quick shout about how lucky it was that Binghe had recovered from his allergic reaction, Shen Qingqiu decided to simply pretend that the last few minutes of his life had simply never happened at all.

Back in his room, Luo Binghe held his hand up to his forehead and smiled.

[yurimother]

Second Print Volume of Sapphic Webtoon 'Always Human' Released

On Tuesday, July 25, Little Bee Books released the second and final print volume adaptation of Ari "walkingnorth" North's Yuri webtoon Always Human. The graphic novel, entitled Love and Gravity: An Always Human Story, adapts episodes 38 through the epilogue of the series.

Always Human was initially published as a WebToon Original from 2015 to 2017. It is published under Little Bee Books' young adult imprint Yellow Jacket in sponsorship with GLAAD.

The sci-fi series follows Sunati, a young woman living in a future world where people use technology to change their appearance at will through body mods. She spots and is instantly attracted to Austen, a girl unable to use mods. Gradually as their relationship unfolds, they deal with friends, family, and emotional turmoils that, despite the fantastic setting, are surprisingly grounded and human.

The publisher describes Love and Gravity:

Sunati and Austen are back in the final volume of their inspirational love story... Austen is working hard to overcome the limitations of Egan's Syndrome, a very rare condition that rejects body modifications, which is making school difficult. But while Austen is forced to confront her plans for the future, Sunati receives a once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity. . . on Saturn's moon, Enceladus! Will Austen find her way? And will Sunati leave Austen when she needs her most to follow her own dreams of space exploration? The wonderful ending to this story celebrates the complexity and beauty of what makes us human.

The print edition includes some updated and adjusted dialogue to along with the graphic novel's young adult audience, such as toning down Austen's swearing. The original version is still available to read on Webtoon for free.

Always Human has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. It received perfect 10/10s from Erica Friedman on Okazu and YuriMother. YuriMother listed the series as one of the best Yuri of the past 100 years in a guest post on Okazu and as a "must-see" series on the 2022 and 2023 editions of its Yuri Guide.

North is running a promotion through the end of August where customers who purchase any edition of the book and submit a copy of their receipt on alwayshumanbooks.carrd.co will receive Something Old, Something New, a short digital comic about Sunati and Austen's future engagement and wedding, as well as a digital copy of the Always Human soundtrack, including a brand new track. Customers who purchase the hardcover edition of Love and Gravity will also receive a postcard print and two signed chibi bookplate stickers in addition to the digital comic and soundtrack.

You can purchase Love and Gravity, the second print volume of Always Human, today digitally and in paperback and hardcover editions: https://amzn.to/3rTQ0yP

Official releases help support creators and publishers. YuriMother may make a small commission from sales to help fund future content.

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

The filming of the eighth season of Starz’s historical series ‘Outlander’ is set to commence in Scotland in March 2024. The pre-production of the same started last month. The upcoming installment will also be the last season of the show. The second part of season 7 will premiere next year as well but the exact date is yet to be announced.

The midseason finale of the seventh installment brings Claire and Jamie back to Scotland after a series of intense events, including a battlefield encounter that leaves the latter knocked out but alive. Claire fiercely protects him from robbers, expressing her anger at his involvement in hand-to-hand combat. Despite the tension, Claire’s deep fear for Jamie’s life turns to relief as they make their way back to camp. Meanwhile, Ian makes a move that sparks a connection with Rachel and Major General Benedict Arnold makes a surprising appearance. The episode also hints at future challenges, especially regarding Jemmy’s disappearance and Mr. Roger’s wish to exact his vengeance on Young Ian.

The eighth season of the show will adapt Diana Gabaldon’s ninth book in the eponymous source novel series, titled ‘Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone,’ set during the American Revolutionary War. The narrative explores the strains on Claire and Jamie‘s relationship amidst the war’s backdrop. While the show may deviate slightly from the book’s events, season 7 provides hints of potential developments. Gabaldon previously teased that Jamie and Claire’s tale will have a “happy ending” and the viewers can expect the period drama to end with the same.

The upcoming season of the show will bring back Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan as Claire and Jamie, concluding their time-bending romance that has been the highlight of the show. The returning ensemble may include Sophie Skelton (Brianna “Bree” Fraser MacKenzie), Richard Rankin (Roger MacKenzie), David Berry (Lord John Grey), Charles Vandervaart (William Ransom), and John Bell (Young Ian), promising heightened stakes in the concluding twists of the tale. In addition to the familiar faces, we can expect new additions to the cast as well.

Scotland also hosted the shooting of the previous seasons of the historical drama. Noteworthy productions like ‘Poor Things’ and ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny‘ recently emerged from the country’s vibrant film scene. The release date of the eighth season of the Starz show remains uncertain, with speculations suggesting a potential arrival in the first half of 2025.

@THE CINEMAHOLIC

Next year 2024 SH travels to Australia, 🇦🇺 We will see how long will he stay in the largest country in Oceania before Outlander starts filming 🎥 🦘

[tuiyla]

when first watching yellowjackets i was expecting jackie to be on the receiving end of some sort of cool twist. she ends up actually becoming antler queen, she’s still alive in the present day and is actually the one who sent the postcards, whatever. but the way she actually went made so much more sense tbh. they fought, they were both too stubborn to go talk to one another after. what happened afterwards so easily could have been prevented. on any other night out there in the woods jackie would have made it through the night and probably made amends w shauna eventually. neither her nor shauna had any idea it was going to snow 😭 i’m honestly so glad they went that route instead of something else because i think it makes shauna’s character and her relationship w jackie so much more devastating.

I couldn't wait to learn more about Jackie's fate but I always hoped it would end up being... banal, almost. But that's exactly why it feels fresh and novel because it's not some noble sacrifice or grandiose moment and like you I think it makes way more sense.

Because, if you're Shauna, how do you get over that? Even before we consider what later seasons will explore regarding other things that happened in the wilderness. And that's just it because if you're Shauna you don't get over that. You're forever haunted by a stupid argument that deffo did have stakes even outside of typical teen drama because don't get me wrong, that convo was raw as fuck and they threw very real things at each other. But, at the end of the day, even the stakes of that argument paled in comparison to their brutal situation. Because you can't act like you would at home, deciding to stay mad at your best friend even though you're stranded and it's Northern Ontario and Jackie doesn't even have the basic survival skills like making fire. And so she freezes even though she didn't have to, even though there was shelter right there. But nature doesn't give a fuck that the girlies are fighting or that both are too proud to resolve this conflict that same evening. That's the harsh reality of the Yellowjackets and of course Jackie would be the first to go this way. The first to die simply because they refused to adapt to that harsh reality.

I'm obsessed with how Jackie represents their old life, both while in the wilderness and of course 25 years later. Jackie is their team captain but she can't hold them together when she's out of her element. Everyone else finds their Thing but Jackie just can't exist in this new world. Looked at another way, she also represents the good side of what they left behind. I was surprised to see how many people wrote Jackie off as the stereotypical Queen Bee and mean girl when she isn't that archetype at all for me. Maybe a bit, yeah, by nature of being the popular girl and team captain but I'm used to the Santana Lopezes of the world (jk there's only one Her) so Jackie was just a normal teenage girl to me. That's the beauty and tragedy of it, because she is the normal teen girl who refuses to let go of real world norms and give in to nature. She's annoying when that manifests in not doing the chores and getting her hands dirty, sure, but she's pretty much the only sane one when the madness starts and she clings to these societal norms. (Natalie is the other sane one but that's another discussion.)

When Jackie dies, it's much more powerful than any twist could have been. Much more powerful than her living or becoming a driving force in the cult stuff. It's simple. It's nature, it's death. It's the first fall of snow and it's the death of the old world order. It's infuriatingly evitable. But, at the same time, it had to happen because of what it symbolizes. Yeah the girls, any of the girls actually could have just realized that Jackie sleeping outside was stupid af and that nature doesn't care about the girlies fighting it will kill anyone who's unprepared. And Jackie was the embodiment of being unprepared. But that's the rawness and sickness and brilliance of it, that no one did go out for Jackie. And Jackie didn't go in because she still lived in New Jersey and for that, she had to die. For Shauna, her last convo with Jackie will never not be that. The fact that she so easily could have saved Jackie will never not hang over her. She lives in the shell of Jackie Taylor's life and refuses to not do that because Jackie will never not be a part of her - or rather, idk if Shauna will ever view herself as not a part of Jackie.

I'm just obsessed with girls who haunt the narrative, ask anyone who's heard me go on about Twin Peaks or Life Is Strange (Before the Storm). Jackie is such a cool character and her and Shauna's bond so messed up and so delicious. I'm just rambling about all these random thoughts I have om Yellowjackets but basically YES I love how this show just makes so much sense thematically and that should really be a given in storytelling but damn does it feel good to actually have it.

[justforbooks]

Daniel Dennett

Controversial US philosopher who sought to understand and explain the science of the mind

Daniel Dennett, who has died aged 82, was a controversial philosopher whose writing on consciousness, artificial intelligence, cognitive science and evolutionary psychology helped shift Anglo-American philosophy from its focus on language and concepts towards a coalition with science.

His naturalistic account of consciousness, purged as far as possible of first-person agency and qualitative experience, has been popular outside academia and hotly opposed by many within it.

One of the so-called Four Horsemen of New Atheism, along with Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris, he also wrote on Darwinism, memes, free will and religion.

“Figuring out as a philosopher how brains could be, or support, or explain, or cause, minds” was how Dennett, aged 21, defined his project. Having gained a philosophy degree at Harvard University in 1963, he was then doing a BPhil at Oxford University under the behaviourist philosopher Gilbert Ryle, but spent most of his time in the Radcliffe science library learning about the brain.

Many philosophers were (as they still are) trying to accommodate the mind, and its subjectivity, in third-person science. Yet it seems impossible to identify “intentionality” (the “aboutness” of thoughts) or “qualia” (the “thusnesses” of experience) as nothing but brain states or behaviour.

In dealing with “intentionality”, Dennett, however, had a novel strategy – “first content, then consciousness” – that reversed the usual line of enquiry. He proposed “to understand how consciousness is possible by understanding how unconscious content is possible first”.

Nature, he argued, has its own unwitting reasons – “free-floating rationales” that are “independent of, and more fundamental than, consciousness”. The ability of organisms to respond appropriately, if unconsciously, to things in the environment is a “rudimentary intentionality”. And, over aeons, the “blind, foresightless, purposeless process of trial and error” has knitted “the mechanical responses of ‘stupid’ neurons” (in certain creatures’ brains) into a “reflective loop [that] creates the manifest illusion of consciousness,” he thought. “Mind is the effect, not the cause.” As spiders mindlessly spin webs, homo sapiens has spun “a narrative self”.

What Ryle had dismissed as “the ghost in the machine” could thus be exorcised, not by denying its existence but by seeing it for what it is – a conjuring trick rather than magic, an illusion fabricated by what (in his 1995 book Darwin’s Dangerous Idea) he called evolution’s “reverse engineering”.

Dennett’s first book, Content and Consciousness was published in 1969. Sixteen other books and numerous papers adapted and extended its thesis – that intentionality can be ascribed, along a spectrum with no clear dividing line, impartially to minds, human brains, bees, computers, thermostats: it is a functional relation between object and environment. As to exactly when, in evolutionary or personal history, conscious intentionality arose, “don’t ask,” he said.

We can take what he called a “physical stance” towards something (considering its constituents and their causal interlockings) or a “design stance” (seeing it as fabricated, by evolution or humans, to serve a particular function) or an “intentional stance” (explaining its behaviour in terms of goals that it would sensibly pursue if it were rational).

“The intentional stance is thus a theory-neutral way of capturing the cognitive competences of different organisms (or other agents) without committing the investigator to overspecific hypotheses about the internal structures that underlie the competences.” We treat chess-playing computers, some animals and humans, as if they had beliefs and desires. But, he was furiously asked, don’t we humans actually have them?

Yes and no, apparently. There is no one-to-one match between brain states and mental states. It is the creature as a whole that has intentionality. The discrete individually identifiable mental states that we seem to be having are (in reality) “an edited and metaphorialised version of what’s going on in our brains” – equivalent to “user illusions” on a computer screen: like the hourglass, folder and dustbin icons, they betoken the complex processes occurring behind the scenes.

“No part of the brain is the thinker that does the thinking, or the feeler that does the feeling,” said Dennett, nor is, or does, the brain as a whole. Instead there are “multiple channels in which specialist circuits try, in parallel pandemoniums, to do their various things, creating multiple drafts as they go” – until, from among “concurrent contentful events in the brain … a select subset of such events ‘wins’ … The way to explain the miraculous-seeming powers of an intelligent intentional system is to decompose it into hierarchically structured teams.” These consist of “relatively ignorant, narrow-minded, blind homunculi that produce the intelligent behaviour of the whole”.

“Yes we have a soul but it’s made of lots of tiny robots” was the headline of an article about him in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, and Dennett endorsed it with amusement. He loved making furniture, building fences, mending roofs, tinkering with cars and boats; and, among the many things he constructed were sets of nested Russian dolls to illustrate his philosophy. The outside doll was “Descartes”; inside that was “the Middle Ghost” (a reference to Ryle’s) – but inside that was a “Robot”. “We are not authorities about our own consciousness,” he said. The robot is masked by the ghost.

Dennett pronounced qualia to be illusions. Ever since Descartes, we have tended to assume that we have “mental images”, as if, said Dennett, we could view little pictures, visible only to ourselves in an inner “Cartesian theatre”.

If so, we should be able to count the number of stripes on the tiger we are imagining, and say whether we have been seeing it face-on or sideways. No such definite information is available. Mental images are indeterminate in a way that pictures cannot be, and closer to generalised linguistic descriptions. So limited and poor is our access to our own conscious experiences, said Dennett, that it “does not differ much from the access another person can have to those experiences – your experiences – if you decide to go public with your account”. Indeed “our first-person point of view of our own minds is not so different from our second-person point of view of others’ minds”. We take an intentional stance on ourselves.

Dennett’s views remained pretty consistent throughout numerous books and papers, but in recent years he became more lenient towards mental imagery. He was impressed by neuroscientific research suggesting that there are specific observable brain activities that potentially may be decoded as imaging processes.

And, having been stern in denying what is disparagingly called “folk psychology” (a term he invented), he began to describe himself as “a mild realist” about mental states, prepared to concede that “the traditional psychological perspective” is not merely something described by third-person observers.

Avoiding accusations that he smuggled in the subjectivity he so adamantly denied, Dennett had recourse to “memes”, a concept (invented by Dawkins) modelled on that of genes. Memes are units of cultural practice, including anything from language to drama to wearing a baseball cap backwards to clapping as a form of praise. They are, in Dennett’s words, ‘“prescriptions” for ways of doing things that can be transmitted to, and from, human brains, and that “have their own reproductive fitness, just like viruses”. We are infected by memes, and it is “the memes invasion … that has turned our brains into minds”.

Dennett also applied a Darwinian approach to free will. “A billion years ago, there was no free will on this planet, but now there is. The physics has not changed; the improvements in ‘can do’ over the years had to evolve.” We are now able to predict probable futures, and to pursue or avert them. We are not deluded about having that capacity; as we are, he fulminated, about religion. Breaking the Spell (2006) was judiciously named. That was what he was urging religious people to do.

Born in Boston, Dennett spent the first five years of his life in Lebanon. His father, also Daniel, was a counter-intelligence officer posing as a cultural attache to the American embassy in Beirut. He died in a plane crash in 1947 (later, Dennett’s sister, the investigative journalist Charlotte Dennett, would claim Kim Philby’s connivance in it). Dennett’s mother, Ruth Leck, a teacher and editor, took the children back to Massachusetts.

Reprieved from matching up to his father’s expectations, Dennett said, he nonetheless grew up in his father’s shadow. But little could sap his exuberant self-confidence. Characteristically, the title of his 1991 book was Consciousness Explained.

In 1959, having just begun a maths degree at Weslyan University, Connecticut, Dennett read Willard van Orman Quine’s From a Logical Point of View. He was so excited that he decided “to be a philosopher, and go to Harvard and tell this man Quine why he is wrong”. The first two he managed, though for a time he worried that Quine (later a great friend) was more interested by Dennett’s sculpture than his philosophising.

Dennett did contemplate being a sculptor, and would, he said, certainly have studied engineering had his family not been so arts-oriented. Co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University in Massachusetts, in 1993 he joined the Humanoid Robotics Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to construct a robot (Cog) that would be not only intelligent but conscious. The project ended in 2003, and Cog was retired to a museum.

Dennett was Austin B Fletcher professor of philosophy at Tufts, and visiting professor at a host of other universities, including Oxford and the London School of Economics. His memoir, I’ve Been Thinking, was published in 2023.

He and his wife, Susan (nee Bell), whom he married in 1962, lived in North Andover, Massachusetts, and he also hobby farmed in Maine for more than 40 summers, blissfully “tillosophising” on a tractor, sailing his boat Xanthippe, fixing buildings and digging drains. Dennett loved solving puzzles and disinterring the inner workings of machines – above all those of “the miraculous-seeming” mind. “No miracles allowed,” he said.

He is survived by Susan, a daughter, Andrea, and son, Peter, and six grandchildren, and his sisters, Cynthia and Charlotte.

🔔 Daniel Clement Dennett, philosopher, born 28 March 1942; died 19 April 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[the-patchwork-girl-of-oz]

Short explanation of my chopper siblings au:

In the original novel, the tin woodman is the only one of Dorothy’s companions who was once as live man of flesh and bone. His name was Nick Chopper.

However, there are several other adaptations with their own human versions of the tin man, the most famous ones I can think of off the top of my head (that I’ve seen/read) are Nick, Hickory from the 1939 movie, and Boq from wicked. In my au, they’re all siblings.

Also, since wicked is a book, a musical, and being turned into a movie, and book and musical Boq so far have different personalities entirely, I made them all triplets. I originally intended for book and musical Boq to be twins, but then we started getting more movie news so I thought I’d add him in, tough I unfortunately won’t be able to work with him very much yet until we get to see his personality. I think for now I’ll just assume he’s the shy one.

@just-some-guy-at-shiz has also contributed some of their amazing ideas, for example she came up with Nicknames for book and musical Boq, Bee for musical Boq and Query for book Boq, which makes sense because B is the first letter in Boq and Q is the last one, so naturally we’d have to give movie Boq an O nickname, I think Ozzy is an obvious choice but could sound too pretentious. It’s a work in progress, but we’ll go with whatever sticks. They would all still answer to Boq, but this helps. They also came up with the idea to add book Boq in the first place (my initial idea was just Nick being Boq’s big brother, no other siblings), they also thought of Hickory being taller than the other siblings because of Gilikan grandparents, which also explain why book Boq was blonde. I think the unusually tall munchkin trope is a bit overdone, but this one makes sense since Jack Haley was about 5’10. I could do this with Ozzy too, but I probably won’t lol (Plus I never thought the trope really fit Boq).

My idea for the triplets is that it’s a common practice in munchkinland to give triplets matching names.

Nick mainly represents book Nick, but he really represents all versions who go by Nick because there are a lot.

Nick is the oldest, Hickory is the middle child, and the triplets are the youngest (in order of oldest to youngest: Query, Bee, Ozzy). They go by the last name Chopper because Nick Chopper is the only one with a canon surname.

[beatricebidelaire]

handler's intro page absolutely delights me ....

Daniel Handler is the author of seven novels, including Why We Broke Up, We Are Pirates, All The Dirty Parts and, most recently, Bottle Grove.

As Lemony Snicket, he is responsible for numerous books for children, including the thirteen-volume A Series of Unfortunate Events, the four-volume All the Wrong Questions, and The Dark, which won the Charlotte Zolotow Award.

Mr. Snicket’s first book for readers of all ages, Poison for Breakfast, was published by Liveright/W.W. Norton in 2021.

Handler has received commissions from the San Francisco Symphony, Berkeley Reperatory Theater and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and has collaborated with artist Maira Kalman on a series of books for the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and with musicians Stephin Merritt (of the Magnetic Fields), Benjamin Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie), Colin Meloy (of the Decemberists) and Torquil Campbell (of Stars).

His books have sold more than 70 million copies and have been translated into 40 languages, and have been adapted for film, stage and television, including the recent adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events for which he was awarded both the Peabody and the Writers Guild of America awards.

He lives in San Francisco with the illustrator Lisa Brown, to whom he is married and with whom he has collaborated on several books and one son.

books page:

Daniel Handler Writes novels.

The Basic Eight

Watch Your Mouth

Adverbs

Why We Broke Up

We Are Pirates

All the Dirty Parts

Bottle Grove

Poison for Breakfast

And not novels.

Weather, Weather

Girls Standing on Lawns

Hurry Up and Wait

Books for the Holidays.

The Baby In The Manger

The Lump of Coal

The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming

Assorted and sundry.

Goldfish Ghost

The Bad Mood and The Stick

Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can’t Avoid

The Composer Is Dead

13 Words

The Dark

Swarm of Bees

And one as the Pope.

How To Dress For Every Occasion

All while penning children’s books as Lemony Snicket.

A Series Of Unfortunate Events

All the Wrong Questions

[disappointingyet]

Less Than Zero

Director Marek Kanievska Stars Andrew McCarthy, Robert Downey Jr, Jamie Gertz, James Spader USA 1988 Language English 1hr 38mins Colour 

Oooh, aren’t these rich kids screwed up? Tsk, tsk

For a few minutes at the start, it’s possible to believe that this movie’s stinking reputation was undeserved, that like, say, Absolute Beginners, it’s worth a more sympathetic look now that time has passed… A college kid somewhere in America’s snowy east gets a phone call, The Bangles’s propulsive cover of Hazy Shade Of Winter accompanies him as he flies back to LA, goes to his huge midcentury family home and then to a party that has been decorated with (nothing could be more ’80s) hundreds of TVs. 

If Andrew McCarthy always had a somewhat blank screen presence, that’s maybe OK for one of those observer/narrator characters. James Spader as a suave coke dealer who calls people ‘old sport’ is just about perfect. Jamie Gertz at least wears the clothes impeccably. And who could be more suited to playing a charming, indulged addict than Robert Downey Jr, a man whose career somehow survived his many substance-fuelled fuck-ups? (We’ll get back to that.) 

But, alas, this movie does stink. In two different ways, one of which matters more than the other. It stinks as an adaption of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel, adding a clunky sense of morality, turning the main character, Clay, from a kid who very slowly comes to realise how much his time at a New England college has left him out of sync with his old friends to a prissy guy who arrives in judgement mode. It forces BEE’s drifty, episodic book into a simple, finger-wagging story about two boys, a girl and the dangers of DRUGS. 

Just say no, kids

That it very much isn’t the book – and frankly, there was no way that anything resembling the novel could have been made by a Hollywood studio in the mid-80s* – isn’t a fatal flaw. There are unfaithful adaptations that are good films. But it’s worth asking what you would want to take from the novel: as I’ve said, it doesn’t have a story structure that lends itself to conventional filmmaking, nor are the characters carefully constructed.

What made the book such a phenomenon – and believe me, people went nuts about it (and I was one of them) – was the way the distinctive present-tense prose style immersed the reader in this world of numb, spoilt, rich brats who are sensation-seeking but not sensation-finding because nothing, it turns out, is so screwed-up it actually manages to wake them up.  When I read it, aged 15, I wasn't sure whether it was any good or not but I did know that no writer – not even Raymond Chandler – had insinuated their rhythms and phrasing into my thought train so completely. Whenever I read a couple of chapters of the book, my brain would shift into continuous flat narration for the rest of the day.

One of the many excellent decisions Mary Harron made in her great adaptation of Ellis’ American Psycho is understanding that we need the writing, that without the sensibility of the prose this is a just a horrible story about a rich guy murdering people that tells us nothing.  I’m not sure that having Clay narrating would fix Less Than Zero, but I do know that without it much of what makes the book work has gone.

And so what do we have in its place? In LTZ-the-movie, Clay (McCarthy) is summoned home during the Christmas holidays by Blair (Gertz), his ex-girlfriend. He’s thinking she might want to get back with him, but in fact she’s worried about Julian (Downey), Clay’s bestie but also the guy Blair left Clay for. Will Clay forgive them both? Can they help Julian, whose bottomless appetite for freebasing coke has him 50G in hock to the elegant but dangerous Rip (Spader)?

They go to lots of clubs and spend much time driving through the LA night in Clay’s vintage Chevy Corvette. There are a couple of terrible, terrible 1980s movie sex scenes. Parents just don’t understand. Clay disapproves – he would be pouting but I’m not sure McCarthy’s tiny mouth can manage a pout. 

And Downey is incredibly annoying. God, is he annoying. He’s this whirlwind of puckish energy, constantly doing something to remind us he’s on screen. He’s as overactive as McCarthy is inert. Considering that to some extent, Downey was the guy he’s playing, it might be true to life. But it’s pretty near unwatchable. 

Some of it looks pretty. Gertz gets some good outfits, as do McCarthy and Spader. Some of the songs on the Rick Rubin-masterminded soundtrack are great, some very much not. But the story is so clumsy, so basic and so obvious. 

The director is Marek Kanievska, who I will willingly say I had never heard of. Before this, though, he had directed Another Country, a film about gay Marxists at a posh British boys school in the 1930s starring Rupert Everett and Colin Firth, and which – perhaps ironically – had its biggest impact encouraging the fashion for interwar clothes and hair styles. And that’s a pro-gay film, at least by 1980s standards, whereas LTZ-the-movie is homophobic – making Clay, who is casually bisexual in the book, aggressively straight and seeming to suggest that the sex-with-men aspect is one of the main issues why the fact that Julian is turning tricks is disturbing. I wonder if the director started this with very different intentions.

So, then, no, this is not a lost classic. Its reputation as a classic instance of Hollywood taking a book and forcing it into both an ill-fitting structure and an unnuanced moral stance is well-earned. Not even a fun, trashy watch, even. 

*This film, the thoroughly sanitised version of the story, still got an 18 certificate in the UK; in the US it was an R at a time when studios certainly did not dabble in X-ratings. 

[merrychristmasfaith]

TV Shows Watchlist

TV Shows:

Tom Jones

(Adaptation of the classic novel by Henry Fielding.)

Downton Abbey

(Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville & Elizabeth McGovern star in Julian Fellowes’ hit series, a glittering period drama following the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family.)

Lost

(After Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 crashes down, the survivors are on what seems to be a deserted tropical island. Their survival is threatened by a number of mysterious entities, including polar bears, an unseen creature that roams the jungle, and the island's malevolent inhabitants.)

The Forsyte Saga

(Damian Lewis & Gina McKee lead this sexy & powerful period drama about three generations of the upwardly mobile Forsyte family at the turn of the 20th century. Based on the novels.)

Death Comes to Pemberley

(Adaptation of PD James's bestselling homage to Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth and Darcy, now six years married, are preparing for their annual ball when festivities are brought to an abrupt halt.)

The Lost Flowers

(After losing her parents to a mysterious fire, nine-year-old Alice Hart is raised by her grandmother June on a flower farm where she learns there are secrets within secrets. But years on, an unearthed betrayal sees Alice forced to face her past.)

The Miniaturist

(THE MINIATURIST, the debut novel by Jessie Burton, has become a publishing phenomenon. Selling in over 35 countries, it stormed to the top of the bestseller lists in both hardback and paperback. Winner of the New Writer of the Year, overall Book of the Year in the National Book Awards and Waterstones Book of the Year, it has now reached an audience of almost a million readers.)

Little Dorrit

(Andrew Davies's adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens tale of hardship and struggle in 1820s London. The Dorrit family has spent years in a debtors' prison due to the financial mess in which father William (Tom Courtenay) managed to land himself as a youth.)

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

(Powerful, haunting and disturbing, Anne Bronte's classic story is as unforgettable as those of her more famous sisters. In a remote village on the Yorkshire moors, a beautiful widow and her son move into the near-derelict Wildfell Hall. Befriended by a handsome young farmer, she remains mysteriously silent about her past and why she is afraid - until she becomes the focus of village gossip.)

Black Work (i'm not sure this has the best reviews but i think Sheridan Smith is a really good actress so thought i'd try it? it's a murder mystery)

(Sheridan Smith is a grieving cop in this fast-moving police thriller. When there are unanswered questions around the death of her husband, can PC Gillespie hold it together?)

The Suspect (again idk how good the reviews are but i love Aidan Turner lol)

(Tense thriller starring Aidan Turner as a psychologist with a secret. Does his glowing career, media profile & family mask a different story? Five-part series airing now.)

Truly Madly Deeply (idk why this is listed under TV shows i'm 99% sure it's a movie)

(A love story and a quirky ghost story starring Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman.)

Cilla

(Sheridan Smith stars as the hit singer in this lively biopic. Chart "our Cilla's" rapid ascent, from hanging out with the Beatles in Liverpool, to new-found stage stardom.)

Big Little Lies

(Based on Liane Moriarty's bestseller, this subversive, darkly comedic drama series tells the tale of three mothers of first-graders whose seemingly perfect lives unravel to the point of murder. Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley star.)

Pretty Little Liars

(Set one year after the disappearance of Alison, the manipulative queen bee, the one-hour drama revolves around four 16-year-old girlfriends — Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily — who each receive taunting messages suggesting Alison is watching them. Linked by their former bond and the panic and confusion the messages cause, the estranged friends are reunited, though each girl has her own secrets.)

Leonardo

(A compelling look at one of the most restlessly brilliant men of all time, Leonardo gets inside the mind of the genius, showing the drama behind his art and exploring a tantalizing murder-mystery.)

Desperate Romantics

(All six episodes of the BBC period drama series depicting the turbulent lives of four young artists in mid-19th century London: William Holman Hunt (Rafe Spall), John Millais (Samuel Barnett), Dante Gabriel Rossetti (Aidan Turner) and Fred Walters (Sam Crane).)

Sharp Objects

(Based on the bestselling novel by Gillian Flynn ("Gone Girl") and directed by Jean-Marc Vallee ("Big Little Lies"), this limited series stars Amy Adams as a journalist who returns to her hometown to cover the apparent murders of two preteen girls.)

Howards End

(The Schlegel sisters are two independent and unconventional sisters seeking love and meaning as they navigate an ever-changing world.)

Gentleman Jack

(Sally Wainwright adapts the extraordinary life of Yorkshire landowner Anne Lister.)

The Undoing

(In this HBO limited series based on the book You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz, a successful therapist, wife and mother tries to survive in the wake of a spreading and very public disaster.)

Thirteen

(Tense psychological drama about a woman freed from a cellar after 13 years in captivity.)

Sanditon

(First-class fictional retelling of an unfinished novel by Jane Austen. A spirited young woman moves to a sleepy seaside town, and it's not what she expected.)

Tipping the Velvet

(Nan journeys from a simple provincial life by the sea to the margins of society in 1890s London, where she finds she is a wanted, and wanton, woman… When Nan, a young innocent oyster-girl from Whitstable, goes to a music hall for the first time, she embarks on the journey of her life.)

War and Peace

(Leo Tolstoy's epic story of life, love and loss in nineteenth-century Russia.)

Vanity Fair

(A period drama series adapted from William Makepeace Thackeray's classic novel. Olivia Cooke is heroine Becky Sharp, who attempts to claw her way out of poverty and scale the heights of English society; against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars.)

Bridgerton

(As a new crop of debutantes yearns to become brightest of the ball, a wallflower with a double life finds her light amid secrets and surprises. )

Miss Julie

(Daughter of the manor Julie breaks off her engagement only to fall for one of her staff. A romance that begins innocently ends in a tragedy.)

My Lady Jane

(Are you ready for an epic tale of true love, high adventure, regicidal maniacs, deadpan heroism, devious intrigues, swashbuckling swordfights, a soupçon of magical realism and oodles of yearning, banter and undeniable chemistry? Of course you are. Welcome to My Lady Jane.)

The Woman in White

(When Walter Hartright, a young drawing master, encounters a spectral woman dressed all in white on a moonlit road on Hampstead Heath, he is drawn into a web of intrigue that will transform his life forever.)

Deceit

(Niamh Algar shines in this gripping true crime drama about a controversial honeytrap. In 90s London, a mother's murder sparks a police investigation that spins out of control.)

The Fall

(Gillian Anderson stars in this dark & twisty thriller about a London police officer who is sent to Northern Ireland to review an unsolved murder case. When Stella Gibson arrives, she realises that this case might only just be getting started.)

Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story

(The victim no-one believed. Held captive on a modelling job in Milan, Chloe's nightmare didn't end with her release - the media frenzy was just beginning.)

Deadwater Fell

(When a devastating house fire rocks a close-knit community - was it a tragic accident or something more sinister?)

Paranoid

(The sleepy town of Woodmere is devastated when a local doctor is murdered in a children's playground in broad daylight.)

Midsomer Murders

(World-renowned murder mystery series set in the idyllic Midsomer county. Inspector Barnaby and his young sergeant probe an alarming number of suspicious deaths in the community.)

Killing Eve

(Being recruited by an intelligence agency puts Eve in the direct path of Villanelle, an assassin. Though the mission is to kill her, the two women find themselves strangely drawn to each other.)