#its the tone they way they say it like they don't think romance novels with sex are really 'worth' anything

[maironsbigboobs]

There's a particular type of Instagram author that annoys me and its when they feel need to put down a whole genre to promote their book and even worse is when they deny it in the comments. Be honest and say you think it sucks at least.

[alottiegoingon]

like in the movies

van palmer x fem!reader

summary: friends to lovers with van.

warnings: van uses they/them pronouns, yellowjackets brief mention, reader uses reading glasses cause its cute, no crash, jackieshauna and lottienat mentioned, no smut but characters aged up anyway, just lots of fluff, not proofread

the memory of you as a middle schooler sneaking into the living room past midnight was still fresh inside your mind. with droopy eyes and your favorite blanket glued to your hand, you would tiptoe to the comfort of the warm armchair just so you could watch the creepiest horror movies that would definitely traumatize you. they were only exhibited late at night for a reason, you were aware of that. but you didn’t mind the nightmares and the terrifying feeling of being chased by an invisible monster every time you turned the lights off.

however, horror wasn’t the only thing you were obsessed with. you've always imagined how it would feel like to love someone like they showed in those stupid romance movies, daydreaming about finding the right person that would share the same interests as you. so romantic. in high school, it got even worse thanks to the teeth rotting sweet romcoms you desperately devoured and the immesurable hours you spent in the book store trying to find new romantic novels.

lucky for you, amid all your friends that were actually living in the real world instead of creating perfect scenarios inside their heads, you weren't alone.

you met van palmer in literature class. you used to sit right by their side and, despite your love for books, you wouldn't ever dare to say a word. van was the complete opposit, they weren't scared of sharing their opinions. many of your classmates would prepare themselves to hear the countless words of van palmer, slumping onto their desks, but you were always excited.

you instantly became friends when they first defended you in class when the teacher suggested a polarizing topic; comic books. unlike a few of your classmates, one of your favorite ways to spend the weekend was to read a bunch of comics. spider-man was your favorite. he had a pretty fun costume and could fly, hanging to spider webs. so nice!

"everyone knows that comics aren't as good as books. they are made for lazy people who can't read anything longer than ten pages." the guy sitting in front of you made sure to look back as he whispered, lips twisting into an arrogant grin.

"i don't think she cares about the opinion of someone who did an entire essay of arthur conan doyle thinking that sherlock holmes was a real person." van intervened, leaning closer to you but staring at him, before you could have a say. you shift your attention to the redhead with their head slightly bent to the right, raised chin and brows and firm jaw.

"i just got confused!" he defended himself using an irritated tone, surprised by van being able to hear him, not waiting any longer to look back at the teacher and leave you alone.

"don't listen to him. that guy is a knob." their quiet voice is followed by a change in their expression, face softening along with relaxed muscles.

you were surprised that someone as cool and as smart as them would defend you so quickly.

"thank you." you murmur timidly as your mind desperately tried to find something cooler to say than just a simple thank you.

"sure. i'm van, by the way." you watch van extending their hand in your direction and you don't think twice before greeting them.

"hi." you whisper, trying to stay away from your teacher's aim and not interrupt her. "i know. i like how you always talk in class. it's so cool."

for you, that was the second you made a friend. for van, it was the second they fell in love with someone who didn't think their opinions were annoying.

[📓]

things happened pretty quickly after that. you created the perfect excuse to talk to them again, scared that you weren't nearly as rad as they were; a book club. except for the tiny detail that it wasn't exactly a club, just the two of you reunited in the small office in your house with cookies and tea.

"gosh, you look like an old lady." was what van always said to tease you. sitting just a few inches away, they would cautiously look at you with reading glasses and emma by jane austen in hands.

"this old lady here is getting to page 221 so you should hurry up!"

once or twice, you would look up to take a quick break from reading just to discreetly glance at van. it wasn't rare the times that they would catch your stare. sometimes it was the other way around and you could swear that van had their eyes on you the entire time.

from books and comics to movies, you shared a lot of similar interests. you were completely obsessed with the book and movie misery from 1990 and you often forced van to watch it with you. you knew all the details and fun facts from the movie and, of course, loved kathy bates.

"we've seen this so many times that i think kathy bates is actually visiting me in my dreams!" van complained over and over about the tedious movie choice with their mouth full of popcorn.

van would see the effort behind every movie and fall in love with the story of every character. watching misery, on the other hand, was such a common occurrence that they could spot the colors of the movie already stained on the insides of the tv.

"it wasn't that much!" you rolled your eyes at them but felt your lips involuntarily curling up. you would always laugh at the silly things van used to say.

"okay, fine." you give in after half a second, getting up from the couch. you didn't want to torture them that badly.

you got closer to the tv, removing the vhs tape of one of your favorite movies and securing them inside the small box. you were ready to let van decide, maybe even excited to watch something new.

"wait, van, where are the others?" you feel a whiff of desperation as you notice the absent tapes. van was in charge of renting them every friday. the feeling you had when getting lost in a bookstore or a library was van's feeling when they were surrounded by some old classic vhs tapes and a world of movies that you two would probably never get to see.

"oh, crap! i think i forgot all of them at home. sorry, i was in a rush." you sigh in relief, soothed by not being the responsible for losing them.

"then it looks like kathy bates will be visiting you again tonight." you tease van, looking at them sinking into your couch with a mischievous grin. you were going to give van a chance to choose movies, you really were. but it wasn't your fault if they forgot to bring the other vhs tapes.

"lord help me..." they whispered, dramatically covering their ears when the intro song started, making you giggle. too excited with your favorite movie and too focused on it, you didn't even caught van's eyes on you, watching you completely fascinated by the small screen.

little did you know that the tapes were buried on van's backpack, hidden under books, pens and the soccer uniform.

[📓]

van was just as cool as you thought. maybe even more. much more. they would help you study after class, follow you to parties even though they hated it just to make sure you were safe (and to judge people with you right after), walk you home and read comics with you.

after your first kiss, that happened during a date in the movie theater as you were watching the craft in 96, van knew that they had to make something special to ask you to be their girlfriend immediately.

they spoke to shauna, asking for ideas. they knew that shauna was the best with words and romantic letters, always gifting her girlfriend jackie with those. they were dating for three years now, shauna had to have gome good tips. it took van two days to realize that writing pretty words on a paper wasn't exactly their talent after not being able to write anything except "hi, it's van".

that would be an awful letter.

then, van asked lottie; their best friend. lottie was dating natalie for almost a year now.

"i don't know, lot. this looks hard..." van was careful when questioning their friend, not wanting to hurt her feelings.

"it's not, really! and she's gonna love it, it's so cute." lottie reassured van while shoving lots of colored paper sheets into their hands.

"nat loves when i make her those cute paper rings when im bored during french class. she even wears them all the time!" lottie pointed to natalie in the back with at least four paper rings in their fingers. lottie sucked at french and she was always bored. evidently, natalie had a long collection of paper rings at this point.

the blondie was definitely threatening van with her eyes while they were trying so hard to not laugh at the situation.

van got home and the first thing they did was practice for hours, folding the paper multiple times and hoping that that mess would eventually turn into a paper ring. and, damn, they were wrong, again.

neither of those things worked for van and they wanted to do something special and good enough to make you happy. something important that would make your heart beat faster. something that matched your personality.

the hardest part was to keep it a secret, van was a huge blabbermouth. always enthusiastic and determined to make you laugh, it was tough to create excuses for not showing up to your typical movie nights. they were just too tired in the aftermath of spending days and nights creating you something.

"are you mad?" you suddenly ask them, impatiently untangling yourself from them. van, who had their arm around your shoulder as you were cuddling in the couch, gave you a baffled look. "you didn't show up last friday, i thought you were going to choose the movie this time."

"i'm not mad, i promise. i'm doing something important and i didn't have time to rent anything." van was a complete softie, almost pouting like a baby.

"more important than me?"

and that was what van needed to spill everything. it wasn't their fault, they just couldn't handle seeing you upset!

"of course not! look!" van left the couch in a blink of an eye, anxiously digging into their backpack for what they were working on.

"i was making you something. i was waiting for a better moment but i guess the moment is now." they chuckled awkwardly. you notice their shaky and sweaty hands clumsily holding at least three vhs tapes and a comic book.

"i wanted to give you something special to ask you something and i tried writing something or those stupid hard paper rings that lottie gives natalie but it didn't fit us. so i spoke to the lady that runs the video store and i actually bought your favorite movies so we can watch it together and, huh..." they look at their own hands, realizing that they forgot to mention the comics. "oh, and the new spider-man comic book cause i know you like it."

"are you serious?" it was your turn to frown your lips, eyes brimming with tears. while you were melting, van was terrified and inspecting your face for any signs that could tell them that you had liked it.

"thank you, van. i love this. i love spider-man, i love watching movies with you. i can't believe you bought those, it must have cost a fortune." you approach van and help their nervous self to handle you the movies and the brand new shiny comic. you smile tenderly at van, using your free hand to gently stroke their cheek.

"i wanted you to feel special." van says in a barely audible and still overwhelmed tone. "and i was wondering that maybe, if you aren't too busy with books and kathy bates, you would like to be my girlfriend?" their cheeks were matching the tone of their hair now.

"i think i can break up with kathy bates and give you a chance." you laugh, laying your presents on the coffee table. in a second, you wrap your arms around van's neck to bring them closer and press your lips against theirs.

[📓]

"that's so unfair! why can't i be spider-man?" you whine, following van around your bedroom as they were holding your costume for halloween.

"because i wanna be your favorite, obviously." van place the costumes on your bed to give you full atention. your effort to look sad in order to convice them went down the drain when their arms held your waist, fingers carefully squeezing your skin.

"and because spider-man is the lucky guy who gets to kiss the pretty and smart girl." they murmur proudly, knowing that they had won.

"i hate you." you feel your cheeks getting warm as you fight against a beaming smile, leaning in for a kiss.

[greenerteacups]

Hi! Just wanted to say the latest chapter is lovely & amazing & sweet & had me smiling the whole time! I absolutely love your characterisation of everyone, especially Draco, so it was so so lovely to return to this world & to his thoughts!! with his best friend and crush at malfoy manor no less! All the yearning is already off to a great start hehe I am so excited for the rest of book 5!

Wanted to ask you how has it been for you to write this new book and volume? Has your writing process changed since when you’d first begun taking on a long form project like this?

& also are there any moments or surprises in this book that you’re especially excited about?

sending so much love & gratitude for you and your incredible works 💓

Thank you so much! This is really encouraging, I so appreciate it.

Inasmuch as I can use this metaphor without having kids myself, I sort of see each of the books as a different child. The first one flew out in basically a few weeks of very intensive writing, and it was a total dream — plot, pacing, symbolism, major beats, all fell into place basically without effort. The character stuff was the hardest, as I've written about before, but even then, the glorious part of writing beginnings is it's the most energy you'll ever have for a project, so the lows were pretty soft lows. Book 2, in contrast, I had to drag kicking and screaming by its ankle from under the bottommost mattress of my brain. It's one of my least favorite books (tone problem; COS has killer plot/setting/ingredients for a YA novel, but it's stuck in the doldrums of Harry Potter's well-documented Early-Installment Weirdness, before Cedric Diggory slams the gas and upshifts the whole series into its correct age bracket). More specifically, once I'd gone through and picked out everything in the book that happened because of Lucius, I didn't have a plot — hey alexa how do you rewrite Chamber of Secrets when We Got No Fucking Chamber Of Secrets — and oh by the way, even if you want to do a moody tone/political setup book, remember that your protagonists are still twelve, so if you go too dark or too intense, you'll risk torpedoing your readers' suspension of disbelief. Good luck, Charlie.

Book 3 felt the most like its own novel, if that makes sense? It's the last truly feel-good book of the series; it's a great stand-alone mystery novel with relatively low stakes. Plus you get a bunch of the big series icons: patronuses, dementors, werewolves, Hogsmeade, the Marauders' Map, and time turners arithmancy. It just felt like a good old-fashioned motherfucking romp of a mystery/adventure story, before any of the complex character work and major stakes of the late books come in.

Book 4 was the most fun I've had writing anything maybe ever. I don't even know what it was. Maybe the tournament arc, honestly? Love me a tournament arc. But in any case, I opened every new chapter feeling a tingle of excitement for what I was gonna get to do. Oh, and the romance started, finally, Jesus God (if it feels like a slow burn reading, just imagine what it felt like writing it, when everything takes ten times as long, and you have to figure out how to word the fucker.)

Book 5, in contrast, has felt much less like that tingle of "here we go!" and more like "oh, man, this is gonna be cool." Because this is the arc of the story that composed the original idea for Lionheart, literally years ago, and to be honest, I didn't think I'd get this far! If you'd asked me "do you know that it's going to take you 500,000 words of backstory before you can start writing that concept you're thinking about, and you're going to do it anyway?" I would have said: "absolutely not, strange mind-reader!" But like... I'm here! Finally! And it's... real now? Like, this isn't just a bunch of clips of scenes in my head anymore! That's rad!

That being said, it's definitely been slower than Book 4, because I kept switching back to my outline document to make sure that certain things were set up properly, and that I hadn't lost any of the plot threads or forgotten a minor beat that was vitally important for the story three chapters later. And I had a minor crisis about three months ago when I ripped out about 8 chapters in the first third of the book — basically everything from September to December — because I'd done a readthrough to check pacing (big mistake! never edit while drafting, that's satan talking) and realized I had a missing storyline. Like, there was a whole layer of the story that was just. Missing. Not there. And the existing text really couldn't fit another thread, so instead of taking weeks to pore through and try to sift out what I could save, I needed to factory reset and start over. And I didn't want to! I vividly remember sitting there with my head in my hands, trying not to weep, because I'd decimated 90,000 words of work in a single edit. But it had to be done. Because the story wasn't going to work. And now (hopefully) it will.

And of course, there's still that sense of excitement and exhilaration from before. Always. But whereas Book 4 felt like a delicious chocolate pudding, Book 5 is a medium-rare steak.

(Book 6, so far, is four shots of espresso and a whiskey chaser. FWIW.)

[literaticat]

Hi! If your client has a bunch of MG books that stand alone but can be considered in the same vein, would you pitch it as having series potential? At what point would you mention the other books?

"Series" can mean different things. But basically, sure, if it has series potential, I'd pitch it as such. And if they were interested, I'd show them a series proposal / pitches for other books in the series. At what point, depends on what kind of series we are talking.

EPISODIC SERIES. Usually following one hero or group of friends or whatever, all set in the same world, with the same general format/style for every book, but with a different issue every book. Each book can be read on its own in any order; the characters don't age much (or they do so very slowly!) These types of series could be literally endless. (Like Nancy Drew, or The Babysitters Club. Or on the TV side, Scooby Doo, the Simpsons, or Law & Order... any sitcom or "monster of the week" type show, really!)

These often ARE conceived as series from the jump, especially for chapter books, so they can all be branded as a series together from book 1. If that's the case, I'd go out with the first book and a series proposal (aka ideas for several further potential books), they might be sold in a multi-book deal. This happens ALWAYS with chapter books (I'd never go out with a totally stand-alone chapter book, publishers buy them in multi-book deals all the time) -- and sometimes but less often with MG books.

ANTHOLOGY SERIES. This is like an off-shoot of the Episodic style series. In this type, the series as a whole has a theme, and every book has the same kind of tone and length, but every book theoretically stands alone and is sometimes vaguely associated with the others, but doesn't have to be. Examples: Goosebumps - usually different kids/different monster in every book though sometimes popular ones make a reappearance, I'm lookin at you SLAPPY! I Survived - different disaster every book. On the TV side, Twilight Zone is a good example -- the only thing REALLY tying those stories together is the tone/style and narrator, each episode is its own thing.

This would likely be conceived as a series from the jump, as above, and if that's the case, again, I'd go out with the first book and the series proposal from the start.

PROGRESSIVE SERIES: Usually following one hero or group of friends or whatever, all set in the same world, and with different issues every book, BUT, there is a "Big Bad" or mystery or something that the overarching series is trying to solve, a story told the whole series long, time passes during the series, you DO sort of have to read them in order to get the full effect, and there is a conclusion. Like Harry Potter, or on the TV side, any "Limited Series" type show. White Lotus, say.

IF book one CAN stand alone -- like, the story of the book concludes, BUT there is obviously more story to be told / a larger thing happening -- I'd probably go out with it as a stand-alone but mention that there are more potential books, that it could be a series, and I'd have a series proposal that sketches that out, etc, and if they liked it they might want to know what future books would look like, so I'd show that to them at that point..

COMPANION BOOKS. These books completely stand alone, BUT they are set in the same world. So maybe each book is about different members of the same family, or a group of best friends -- each one has a story that is totally discrete, the series aren't numbered on the spine, you can read them in any order. (MANY MANY Romance novels are this way -- think Bridgerton, where each Bridgerton sibling gets their own book with their own romance, and yes, the other characters make cameos, but you don't need to have read their book to understand what is happening at all! On the kid's side, the Casson Family book by Hilary Mckay is an example.)

This, I'd likely go out with whatever book as a stand-alone, but mention in the pitch that there are ideas for other books set in the same world, each following a different sibling / friend / whatever. And if they were interested, talk to them about that or show them brief pitches of other potential stories. But this would probably sell as a stand-alone, and if it did well, they might add more books.

[goodluckclove]

How I Critique Writing (A Loose Collection of Tips)

Someone asked me for insights into my methodology when it comes to giving feedback on writing and I realized I had way more than I could say in a reasonable amount of private messages. Are you someone who I've spoken to about their writing? Did someone send you their work and you don't know how to respond? Maybe this will help? Based on how people react I feel like it might be controversial but it seems to work.

When someone sends me their writing, no matter the size, subject or genre, I:

Take it seriously. It's a generational epic about the Vietnam war and its effects. It's a cute, young adult romance. It's Zim and Dib from Invader Zim realizing they've always been in love with each other. All of these things can be written with earnestness, strength, honesty and skill. It's fucking hard to write and if someone writes a single sentence that wouldn't otherwise exist its worth holding in your hands and examining with the same eye as if you were taking an interesting book off the shelf.

Respond with curiosity. It's common for critiques to follow a theme of ambiguous disdain. This doesn't work. Delete this. Bad. No. Gross. Guess what? That's not helpful. If you got that feedback, even if you followed it, you wouldn't be thrilled about it. Oftentimes you can take a line that makes you want to say Bad and ask something else. What is this supposed to express? What were you trying to do here? Am I supposed to feel happy/sad/uncertain when I read this? Curiosity can reframe something that you don't think works as a reader and turn it into an opportunity for the writer to look inward and solve their own problem. They might explain what they were trying to do, and if you were to say that it didn't pan out for you they're way more likely to tweak things themselves and feel like they still have control over their project.

Give comments. I've started giving more in-depth comments on the writing people give me depending on how anxious they are about it. If you're a pretty confident writer I'll give a summary of what I gained and what I was left wondering, what I thought and what I felt, what associations it made me think of in terms of tone and other forms of media - stuff like that. For newer writers, especially those who are far more doubting of their own abilities, I go buck wild. And in my opinion notes should be less like Good! I like this! Wow! Nice! (What are you, grading my book report? No thanks), and more like what you think when you're reading a book you're truly invested in. Make jokes about the characters (Not mean ones. I will send bugs to you in the mail.), chart exact lines that provoke physical reactions, even a small one. Can you imagine reading someone treat your work like it has its own fandom on Tumblr? You can do that for someone else.

Fucking have some fucking awareness of the fact that it might not be for you and that doesn't mean it's bad. I'm angry about this one considering the novel a friend sent me last night that they've been too terrified to try and post online, despite it being fucking brilliant. I'll try and calm down. Listen - you read what you like. I mainly read literary and experimental fiction, some poetry, horror and some sci-fi. Not a lot of genre fiction. But I will always be down to read someone's high fantasy story, because even though I don't really like fantasy I know what the good ones sound like. I've forced myself to gain a sense of what someone else would like, even if I don't like it. And I can still critique it. If I'm a builder and I see a house that's painted a shade of green I find sinful for a home (i.e. mint), I can look past that and focus on the state of the walls and the stability of the foundation. You aren't a reviewer, man. You are neither Siskel, nor Ebert. They write for readers, you write for writers. So you don't like historical fiction? Cool, man. Congrats. If someone trusts you enough to give you some to read and critique, you should still do so objectively. If you give it an automatic F because you wouldn't buy it, then you are legally a stinky little trash man. That's just the law.

Ask them what they liked to write and what was the hardest. There's apparently a weird trend on online writer communities that say there are specific rules that all writers need to follow. This is not true. It just isn't. If the dialogue in a story you read is weak, and the writer says they hate writing dialogue and really struggle with it, maybe tell them they don't have to use it. You might change their entire life.

RESPOND WITH CURIOSITY. You see the Ask games where people try and get more detail on the WIP of certain authors. If you have a WIP and I ask you a worldbuilding question that doesn't relate to the direct plot of the story as it exists now, I bet you'd like to talk about it. If I ask if you were inspired by a certain tone or movie, you might know the work I was talking about and feel happy. Or you might not know it, look it up, and feel inspired. I don't think people realize that a critique of new/unfinished writing is not a one-and-done exchange. You are taking part in an isolated process in a way few other people on the planet will. It's not homework. It's. Not. Homework. We spend so much of our time alone just fiddling our hands and making our magic, and in instances like these we share something in one of the ultimate forms of artistic trust. They're taking you into a world that hasn't fully formed yet. Is it cool? Can you tell me about it? Can they?

Be nice. Storytime, friends. In the way early 2010s, there was something on the internet called sporking. It was pretty much a line by line roast of someone's writing - typically fanfic. And I hate to say this, but I read a lot of it. I was 13, somehow untreated and overmedicated, and I was miserable constantly. Just cold in my chest. At one point I had the chance to critique a stranger's story - probably another child - and I essentially mocked the whole thing. They ended up deleting the story off the website. I cannot begin to describe to you the shame I feel about doing this, even ten years later. It burns in my heart and makes me sick to my stomach. If you are a serious writer, especially a young writer, and you insult another writer's craft to their face just as they're getting started - you will regret it. I promise you that. You will think about holding something alive and full of potential in your hands and squeezing your fists until it is just flecks of meat and crushed bone. It will haunt you. Maybe only a little, but constantly and for the rest of your life. So don't do it.

Wow what a grim note to leave on! That's essentially my philosophy on writing critique, do with it what you will. Want to send me some writing to receive this kind of excessive treatment? Cool! I have an email in my pinned post and I'll do that! I'm also down to chat if anyone wants to send me asks or DMs on writing/writing struggles/publishing tips.

[shalomniscient]

Congratulations on having a Friesian at the stables where you work as a stablehand. I wanted to request this fluffy idea I had if you want to write it. It's about Cinnabar with a female equestrian reader who rides a Friesian horse. The reader's Friesian is super affectionate towards others, especially Cinnabar. Reader is a bit jealous of the affection Cinnabar is receiving from her Friesian at first but gets over it and is really happy that her Friesian and Cinnabar are close with each other. Cinnabar starts to ride Reader's Friesian and Reader finds out that Cinnabar is really good at horseback riding. Reader helps out her Friesian and Cinnabar perform Dressage techniques and Cinnabar teaches Reader's Friesian to rear up its hind legs while she is riding astride on its back to impress Reader. To be more specific, it's SFW Headcanons. Thank you and hope you're having fun working as a stablehand!

omg dressage !! i used to do competitive dressage as a kid so hopefully i can make this somewhat realistic, fingers crossed

EQUESTRIAN AU HEADCANONS || cinnabar x reader

cw. none

notes. heavily inspired by @ptn-imagines's own work of a similar premise. 100% worth checking out!

Owning a ranch is a lot of work. Between caring for your many, many charges (read: horses) and ensuring the ranch still has the lights on at the end of every week, things can get hectic. Of course, it's nothing you don't already know how to handle, since you've been doing this with your family's help even as a child, but sometimes the workload gets a little much.

Your family's solution? Hire some outside help. To say you were skeptical was an understatement; even more so when you discover that the hired help was a city slicker. You're sure they have some skills, but to help on a ranch? It would be quite the lifestyle change.

She proves you very wrong, though.

Cinnabar takes to the work like a duck to water. Mucking stalls? No problem. Wiping down tack? Consider it done. Mixing feed? She actually did that half an hour ago. Cinnabar blows every expectation you have out of the water and you're more than pleased--it helps that she's extremely easy on the eyes, too. Tall, with short, tousled black hair and an easy, attractive smile. She looks like she'd be more at home on the cover of some fantasy romance novel.

Though what you don't expect the most is just how well she gets along with the local darling of the stables--your Friesian horse, Prince. He's handsome and he knows it, with a long, flowing mane and a glossy black coat. He has always been somewhat of a loverboy, though it seems he's entirely enamored with Cinnabar specifically, following her around whenever he's off lead. It isn't like Cinnabar gives him any particular special treatment; she cares for all your horses with the same gentleness, her tone soft as she speaks to them, yet Prince has staked his claim on her, going so far as to insert himself between you and Cinnabar whenever he can.

The favoritism on part of your horse somewhat annoyed you, but Cinnabar's gentle laughter as Prince nuzzles at her shoulder affectionately assuages some of your irritation. In fact, it's almost... endearing. Hence why you make your offer the next day.

"You should ride him," you say casually, as you and Cinnabar clean up the stalls. Cinnabar stills, looking at you curiously, her eyes bright in the morning sun. Prince nickers in agreement, bumping his snout into her hand as she pats him.

"Are you sure?" she asks, a little hesitant. "He is yours, after all."

You snort at that, recalling the way Prince has behaved the past few weeks. "I don't think he's been mine for a while now. And besides-- I trust you, Cinna."

A slight rosy flush rises up her cheeks at the nickname. You go back and forth about it a little more with her, discussing the kind of riding she'd be doing. Eventually, you both settle on dressage riding. A very prim and proper style, highly technical, but you have faith in Cinnabar. After all, she's never let you down before.

You teach her slowly first, on a lunging line. It helps that Prince is so fond of her; he responds readily to Cinnabar's cues, entirely unlike how he was with you. You work up from a slow walk to an active one, up to a smooth trot and into a relaxed canter. Cinnabar's posture remains remarkably perfect throughout, and you praise her as much for it. Her face is cherry red, but you brush it off as nothing more than exertion.

After training, you both work together to untack Prince and close up the stables. It gets pretty late at that point, and most of the other stablehands have clocked out by then, leaving you and Cinnabar alone together. Cinnabar chats to you about her life in the city, about her uncle, and about how things were just becoming too much over there. You find that you related to her more than you thought--and that's just the thing about Cinnabar, isn't it? She's always surprising you in the best of ways, a welcome change of pace in your life that's become admittedly a little monotonous. As you walk back from the stables, the setting sun lights Cinnabar's face in hues of gold, and you have to look away before you get blinded by the sight of her, your pulse jumping.

Has she always made your heart race?

As the days progress, Cinnabar becomes more and more attuned with dressage riding. She starts learning other movements, such as serpentines and half-passes. You've taken to simply standing outside the arena, leaning on the fence as you watch her and Prince work. They make dressage seem more of an art than a sport. So of course, when a local dressage tournament rolls around, you sign Cinnabar and Prince up (with Cinnabar's permission, of course).

The test is nothing too complex, since it's only a local tournament. Regardless, Cinnabar puts her heart and soul into practicing--even going so far as to wake up a whole hour earlier to get some training in with Prince. She tells you it's to work on her extended trot; which you find odd, since her extended trot is perfectly fine, but a little perfectionism doesn't hurt when it comes to dressage so you let it slide.

Finally, the day of the competition rolls around. Cinnabar is in her room at the ranch, getting ready. For some reason, you're more anxious than the rider, pacing back and forth in front of her door and glancing at the clock. You're about to knock when the door swings open, and there she stands, dressed in typical dressage finery, and your throat dries up.

The white of her breeches contrasts perfectly with the regal green and gold of her shadbelly, and the white vest highlights the slim taper of her shoulders to her waist. She's somehow managed to expertly fasten her cravat, which normally is the bane of your existence to fix.

"You look... good," you say lamely, and Cinnabar's cheeks dust with pink.

"Thank you," she replies softly. "These clothes are very nice."

You're the reason why, you think to yourself. Then, you clear your throat and fish out a small, black box from your pocket. Inside is an emerald brooch, expertly crafted and lustrous. Cinnabar's eyes widen as you step forward, and work on pinning it to her cravat.

"This belonged to my mother," you explain. "It was a gift to her from my father before her big competition, and she ended up winning, so... you can consider it good luck."

Cinnabar's gloved hands gently encircle your wrists. "Then, are you certain you want me to wear it?"

"Of course," you answer immediately, without hesitation. "You-- well, I trust you."

And Cinnabar smiles, making your heart lurch in your chest. She leans in close, and for a brief second your brain short-circuits, your eyes flying down to her lips before she pulls you into a tight hug. You're stiff in her arms, and you hope she doesn't notice the way your heart hammers in your chest.

"Thank you," Cinnabar whispers, her breath warm against your ear. "I won't let you down."

You could never, you want to say, but you bite your tongue. Instead, you simply nod as she pulls back. The both of you head to the stables to fetch Prince, where he awaits Cinnabar eagerly in his stall. The both of you had spent the night before tediously braiding his thick mane, and it was well worth it. Prince nickers happily as Cinnabar leads him out of his stall to head to the competition arena.

Competitors come and go, until finally it's Cinnabar's turn. You sit on the bleachers, feeling surprisingly calm. Maybe it's because your know that Cinnabar and Prince are certain to be nothing short of perfect, or maybe it's the sight of Cinnabar so relaxed that makes you relax too. In any case, Cinnabar and Prince sweep the competition, if the approving nods from the judges were anything to go by. Then, in typical Cinnabar fashion, she surprises you again.

Your breath catches in your throat as Cinnabar encourages Prince into a delicate piaffe, and follows it up with a stunning pesade, as Prince rises onto his hind legs and tucks in his forelegs, forming a 45* degree angle with the ground. In the golden morning light, they look ethereal. It's a textbook perfect pesade that would have impressed even instructors from the Royal Schools. You nearly leap out of your seat when you see it; so this is what Cinnabar spent all those early morning practicing. Oh, you could kiss her.

You're the first to greet her when she exits the arena, unable to stop the grin pulling at your face. "Cinna, that was incredible!" you gush, holding onto Prince's reins as Cinnabar dismounts. She smiles back at you, relieved that you liked it. You lead Prince to a nearby temporary stable, and then the both of you go get refreshments. Other attendees compliment Cinnabar for her impeccable riding and that incredible finale.

Cinnabar, of course, ends up winning first place. As she stands on the podium to accept her blue ribbon, your heart can't help but swell with pride. Prince makes a loud, pleased noise, as Cinnabar walks back to meet you as you stand under the shade of an oak tree, her ribbon pinned above her heart. She hesitates for a moment, then speaks softly.

"Thank you, for this," she murmurs. "For the opportunity. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you."

You shake your head. "Don't sell yourself short, Cinna. You put in the effort, too."

"I suppose I did," she says quietly, with a smile. For a beat, an awkward silence lingers between you two. Cinnabar looks like she has more to say, but at the last second thinks better of it. She takes a step back, as if to leave--but Prince snorts and pushes her forward with his large head, right into your arms. You yelp as she stumbles against you, your back now pressed against the rough bark. Cinnabar's arm shoots out to brace herself before she topples onto you, and now, you're caged in between her and the tree.

The rest of the world drowns out, narrowing down to the bright blue of Cinnabar's eyes. The fullness of her cheeks, the arch of her cheekbones. The way her hair ruffles delicately in the breeze. And, oh God, the way Cinnabar looks at you--it feels like being laid bare. Her eyes flicker down to your lips and your breath catches in anticipation. She's close enough for you to feel the warmth of her breath spill against your lips--

The wait kills you first. You lean up and crash your lips together and Cinnabar gasps into your mouth, her other hand shooting to your waist. She tastes like peppermint and sugar, sweet and cool, somehow exactly as expected. Her lips move almost shyly, experimentally against yours, but above all it's tender. When the both of you finally break apart, your arms are looped around her neck as she rests her forehead against yours. For a while, there is a calm silence between the both of you, before Cinnabar speaks again.

"I suppose I should thank Prince," she chuckles, her lips chastely brushing yours once more. You snort at that, but you don't disagree. Maybe your casanova of a horse did have some use besides being pretty.

"I'd prefer if you kept kissing me first," you reply, and Cinnabar smiles as she presses another kiss at the corner of your lips. Of course, she, like a prince, obliges.

And to Cinnabar, it's the best victory she's ever won.

[chuuwtoy]

i remember discussing with my friend if rebecca was really the blushing virgin that everyone in the fandom makes her out to be. at the time i just shrugged it off and said yes, because i didn't know much about her character (not that there is much anyway.) but after thinking about it, my opinion's changed a bit. so here's my random opinions about rebecca.

incoming airstrike: incoherent rambling.

initially i felt like rebecca was only really put into the first game to be jill's opposite, and also i guess to make it even and put a girl on the other team.

i haven't played RE 0 (and with the complaints i probably won't..) but she isn't exactly squealing and blushing whenever billy looks her way - if anything, billy is more of a flirt. maybe him giving her all these cute nicknames is just in his nature? or perhaps he just really likes her. who knows!

you could argue that everyone on her team died and she's going through this hellish nightmare on her first mission - so why on earth would she have goo-goo eyes over some inmate who supposedly slaughtered 23 people?! haha, i love analyzing these guys.

rebecca isn't afraid to put anyone in their place, she demands respect, "but that's officer chambers to you", "and dont call me little girl!" one thing i love about these lines is how it's delivered, she isn't stomping her feet and throwing a tantrum. she keeps her soft tone and says it sharply! i wish people saw her as spunkier and dominant, rather than an innocent, helpless baby.

suprisingly, she doesn't fall for chris either. i mean can you blame me for expecting her to? he's protecting her throughout the game and vice versa. she's tired and scared but atleast she has chris to lean onto. that's the perfect set up for a predictable (one-sided) romance. the same arguement could be made - she's tired, and got thrusted into another nightmare, she doesn't have time to be flustered over chris..

something that's a little odd but rebecca has respect for chris in the sense that she refers to him as "sir", when she doesn't even do that for enrico. though, im sure its because she's familiar with enrico, but not chris.

she's oddly professional for her age, but no one in the fandom gives her credit for it— and yes i know it's probably because she's a child prodigy, so perhaps she had to grow up quicker? i assume she was around adults much older than herself. ( ≧ᗜ≦) !!!

i know it's common for people to call her a tomboy because "girl + short hair = tomboy" (sarcasm). though, if i'm being honest, i never saw her as one. rebecca (and jill) are just girls, they can't really be placed into boxes - they're not clichés. you see the duality with rebecca loving basketball but also being a chemist? i LOVE that so much. she's in this male-dominated field with an age that still end in -teen.

rebecca is described as "androgynous" in her uniform and while i agree to some extent i don't really like that word too much, because it implies that jill's uniform isnt androgynous when i think that it is.. so what because jill's chest is prominent she can't be androgynous too? hmph, it always left a bitter taste in my mouth.

also i really love that she's wearing makeup in 0, it's her first mission and she's all dolled up 笑笑笑笑笑 but they stopped using ayumi's model and i guess wanted to rework her face.

this isn't meant to disprove or bash that very popular ship "rebilly" by the way! do i ship it? not quite, sorry but i dont ship anything besides myself and a certain bioterrorist えへへへへへへへへ

the novel, caliban cove, portrays her as your typical teenage girl. she gets embarrassed a lot, blushes at the slightest contact, etc etc. it's not canon though, so i didnt bother to mention it.

i haven't discussed this either but i'd like to see discussions about her sexuality, nothing is confirmed but options are always open (ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ.ﾟ

[theboarsbride]

ok sorry in advance for bothering you, feel free to tell me to get lost, but i was wondering if you, the resident expert, have any monster romance recs that aren’t way too. nsfw i guess? maybe it’s just me but i’m having a hard time finding any. like i’m more interested in the slow burn and the romance but the genre seems to be mainly fast paced erotica and i just can’t get into it

OOh!!! No need to be sorry, I'm always happy to answer stuff like this and talk about (cleaner) monster romances!! I'm honored you'd consider me an expert, though! 🥺💛I feel like I don't actually talk about monster romances all that much!

But I agree that it can be hard to find a monster romance that isn't erotica. Not that erotica isn't good, I just like seeing slow burn romances, too!

I wish I could provide a longer list, but here's what I got so far! (and if anyone finds this and wants to add onto this list, feel free to do so in comments, tags, reblogs, etc)

I will provide links/titles to these stories, say the genre(s), provide a short synopsis in my own words, and then say why I recommend it below the cut!

Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis | sci-fi, alternate history, conspiracy fiction, action/adventure

"An alternate history novel set in 2008 where whistleblower Nils Ortega leaks information to the public that the US government is secretly harboring extraterrestrial refugees. Cora Sabino, Nils' daughter, finds herself developing a connection with one of these aliens after inadvertently becoming the sole communication between humans and aliens."

This series is fucking great!! Admittedly, the monster/alien romance take more of a backseat to the larger plot, and mostly focuses on themes surrounding humanity, human rights, language, trauma, etc. Ellis does such a great job at writing characters that are just so... human, and deep. There is so much complexity and nuance that goes into this series, and just... it's so good! Definitely recommend if you're more into the super slow burns, alien romances, alien action movies like Michael Bay's Transformers series or Independence Day.

"The Courtship of Mr. Lyon" and "The Tiger's Bride" in The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter | Gothic, feminist fiction, fairytale retelling, horror, anthology

"'The Courtship of Mr. Lyon' follows the romance between Beauty and Beast after Beauty's father takes one of the lion-faced Beast's white roses while taking shelter following a car accident; in 'The Tiger's Bride' a young woman is sent to live with a mysterious masked man after her father gambles her away in a game of cards."

Honestly this book, though a collection of short stories, is one of my all-time favorite books! Carter's writing style is so, so gorgeous and lyrical, and she provides such fantastic, dark, moody, gory, horrific feminist fairytales. Her story "The Bloody Chamber" is also worth checking out! Honestly, this whole book is great!

Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast and Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley | Fantasy, romance, fairytale retelling

"Classic Beauty and the Beast retellings."

Despite both being BATB retellings by the same author, both are so, so good in their own ways! While Beauty is way more classic and straightforward in its retelling, the characters are so endearing, the fantasy world is enchanting, and the writing is so *chefs kiss*. Rose Daughter is much the same, only slightly more adult in its tone and writing style - and its ending!

The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus | Romance, historical

"A mute janitor working in a high-security government facility falls in love with an amphibious creature."

Yeah, yeah, this is basically the novelized version of the movie lmao. I've not read the whole novel itself, but it's not half-bad!! It's decent enough - though I still feel like the movie to be better. Still worth checking out, I think!

Frankenstein's Monster by Susan Heyboer O'Keefe | Historical

"A sequel, of sorts, to Mary Shelley's classic novel. What becomes of Frankenstein's monster after Frankenstein dies? Where does he go, left to wander the earth?"

Not really a romance, per say, but there are SOME elements of romance! Mostly, this book follows Frankenstein's monster following the OG novel, who he all meets, and it is very much a character study on the monster! It's super fascinating, but its writing style is super similar to Mary Shelley's, so this very much reads like a classic novel. Honestly, I love how O'Keefe was able to mimic Shelley's style so well! But, again, romance is way more lowkey and this is more of a character study than anything else. Definitely reccomend if you loved the OG Shelley novel!

Beauty and the Beast by Megan Kearny | Webcomic, romance, fantasy, fairytale retelling

"A retelling of Beauty and the Beast."

Beautifully illustrated and wonderfully told, this comic is just SO GOOD!! It very much has the same vibes as Robin McKinley's novels, and is steeped in a cozy fantasy atmosphere! The characters are so loveable, the story intriguing, and just AAAUUGGGHHH SO GORGEOUS!!

Netvor: Beauty and the Beast by @rosesnwater | Fantasy, romance, fairytale retelling

"Aceline Capet swears to slay the monster Netvor that lurks in the forest surrounding her village - and ends up becoming entrenched in the world of magic and monsters and Fae."

LEGIT JUST UGH!!!!!!!! THIS NOVEL IS SO FUCKING GOOD!! Legit this is one of my all-time favorite reads from this year! If you love fantasy featuring actual, lore-accurate faeries and super intriguing slow burn romance with endearing characters, please please PLEASE check this out!!!!!!! I SWEAR YOU WONT BE DISSAPOINTED!! Definitely recommend if you love fantasy movies like Legend, Labyrinth, Thumbelina, Howl's Moving Castle, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, etc. or books like Naomi Novik's Uprooted, Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Robin McKinley's work, etc.! It also currently being rewritten as a(n equally beautiful) webcomic that should definitely be checked out as well!

That Which We Call Beast by @raph-fangirl | Historical fiction, romance, fairytale retelling

"A young woman is seeking marriage, and comes into contact with a mysterious bachelor that hides himself from her behind a veil."

Basically if Jane Austen wrote Beauty and the Beast! Definitely a well-written slow burn! It's not completed yet, but with what's available to read it's legit so beautiful!! The prose is so well-crafted, and it legit feels as though I'm reading an Austen novel! Definitely recommend if you love films like the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice!

Then uhhhh not to toot my own horn but if you wanna read a Victorian Era Gothic romance-horror BATB retelling with a pathetic meow-meow of a monster I offer my story The Monster and the Butterfly- 🤲🥺

These are all the recs I have for now! Again, if there are any you'd like to add, whether they be published, a friend's online work, or your own work!! I hope these are helpful and satisfactory enough for ya!

Again, I love talking about monster romances, thank you so so much for this ask!!!! 🥺💛

[c-h-stevens]

A couple of months ago radfems on Xitter were making some noise about readers of Booktok smut being "porn addicted". Tumblr didn't take them seriously, which is as it should be. However, I don't think many people know the real issue with this "porn addiction" thing: namely, that it's a fake disorder invented by religious conservatives to shame people.

See, the people who take porn addiction seriously don't mean it in a metaphorical way, as in "I'm addicted to potato chips" or whatever. They literally claim that watching too much internet porn will rewire your brain chemistry just like shooting heroin. If you think that sounds unlikely, scientists generally agree with you. There's no solid evidence for porn addiction. The Wikipedia page calls it "scientifically controversial" and "hotly contested". It's also peppered up with [citation needed]s from both sides. On the other hand, there's papers such as this one (paywalled) that link "religiosity and moral disapproval" with "perceived addiction to pornography". Unsurprisingly, the promoters of porn addiction tend to scaremonger about masturbation, first and foremost among them the NoFap movement, which is a hotbed of alt-right bullshit and all sorts of bigotries. (Want another paper?)

You might wonder, if a belief in porn addiction comes from the religious right instead of credible evidence, and one of its loudest proponents is a very anti-feminist group, why would radical feminists accuse anybody of being porn addicted? Well, that's because radfems are dumb as bricks. They've been holding hands with the religious right for decades on the anti-porn issue. This is a short and concise article on the "lesbian sex wars", where radfems burned lesbian BDSM books to defeat the patriarchy. (I meant it when I said they're dumb as bricks.)

In my own personal observation, radfems seem to have ramped up their anti-porn side lately, probably because blatant, in-your-face transphobia is less popular in progressive circles lately. On the other hand, the internet has gotten more puritanical lately, so it makes sense they'd emphasize their anti-porn side instead. With USAMerican Republicans trying to fuck the internet up even more, I wouldn't be surprised if radfems continued to support the Leopards Eating People's Faces with this nonsense. Hence why I wrote this whole essay.

Radfems have admitted to toning down their views to try and "recruit" people they see as women/more mainstream feminists, so if you get a comment mentioning porn addiction, especially anonymously, it's likely a radfem peddling nonsense. If I thought they were clever enough, I'd say they were pushing the whole "Booktok porn addicts" angle to make other takes on the idea seem more credible. Sure, it's silly to call a reader of romance novels porn addicted, but what about a fratboy who's always in PornHub? Surely he's porn addicted, right? Well, no. Because porn addiction isn't a thing, and the people taking it seriously are trying to make you buy into censorship and an overly strict control of the internet. Things that are going to harm marginalized people first, as anybody who isn't dumb as bricks can tell.

[the-lunar-library]

Writerly Questionnaire

Questionnaire by @davycoquette

This is a very in-depth questionnaire for writers, suitable for original fiction writers, fanfic writers, and people who aren't writing but who are messing around with OCs. It's a lot of fun and I'm glad I stumbled over it.

Original post here.

About You

When did you start writing?

Very, very young. I would write and draw picture books about horses. Occasionally I finished them. The first chapter “book” I completed was called Starlight's Fury and heavily based on The Silver Stallion and similar wild horse stories. It was also only 3100 words. Short chapters, big writing, and lots of illustrations.

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

Sometimes. I have no interest in writing romance novels from the 1960s, but if I can find them cheap secondhand, I will snatch them up. I'm trying to think if there's themes I seek out without wanting to write them myself, and I sort of have the opposite... I tend to avoid stories centered on love triangles, but in my original fiction, I keep writing relationships that, if they aren't exactly triangles, veer awfully close. Eider-Diarca-Yew, Charmian-Jimson-Rigmor, Akantha-Alexandros-Genesius, and, yes, another one for the fourth book. In my own mind, I can declare these aren't love-triangly love triangles, but possibly I am kidding myself.

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer?) you want to emulate, or one to whom you're often compared?

I wrote last week about how Tanith Lee greatly affected my voice was I was developing it in the mid-2000s. The combination of her conversational tone and unexpected imagery really struck me, and I still find myself looking back to her and thinking how she would approach certain narrative moments.

I once heard a professor say that Emily Dickinson's writing style “scared him” because it was so spare and direct, and, my golly, I would love to be able to do that, and it's something I keep in mind when heading into heavier subjects. (I don't always want to scare the reader, but I often want that direct impact.)

Recently, my mother read The Alice Network by Kate Quinn and said its style reminded her of mine. But I don't think there's anyone I've been often compared to.

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (Room, coffee shop, desk, etc.)

I love the idea of writing in a cozy coffee shop, but the truth is that I would probably be too distracted. I tend to write in my bedroom, cross-legged on the floor. When I was younger, I mostly wrote longhand and would snatch whatever writing time I could, during free periods, in cars, that sort of thing; I would take my writing notebook to school and on trips.

What's your most effective way to muster up some muse?

The muse, she does not come when she's called. She likes music though. A lot of the time, any music will do, just to create a sense of shut-in-ness and a barrier from the world. If I'm writing something emotional, then I might go for really emotional music. (I wrote the last chapter of The Stars Are Fire with “Weight of the World” on repeat.)

But I don't rely on my muse if I can help it. When I was younger I did, and my (original) first drafts spanned years, and en route I often ran out of interest and momentum and they languished unfinished. So now, when life allows it, I try to set time aside (a 30 minute block, say), and that's for writing (includes editing) and you just have to sit and write, sorry, but yes, you may take breaks between paragraphs. This allows me to write much more quickly, and the idea that I won't be working on this first draft for years allows me a light at the end of the tunnel. I don't expect it to always work, but right now, it works enough.

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

Yeah, somewhat. Relatives' homes, different areas where they lived (the differences in scenery, animals, overall moods), and then where I grew up, traces of it have shown up in my writing. As for people, that's a tricky thing to cop to, basing characters on people you know. I don't have any characters that are one-to-one analogues of people I know. When it comes to antagonists (dangerous territory), I try to draw more on my own negative traits and bend or exaggerate them rather than settle scores writing someone I know as a villain.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

Ones that I've noticed include guilt, a sense of being cursed, conflict between once-friends, untrustworthy romantic interests, large snakes, learning how to break free/express anger in a useful way. They're not surprising. Not that I'm an edgelord or something, but these are things I'm interested in, these are things that I think make for really powerful stories.

I could also sweepingly say DEATH, because that is something I return to, though I think more in fanfiction than in original fiction. Lost Savior, Elysion, Death and Ker, The Stars Are Fire, parts of The Muse Trilogy, definitely parts of the unposted Fate stuff – they all focus on mortality and what it means for you (the person dying) and how you cope with it (the person surviving).

I'm sure there are themes that would surprise me, but that's the sort of thing a reader figures out before the writer does.

Your Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character? (Current WIP, past WIP, never used, etc.)

I'm the author, and I'm irresponsible, and I'm saying Alexandros, the trickster prophet from To the Ravens. He's not my favorite in that I think he's particularly admirable. You could definitely pick a better role model. But I love writing him. He's creative, intuitive, over the top, very fun in how he talks and how he acts. He can be warm and reassuring and heroic. He's beautiful and eloquent and he can cut right to the heart of the person he's talking to. But he's always operating from an angle, coming up on your side. He spins explanations quickly, he lies with a smile, and he never looks back. He's exhausting, but so fun to write.

Which of your characters do you think you'd be friends with in real life?

I feel sorry for Diarca, and he's shut up in a mirror, he could use a friend. I would also love to be friends with Wuxle, just an absolutely steady presence, someone who will watch your back when you're in danger while undramatically pointing out you're maybe not making the best decisions. I could see myself befriending Akantha and Karyai and probably even Kokkonas, though we might bicker a lot.

Which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

It's probably too easy to just list off antagonists, particularly the ones who head into Actual Villain territory. Among the “good” or more neutral characters, I think I'd find both Charmian and Yew sometimes frustrating in real life. But then, their bad decisions are part of why their stories happen. I don't think I'd actually dislike them, but there might sometimes be words exchanged.

Tell me about the process of coming up with one, all, or any of your characters.

I don't have any one method. With Eider, I set out to make her very appealing – I designed her to be extremely beautiful for that fairy tale factor, and I wanted her to be very brave and earnest in the hopes the reader would really get behind her. So there were a lot of deliberate choices made in her creation. Similarly, Arsen was intentionally written to evoke gothic romantic hero tropes, hopefully to examine them in an interesting way. Other characters come along in a more as-you-go sort of way. I've talked about how Jimson was originally a more villainous character, and I'm not sure what exactly changed him – the needs of the story versus how I felt while writing the character – but he definitely circumvented my plans. Akantha was originally a defiant trickster character, but researching the lives of Greek women in antiquity ended up being more interesting to me, so I wrote her well within those confines, defying them in a more slowly building way.

Right now, I'm brainstorming a possible ghost character, but at this stage I don't have much set in stone – some world-building ideas for where the ghost comes from, some tropes I might use for their personality. I think part of this process is going to involve reading different ghost stories from different sources and seeing if that shakes any interesting ideas loose. From there, I might just start listing possible tropes, origins, arcs, regardless of whether they're good, and see what connections form. Or maybe I'll work on a different character from that project and the arc of that character could end up shaping the ghost's arc secondarily. It's still early enough that things could head in so many directions; the ghost doesn't even have name yet.

Do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters?

Many! There's the stuff I mentioned above, like Yew, Charmian, and Akantha all considering themselves cursed in some respect. I see some similarities between Jimson and Alexandros, these charmers who have some pragmatism behind their smiles. Mabry and Yew are also somewhat similar, bold, irreverent, even having some similarity in their designs with their long sleek hair and big dark eyes. Charmian and Akantha both deal negatively with arranged marriages. These characters aren't identical, but they share some themes and ideas I've been turning over and exploring from book to book.

How do you picture them? (As real people you imagined, as models/actors who exist in real life, as imaginary artwork, as artwork you made or commissioned, anime style, etc.)

I'm able to draw them, and that's another way I refine their characters. (Though in many cases, I don't draw them until after the project is finished.) Even so, it's not perfect. I can draw a figure with the necessary traits, but it doesn't necessarily capture the character. I still feel like I haven't ever properly drawn Arsen, and though I've gotten closer with Diarca, he's still elusive. Still not entirely pleased with any pictures I've done of Genesius – I don't think I've quite gotten his maturity, maybe. Real people do sometimes influence the characters' designs; I'd been watching lots of Poldark ahead of writing The Price and Prey of Magic, and my goodness, Aidan Turner and his deep sultry voice definitely passed some DNA on to Arsen.

I realize though that's not quite the question. How do I see them in my mind, as real people or drawings? I think it's closer to real people, but real people whose faces are still sometimes a bit blurry and uncertain to me.

Your Writing

What's your reason for writing?

I've always done it, and I've always been considered good at it (for my age group, when that was still applicable). As with a lot of writers, there's a sense in which writing's difficult and I drag my feet, but simultaneously I can say that I love it, I get an emotional and even a physical sense of well-being from it. It makes me feel accomplished, it organizes my thoughts. Being able to write, especially original projects, often feels like it's a sign of my mental health being good. When my mental health isn't as good, writing fanfiction allows for a lot of comfort and fun, emotional release, and interacting with other fans. (Which is not to say I only write fanfiction when things are going wrong in my life – don't worry about that! But for years I felt like I couldn't write original stuff anymore and fanfic gave me a way to keep writing.)

In a more exterior way, there's a quote from the Matilda movie that I can only paraphrase, but which has always stood out to me: That writers send their books out like ships to bring messages to people. I'm not claiming to have very deep material, but I think about how much enjoyment other writers' books (and fics) have given me, and I would love to pass that on as a writer.

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

All comments made in good faith, even criticism, are generous gifts. But the comments that really stand out tend to be specific – lines people liked, twists that surprised them, theories they have. One comment I remember from years and years ago was an anon on Fanfiction.net who noticed I updated a certain fic the same day every week, and that made them look forward to that day all week. Another reviewer said that years after first reading it, they still quoted one of my fics. Learning that is so touching and I'm feeling all fuzzy writing about it now.

As for criticism, I've definitely gotten it, and while I don't always agree with it, I think I can tell when the reader's put thought and honesty into their feedback. So even if I don't make the changes they suggest, the feedback is still valuable. Other times, the critic's been exactly right, and even if the feedback comes too late for me to change a project, I can still keep it in mind as I write new things.

In general though, comments in and of themselves are motivating. You might know people are reading a fic, you might see the hit number going up, but not hearing what people think about it is discouraging.

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (For example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who “gets” the human condition; as a talented worldbuilder, as a role model, etc.)

It's that Matilda quote again. I really, really want you to enjoy my writing, whether it's original or a fic. I want you to read it and remember it years later, and it gives you a warm nostalgic feeling, taking you back to that time in your life. When it comes to characters and world-building, I hope people find them intriguing and worth studying for their own writing, and I hope the themes and my takes on them resonate with people. But the real thing, the crucial thing, is that I hope you like my writing and remember it.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

It's hard not to think of an answer that doesn't come from someone else. It's also easier to focus on shortcomings. Part of the problem is that quality is subjective, so something I really like about my writing could be just the thing a given reader hates.

I think I'm capable of some good poetic language. For some people, it might shade too purple; other people might say it doesn't go purple enough. Some would say that if I like a line, I should make like Faulkner and kill it, but I don't subscribe to that motto. If you let all your darlings live, will you let some awful cringy lines survive? Yeah, probably. But experience will make you better able to hear what sounds awkward and what doesn't, and, honestly, better that your writing be awkward and memorable than serviceable and anonymous.

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

People note my descriptions, my dialogue, especially funny one-liners. Readers have also liked (or at least been affected by) my emotional endings, particularly in fanfic. On reflection, my fics' endings tend to be received pretty well.

How do you feel about your own writing? (Answer in whatever way you interpret this question.)

It's tiresome to harp on, but I do see a lot of flaws in my writing. I often feel my plotting is weak and I can fumble when it comes to internal rule-/world-building.

On the positive side, right now, at this point in my life (the last 7 – 5 years or so) I'm very happy that my writing's been happening, projects emerging quickly, projects getting finished. I can't know if that will last, but I'm grateful for it as it's happening.

As for the writing itself, looking at it separately from me, my feelings are complicated. Like many (most? all?) writers, I'm writing the stories I want to read, so that's fun. On the other hand, they're written by me, so I can see backstage, as it were, see all the scaffolding and compare the story to an ideal non-existent version of it in my head. So that harshes the fun.

I've written before that when it comes to my fanfic, I'm able to go back after posting and reread it and enjoy it a lot. But rereading my published stuff doesn't offer much relaxation – I'm too caught up in things I can no longer change. I still feel that way with The Price and Prey of Magic and The Escape of Lady Aigle, but with To the Ravens, I have been able to go back and reread it, at least some sections. And while I still see small things I question and wish I could go back and alter, I do enjoy rereading it. I don't know if I've turned some corner or if there's just something special for me about To the Ravens.

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

If I'm looking at this literally, I think I would be too depressed to write. But looking at it theoretically, at the broader question – or maybe just hoping that my initial depressed paralysis would be temporary – yes, I think I would write even if I didn't expect anyone to read. I have writing projects that that I never plan on sharing. I have a diary I don't ever want anyone who knows me to read. My favorite fanfic has never been posted, and I'm still torn on whether it ever will be. Like I said above, writing makes me feel good. So if I'm the last human, I think writing would help. And I think I'd want to document things, just in case someone ever did come along.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? If it’s a mix of the two, which holds the most influence?

I don't know if anyone can write with such selfish purity, if they're intending to share their work. (Again, see my favorite fic, just for me, utterly self-indulgent. But even there, I didn't write it without ever considering what other people would think of it. The barrier of outside criticism was lower, but it was still there.)

So yeah, I think about the audience, in terms of making my ideas clear, or trying to make sure I'm not unwittingly offensive or insensitive, and then, yes, what they might enjoy. On the other hand, I'm very much writing the stories I want to write. My fanfic is mostly for niche JRPGs from the 2000s, 2010s, not exactly white-hot fandoms; even within those fandoms, I don't think I'm writing the subjects or characters that will get the most hits. As for the original stuff, if I was going for mass appeal, all three novels would be markedly different. I don't think I would've written a book about a second-century snake cult on the moon.

But I think there's a subtler answer. There's “readers” as in generic, mainstream readers. And then there's people who read my stuff. These are people I do and don't know, and if they like some of my writing, I'd like to think they'd enjoy more of it. I wouldn't want someone to read one of my fics/books and be majorly disappointed by another. At the same time, you can't expect to hit the target for every reader every time; that's unreasonable.

This answer is just getting more garbled. Yes, I do both. I have no idea what the percentages are, but I think generally it's always best to be true to yourself in writing, even if it might alienate some readers. Again, better to alienate and make an impression than to be palatable and easily forgotten.

[viscountessevie]

Do you think JQ cares at all at how her characters (and to an extent the actors too with the promo and stuff) are treated or does she only care about the money? I mean they already did huge changes and they will probably do more going forward. As an artist myself I would find it disheartening how something I created would be taken apart so much that it barely resembles my own work. And also how does she feel about all her fans response to the season 2 disaster? There was a lot of complaining on her insta posts about what they did to Kate and Edwina (especially on her video post about the sister soulmate stuff). Okay yes she signed off all rights, if one should do that is another debate (i wouldn’t ) but do you think she regrets it? Because it doesn’t feel that way. Makes me resent her a bit tbh.

Ask Dated: 31st July 2022

I can't quite remember what may have prompted this ask but probably them feeling the same way I felt about S2.

While yes Simone and Jonny's chemistry and some acting choices/scene and tone changes saved the season, I still felt robbed of my favourite lines and scenes from the book not being adapted. And of course how they massacred my favourite book family, The Sheffields/Sharmas. We really could have seen a healthy and loving Indian family of women instead we got the same toxic shit I grew up in.

Anyway, to answer your main question anon, I have a feeling the Netflix/Shondaland check was big enough for JQ to sell her soul and writer's integrity. If she did care, she hasn't shown it one bit. Or alternatively her lack of enthusiasm for Kate, The Sharmas and Kathony now that Kate is an Indian woman, can be a sign of expressing her disappointment in the colour blind cast. I mean before the show was announced (and old time Bton fans feel free to correct me), Kathony (and TVWLM) and Polin (and RMB) were her favourite couples and books to hype up. Ever since Simone was announced as Kate, she did the bare minimum talking about her and has ignored Kate in favour of her fave and only white tv couple (so far). So take what you will from that.

There are a few articles out here where JQ kind of does mental gymnastics to justify all the big changes to S2 which I thought were cop out answers. [Note: it is almost 4am as I am writing this and I am a little tired to find for her exact quotes but if I come across them I'll link at a later time but for now Google is your bestie!]

I did find that she stipulating that *only* the Pall Mall scene could not be changed at all, really dumb in hindsight. Because the way they shot and edited that scene was super lame (there was barely any tension visually - Jimone was carrying the tension and rivalry of the scene and match) and there was SO MANY MORE important scenes and characterisations that made TVWLM so popular and beloved and nothing else mattered to her???

I will admit; while I LOVE the OG Bee Scene, I liked the new one too. I just wish they had gotten married earlier. Also of course the new accident scene is superior. But it still does not make up for how badly they fumbled the Sharmas, cutting out their backstories and then giving away an whole useless hour to the Featherflops. DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE TWO WEDDINGS THAT WEREN'T EVEN KATE'S!!!

I really wanna know how much she was paid to just go along with everything because even Rick Riordan was able to express his disdain with the Percy Jackson movies!! I think at this point, its safe to say its enough money to make her turn a blind eye to all the horrid changes and not regret anything. It even is enough to make her eat her words about not being able to write characters of colour (will expand more in the next ask) but now suddenly after all these years, she can write a romance novel centred on a Black heroine. I guess characters of colour are only worth writing if she can profit off them. It makes me resent her too anon. 

[ladyazulina]

A Writeblr Introduction Attempt

[En Español]

Hello everyone, I’m Lady Azulina 💙 Just Azu around these parts. I have been thinking about doing an introduction since I started diving into the Writeblr community who knows how long ago—certainly not me. But I wasn’t able to decide where to start. I still don’t know, but I believe that even the smallest attempt can be a great step, so here we go—I mean, I. Here I go. I really want to make this space something safe for me. For me to vent. For me to share. For me to be me even when I don’t know how to be me. I tried Instagram. I tried Twitter. Now I’m consciously trying Tumblr. Let’s see how this goes.

2-1: My pronouns are she / her. I’m also cis. And as far as I know, I’m hetero, but I haven’t had the opportunity to test my sexuality, so I can’t be totally sure. Why I’m telling all of it? I don’t even know! Don’t mind me.

2: The sun has gone around twenty-four times since I was born. I’m from winter. Like, an-early-Christmas-gift type. By five days only. I was supposed to be born in February, but I think I didn’t want to celebrate my birthday with the rest of the family. So it was Christmas. Sadly.

2+1: I'm legally a Sagittarius, but heartily I don't know where I fit. Sagittarius sun, Capricorn moon, and Aquarius rising.

2x2: I LOVE personality tests. For the majority of my life, I was INFP-T, but the last result says I am ISFP-T. My Enneagram type is a solid 4, a light 9. My color personal test is serulian (#9bb7d4).

2x2+1: I started writing when I was eleven.

2x2+2: I think I have a record of every writing in all these years (goddess, it will be twelve years soon).

2x2+2+1: I’m a love fanatic, even when I don’t wanna be. I’m a hopeless romantic, people. I write romance even without knowing that I’m writing romance. How the heck? I do not understand either.

2x2x2: In the same way, everything with the correct amount of romance can amuse me. And it doesn’t even have to be romantic.

2x2x2+1: I’m also a creature of fiction. Each word that comes out of my fingers is fiction. Be wary, I’m talking here about my writing, I can turn my life into a work of fiction, but it is not! Sadly.

2x2x2+2: On the topic of fiction, excepting a few self-insert (usually coming out in form of micro-stories), all I write and have ever written is absolutely and totally… fiction. Gezh, believe me, I was also looking for another completely unsuspecting word to get you all there, but I went b l a n k. You all know about it, don’t you?

12-1: I'm a fantasy-setup type of girl. I think I decided that with my very first novel, full of fantasy creatures. Though I haven't been writing there for a while, it's still one of my primary genres. I also like paranormal stuff, not in a very big matter, but its participation is still appreciated.

12: I love mysteries, and I think I’m trying to write one, but I do not try to solve them. My head wouldn’t forgive me if I try to push it so hard. On the same topic, I enjoy detective series.

12+1: I found my hidden love for (writing) action scenes thanks to a specific character. I'm still trying my ways because I don't get to write with her as much as I would like.

12+2: Other than the ones I've already mentioned, I'm pretty bad at identifying genres or tropes, so I won't be doing that. If you recognize any in my writings, please point them out to me! That way I can add them to the tags and so on.

12+2+1: For a while, I was roleplaying in forums, so I think I can say I have fics from Digimon, Pokemon, Sword Art Online, and My Hero Academia. Needless to say, I'm trying to turn all their stories into original ones; I can talk about them whenever.

12+2+2: I always create characters in pairs because I don’t want them to feel lonely like I do, though it doesn’t mean they’re romantic pairs.

12+2+2+1: I’m pretty in love with the blue color, hence my name, its lighter tones especially.

12+2+2+2: My real-real name is also a blue color! I think I’m unbiased from birth.

20-1: I’m a Caribbean Latin lady, my first language is Spanish. I would love the second one to be Sign Language, but I think it really is English.

20: I started studying (in college) Maths, but it didn’t work. I shifted to English, but it’s not working either.

20+1: My alter ego is an editor, proofreader, and writing coach, I can serve as the mediator, and as a way of trying her services as a beta reader.

22: I think it’s already obvious, but my favorite number is 2. The 02, 20, and 22 also work. 12 just because it’s my birthday month, but it also has a 2!

Project Masterlist.

[bronanlynch]

once again here is my weekly roundup post of what I'm watching/reading/etc. once again none of this is necessarily a recommendation, except the bits where I talk about my own fic. obviously everyone should read my fic

listening (podcast): nothing new here. continuing with the Wing episodes of Great Gundam Project, which continue to make me want to watch Gundam at all times. also keeping up with Palisade (Friends at the Table), my beloved, I love it when an actual play podcast episode is an extended discussion on spycraft and the changing political landscape, and also watching someone else flip a coin

also, I've listened to less A More Civilized Age recently because I'm less interested in KOTOR now that they're covering that, but I did listen to their episode on the imminently-closing Disney World Starcruiser attraction which. oof. great podcast episode, unsurprising that the ~experience was uhhhhh not worth how many thousands of dollars it costs

listening (music): changed the CD in my car to One-X by Three Days Grace. sorry for almost exclusively listening to music that was used for AMVs in the 2000s.

however! for once I listened to new music, the new Troye Sivan single, Got Me Started. nothing particularly smart to say here, it's fun and catchy and makes me wish it was 2018 and I was back in grad school having a single overpriced drink in a gay bar and failing to psych myself up enough to flirt with anyone

reading: still working my way through Rule of Wolves (truly would be more interesting if Leigh Bardugo did not always shy away from the political marriages that she teases at, at least then the political intrigue would have to actually happen on the page) and Water Outlaws (shout out to my new favorite side character, the nonbinary strategist who wants to overthrow the government).

also read the newest KJ Charles novel, A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel. I always have a lot of fun with her stuff, she understands that life-threatening stakes and also secrets & betrayal are what I personally want in a romance. this one had some very fun intrigue around inheritance & legal loopholes, and also plot-important discussions of religion in Roman Britain. my main complaint isn't even a critique of the book itself, it's just that I as a person have slightly different priorities and I wish one of the main characters had been allowed to stay angry and maybe be more destructive about it. like I'm glad he's happy now that he's had his character development, and I do think it was well done. however. I would've found it personally cathartic if he got to do a few more crimes first

also also, this incredibly scathing academic book review (Was There an Administrative Revolution?, George Zhijian Qiao). it's a delight. I've seen some harsh rebuttals but nothing nearly as much of a masterpiece as this

watching: continuing to watch Elementary, which has its pros (competently-written mystery stories with fun characters) and its cons (can't tell if the copaganda has gotten more blatant this season or if it's just been building up and I'm getting tired of it)

also continuing my long slow journey of watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes. what a show. love an incredibly homoerotic military sci-fi anime about the narrative construction of history. season 3 has been kind of up and down for me, though, I must say. I love the parts about Reinhard being desperate to die in battle against a "worthy opponent," I love Reuental getting accused of treason presumably to foreshadow him actually doing treason at some point, I love Kircheis haunting the narrative, I love the vastly different tone whenever we see Yang being self-aware about history and his friends getting up to shenanigans. however. whenever the Earth Cult is the central focus I'm reminded how much I don't like that plotline. like. Idk. I'm not an expert but I know more well-informed people than me have talked/written about the prevalence of antisemitic conspiracy theory tropes in anime from this era and uh. that sure is present here and I don't care for it

the other thing I watched this week is 1985 horror film Re-Animator. my first note is "oh he's such a little freak I love him" (about the titular guy who reanimates the dead) and that really sums it up I think. is it a good movie? I mean. probably not. but I could write an entire thesis on the themes of procreation vs necromancy and how that subtextually makes the central conflict of the film a love triangle, and sometimes that's what really matters

playing: ran a session of Blades in the Dark while partially out-of-it from the flu shot/covid booster combo. this was the third session of a single score, and by the end of it everyone only had one (1) remaining stress box but somehow no one trauma-ed out while escaping the ancient winged robot/ghost lady whose gambling hall they were robbing (they stole her reality-bending dice that she made out of her own bones)

I've been enjoying Ace Attorney 5 more this week, the second half of 5-3 and the beginning of 5-4 have been a lot of fun. it really is a shame that Robin's gender is handled Like That because otherwise 5-3 would be such a good case. I'm not far enough into 5-4 to say much about it other than that I like it so far but truly my main observation is, if two astronauts were on the launch pad, and one of them killed the other with a knife, would that be fucked up or what?

making: made butternut squash pasta sauce with the rest of the squash left over from last week's muffins. we used this recipe, largely because it involved roasting the squash in the oven instead of standing over a stove waiting for liquid to reduce (substituted oat milk for the half-and-half, it turned out fine and just didn't needed the added pasta water)

here it's on mushroom ravioli, but we also added it to baked mac & cheese to add some more vegetable to that

drinking: sorry that all of this is so aggressively seasonal, unfortunately I love a lot of ~fall flavors~. anyway. shout out to Citizen Cider's Baker's Dozen (cider donut flavored cider). it's not as sweet as other cider donut ciders I've had, since Citizen's stuff tends to be fairly dry, but it still has the cinnamon flavor and it's very tasty

writing: mostly I've been editing the same t4t yurivain fic I've been working on for months, but I'm running out of shareable snippets of that and really I need to just post the damn thing. and I've also written a little bit more of a self-indulgent vibes- & motif-heavy Great Ace Attorney fic so uh. here's this:

They’d been at sea without stopping for a while now, but land was drawing into view once again, if he looked west where the sky was still dark. Maybe his friends, the friends he must’ve had once, were still out there, beyond the sea. Maybe they were looking for him. Maybe they were waiting for him in London. Maybe that was why he needed to go there so badly. Or maybe they were all gone, and he, left behind alone, had business to finish on their behalf before he could rejoin them. The sea slapped against the hull of the ship, and there was the frayed edge of a memory there too, a familiarity with ships, with the sounds that the sea could make, that went back farther than his few months’ employment as a dock worker and a deckhand.

[multitrackdrifting]

My thoughts on the Gundam: Witch from Mercury Episode 0/1

most g-witch haters: hating on lesbians

me, a g-witch disliker: intensely critical of gundam releases since iron blooded orphans (the pinnacle of all mid) and disappointed in the disparity between a baby killing soldiers in the prologue and finding out "oh they actually settle debates at school with gundam fights xD", the latter of which, being, just barely removed from gundam build fighters just with some added terrorism and war in the backdrop is extremely disappointing

all im saying is, if the school setting is like 95% of this show you can unfollow cause i will slander it every week just as hard as i have tokyo revengers. for me, it's not even about that its set in school, code geass is too and they still managed to have some sick as fuck moments and its the same writer, but i do not trust any gundam AU to be good because IBO was fine in the first half but became complete dogshit by the end of the 2 seasons (50 episodes) and this show only has 25 so I don't want to waste my time if it is mostly set in school

it did not go over my head that it's basically utena, the author wrote some of the novels for that franchise

But I am relatively disappointed with the jump from the serious space politics in the prologue to the military school juvenile drama of Episode 1 and the MC being in a lesbian romance doesn't really change the quality of writing for me. Happy for y'all but it was pretty disappointing to see the tone change up, and if it remains a story about what was relatively petty at school (granted Guel is a fucking dickhead, but you'd have to be watching w your eyes closed not to be able to glean that much)

As far as having a lesbian main character in a major mecha franchise that isn't a new one, that's all well and good, I'm happy for that since Tomino originally said something akin to only Fujoshi really understand what gundam is about, and I don't think he meant that there's romantic subtext in the most explicit sense but detected aspects of their character that people who didn't try to pair characters together couldn't see as clearly as the shippers did (which is hilarious since no creator would ever say this now). Now in G-Witch there's overt context which you would have to willfully be ignorant to ignore the setup for, especially when they recreated shot for shot entire scenes and tropes from Utena.

Still, I don't really care who ends up with who in the majority of things I watch, so the tone jump between the prologue and episode 1 really pissed me off.

I've seen Code Geass, and this whole school shit better be a smokescreen, cause if we have to unironically watch student duels for the next 10 episodes I'm reducing this series into the ground bro you're gonna have to block me to avoid the slander

I'm kinda just tired of everything that isn't part of the UC, or 00 being dog shit

IBO was bad, build series is cool in a cool robot kind of way but it's really annoying me that the writing is this piss poor for a pilot episode

[wondereads]

Personal Review (04/03/23)

Spell Bound by F. T. Lukens

Summary

Ever since his grandmother's death, Edison has been completely cut off from the magical community. With no magic of his own and no ability to sense ley lines, his only way in is through the Spell Binder, a device he built to map the ley lines. He manages to secure an apprenticeship with Antonia Hex, notoriously rebellious curse breaker, who gifts him the name Rook, but Rook's involvement in the magical world alone breaks tons of laws, and it's only a matter of time until the Consortium catches on.

Plot 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

Something about the pacing in this book felt off to me, but I think it's because the summary of this book kind of gives away the whole plot. The pitch of this book places a late, major plot development as the sort of initiating event, which isn't even slightly the case. A good half of this book is build-up to that moment, and it works just fine on its own! The tension between Antonia and Fable (and subsequent issues for Rook and Sun) is perfectly good at developing the plot on its own.

I've read Lukens' books before, namely So This Is Ever After, and they basically write romcoms that happen to benefit from the fantasy world they're set in. However, in Spell Bound, there is involvement with a bigger, more world-impacting plot, and I don't really like it that much. The conclusion feels very rushed, and Lukens' short-form and standalone style doesn't really have the space to properly address what this book is trying to do. Personally, I think this book should've been maybe a duology, even trilogy, that looks into the Consortium, its corruption, and more carefully deals with how Rook and the people around him would reform it. The ending is basically just Rook and Sun saying, "and now things are changing" which ultimately feels unsatisfying.

Characters 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

I think the characters are the strong point of this book, especially when it comes to the romance. Rook and Sun, our two protagonists, don't have a ton of development, but they're fun characters from the beginning, and their growing relationship with each other is adorable to watch. Like I said, Lukens' books are rom-coms set in fantasy worlds, and Rook and Sun have it all. A meet-cute, a coffee shop date, only one bed, on the run together after breaking tons of magical laws—ok, maybe that last one isn't a trope, but it creates a lot of great situations for them to work through together.

The most interesting character, point-blank, is Antonia. Antonia Hex is the city's premier curse breaker, but she's known for more than that. Her magical power is so extreme that she could easily take down the Consortium and even rule the world. She's also banned from taking an apprentice, for reasons Rook is set on figuring out. She's just so interesting and has this crazy backstory; I'd be content with reading a book just about her!

The other major side characters, mostly Fable and Mavis, are a little underdeveloped. They seem to have a couple personality traits and really nothing else, but there is one other thing I liked about the characters. Queerness is treated as just utterly normal in this book; Rook and Sun's relationship is only an issue because Antonia and Fable hate each other, and Sun mentions they prefer they/them pronouns in their first meeting with Rook and their gender is never brought up again.

Writing Style 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

I appreciate that Lukens decided to place this story in a modern equivalent fantasy world. One issue I had with So This Is Ever After was the extremely anachronistic language, and the modern setting pretty much solved that. It still wasn't amazing writing, but it kept that lighthearted tone going through the whole book. Rook and Sun are both very casual in their speech, which feels realistic, and this book successfully avoided the overused, annoying pop culture references that often inundate contemporary novels.

Overall 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

Overall, I just found this book good. It was a quick, light, easy read, and it's definitely a welcome reprieve from the intense fantasy I normally read. The magic is pretty fun, and I really liked the romance. The plot was a little too much for so quick a book, and some of the side characters aren't as fleshed out as I'd like, but this is definitely a great book to just relax and blow off some steam while reading. It isn't a masterpiece, but I'd still recommend it, especially if you're just looking for a little fun.

The Author

F. T. Lukens: American, also wrote In Deeper Waters and So This Is Ever After, seems to have a fondness for the number three; they have three kids, three dogs, and three cats

The Reviewer

My name is Wonderose; I try to post a review every week, and I do themed recommendations every once in a while. I take suggestions! Check out my about me post for more!

[pixyys]

At this point, I'm just used to your jokes now. Still doesn't mean that I cringe whenever I hear them /j

Indeed, I suppose I could become novice musicians along with Lippmann. Do you want to join us? It might even be cheap because of a two-in-one deal. I'll keep on learning the piano while you two can learn the violin. Maybe learn some musician pickup lines to impress Lippmann later on.

And for the Chopin? I thought about it again, but I think that it isn't considered sacrilegious. It still sounds nice afterall, and I'm pretty sure Chopin wouldn't mind. But I prefer the piano version as it sounds more clear.

Please don't give your jokes to Lippmann or anybody else. I can put up with it as I'm your brother, but other people will simply die of the cringiness of your corny jokes lmaoo /j. And afterwards I'll actually decapacitate myself because of the amount of terrible jokes I've had to hear. Pianoman don't you dare xD

An old couple, you say? Well, I don't know how to feel about that; we aren't even together. I convinced Silver to finally take a nap, but she just couldn't sleep. So in the end I had to literally hug her and stroke her hair to help her fall asleep... my heart has never pounded so quickly and loudly before.

Oh, my dear sister, how you make me laugh. I just wonder how you haven't thought up of such an easy reply, but I guess I am a genius. And do not worry, your secret is safe with me, because I definitely do not want to be strangled by those wires while being bombarded with your corny jokes.

Really? Is that what you know him for? Well, that Dazai definitely is cunning and mischievous. I'd have you know that he went head-to-head with Iceman, and Iceman even failed to assassinate him, so he isn't a 'poor guy'. And please don't try your jokes on him. He'd quite frankly punch you.

-🎹

P.S. At least you think so? Well, pray tell, what happens in those 'romance novels' that you read? And as for the date? I think it's still too early... however I think I know what Silver feels for me

ahh this is exactly why i love you <3 finee, i'll tone it down with the "cringy" jokes, at least in your presence.

see? i was right when i said you should change your name to "genius man." do you need to ask? i'm definitely down for it. finally, i'll get another chance. this time with the musician pickup lines. there's really no going back if i mess up again. i just hope i won't embarrass myself in either that or my violin learning process. thanks, genius man!

hm. by the way, do you think lippmann is "lippmann" because he has pretty-looking lips? /lmaoooo plss im cryinf asdfjkl anyway-

ooh, i'm glad it isn't some form of artistic sacrilege. i sometimes listen to orchestra performances, but you're right. having a single musical instrument-say, a piano- dedicated to a single piece will make the performance much clearer.

ha! bet! maybe i'll start saying it to someone i probably won't meet again. like the barista i buy my morning coffee from! or the newspaper guy, or the old lady walking her dog down the street-okay that may be a bit too cruel. i'll probably still say one or two things to the men you stationed near our house though. to alleviate their stress and tension for a bit./lmao the saga continues

you.. you what?? brother, you don't even hold me and stroke my hair to sleep when we were toddlers. i think i'm missing something. oooh boy, when's the wedding day? i can't wait to be an aunt. i wonder if it's gonna be a boy? or a girl? or twins! everyone should be invited. we'll have the grandest celebration ever.

aww this is why i love youu (2nd edition). seriously though. err, does this 'nakahara chuuya' has bright orange hair and uh, quite petite in stature? i bumped into him when i was on my way to see you, and he looked quite.. severe. my tongue just acted on its own, and that "axolotl joke" came out. he did give me a nasty sting eye, but i didn't get punched! i guess that's a good thing..? ahaha..

p.s. you know of her feelings?? excellent. this is all according to plan. i'm just a little worried a possible misunderstanding might breach you apart, though. you know, what if she thinks you're feeling attraction to someone else after you asked her about that "crush"? that sounds like a recipe for disaster.