#life of blood and glory

[triedkiss]

more oc dump

[swampythesweetsketch]

Ninjago have the other ninja be turned into monsters, beasts, and other worldly cratures.

Meanwhile Kai has retained all his humanity and is covertly becoming the Second Spinjitzu Master.

[maastrichtiana]

teen girl betting it all on forbidden star crossed romance with a white haired brooding bishonen prince is THE generic YA romantasy, he’s emo, he’s got dark dark secrets, he’s got daddy issues

Lyanna just didn’t know what series she was in

[jux-draws]

These two have never once given me brain worms. Nope.

[image ID: Grian screams at the sky, tears streaming down his face as he holds Scar's dead body in his arms. Both of them are bloody, and there is blood on Grian's visible hand. Cactus stand in the background as the sun sets in the desert. END ID]

[aurorawest]

2023 Reading Wrap-Up

Is it February of 2024? Yes! Am I still going to post my favorite books that I read in 2023? Also yes!

Ginn Hale's Cadeleonian Series, the second half of which I read in 2023: Champion of the Scarlet Wolf, Book Two; Master of Restless Shadows, Book One; and Master of Restless Shadows, Book Two

This series begins with Lord of the White Hell and continues with Champion of the Scarlet Wolf, then concludes with Master of Restless Shadows. Each duology follows a different set of characters, but it's a true series so you need to read them in order. It's a toss-up for me whether I preferred Champion of the Scarlet Wolf or Master of Restless Shadows. Both are fantastic duologies. I particularly loved getting Atreau's story in Master because he's sort of an unlikable playboy-esque character in the preceding books...but wait! Turns out there's more to him after all.

After Francesco by Brian Malloy

Who would think a book about living through the AIDS epidemic in NYC in the 80s would be as funny as this book is? It will also tear your heart out and stomp on it. Also takes place partly in Minneapolis (and is by a Minnesotan author).

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

Folklorist meets the Green Man and they fall in love. This is the first half of a duology, the second being Drowned Country, which I just finished today so can't included it on my 2023 wrap-up. All the dark and violent whimsy of the mythic past and the most brutal versions of fairy tales, plus a lovely romance.

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

Imagine the love child of Lost, Person of Interest, and Battlestar Galactica, but queer and with multiverse shenanigans thrown in (the author has cited Ender's Game as a huge influence). I don't want to say anything more than that, because I feel strongly that you need to go into this book knowing nothing. The twists and turns are so good, the main trio are wonderful, complicated characters, and the world is super cool.

The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley

In some ways the most heartbreaking of Pulley's novels. Also probably her most dreamy and magical. It's my least favorite of her books, but my least favorite Natasha Pulley book still ended up on my best of 2023 reading list.

The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley

This book awakened in me a latent love of Soviet queers. You'll see this book filed under sci-fi by booksellers, but it isn't really—it's historical fiction about a very real nuclear disaster in the USSR that was covered up for decades. Like all of Pulley's books, the characters are deeply complicated and flawed. The pleasure is really in reading the way she tells a story and her beautiful use of language, so even if you're not interested in Soviet nuclear disasters, I absolutely recommend you read this. Also, you'll probably be interested in Soviet nuclear disasters when you're done.

The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha Pulley

Haha, you thought The Watchmaker of Filigree Street punched you in the chest with feels? Get ready for the sequel, which will have you Curled Into A Sobbing Ball On The Floor™. Join Thaniel Steepleton, Keita Mori, and their adopted Waifish Victorian Orphan, Six, as they go to Japan, where things are weird, there are ghosts, and Thaniel and Mori still somehow don't understand what they mean to each other.

The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley

"What if France won the Napoleonic Wars because of time travelers" shouldn't have shattered me the way this book did, but of course it's a Natasha Pulley novel so it absolutely did. Missouri Kite is the most Gay Little Man™. And Joe, poor Joe. The PINING. The YEARNING. When the reveal happens, I had to go back and read prior sections of the book and good god do they hit different. Different and SADDER. This book is my favorite of Natasha Pulley's novels.

Tommy Cabot Was Here and Peter Cabot Gets Lost by Cat Sebastian

The first two books in Cat Sebastian's The Cabots series. The books are historical fiction that follow various queer men in the Cabot family. The Cabots are one of those old money, liberal New England families—think Kennedys. Both books are about Sad Gay Men™ finding love in soft, tiptoeing Cat Sebastian fashion. Peter Cabot is a road trip romance and a bit longer, so the characters have some time to breathe.

Something Wild & Wonderful by Anita Kelly

This was probably a Stucky fic at one point, right? I mean. No shade though, truly! This was my favorite romcom that I read in 2023. It was also a comp for Strangers to Husbands, haha. I love the setting—hiking the Pacific Crest Trail—and I love the main characters, Alexei and Ben. Alexei came out to his family recently and got rejected, while Ben is from a big, accepting Portuguese family. Funny, touching, and an excellent love story.

Cattle Stop by Kit Oliver

Looks like a romcom but will stab you in the heart repeatedly. Kit Oliver has a gorgeous way with words and captures the dynamic between two people who have no idea how to talk to each other so well. I'm also a sucker for farm settings.

The Sugared Game and Subtle Blood by KJ Charles (The Will Darling Adventures)

I've read almost all of KJ Charles's books at this point, but the Will Darling Adventures are my favorites (I read the first book in the series in 2022). I love the combination of romance and action/adventure. I've never met a m/m book set in the interwar period that I haven't loved. Will and Kim are wonderful characters, and sometimes I think about what other adventures they had after book three ended.

Honeytrap by Aster Glenn Gray

An FBI agent and a GRU agent get assigned to work a case together in 1959 and they fall in looooove. There's a road trip, a family dinner, and FEELS. I'm not sure I've ever had a time skip hit me in the gut so hard. Remember how I said I love Soviet queers? Here's another example.

Wranglestone and Timberdark by Darren Charlton

What if the real dystopia isn't the zombie apocalypse, but "normal" life? I don't know if I've ever read a YA series that sucker-punched me as hard as this one. I know I've never read a zombie book that sucker-punched me as hard as this one. I don't think these books have even been published in the US (only in the UK), but if you can get your hands on them, they're worth it. Really beautifully written in a style that evokes the emptiness of the great national parks of the American west.

Honorable mentions:

The Charioteer by Mary Renault

The Scottish Boy by Alex de Campi

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske

[uncanny-tranny]

There's this pull in recovery to feel behind in comparison to your peer group, and that's, of course, a valid feeling. It's understandable, but I think a lot of what we don't remember is that... they often aren't starting out in the same place you are.

I think part of the reason so many feel terrible about "being behind" is that it feels like we have to blame ourselves for being behind. If you just weren't affected by it, you'd be right where your peers are, right? It's a way to blame yourself in severe cases.

Recovery isn't about "catching up," I think. It's about pressing the play button and letting yourself live. You might never "catch up," you might never be at the "same level," but that fundamentally doesn't change that your life is worth living how you want it to.

[highflyerwings]

So I watched the first 2 eps of Blood Free last night and I’m…underwhelmed.

I love the cast. I was intrigued by the premise. But by the end of ep 2 I was like girl yikes.

Hyojoo is one of the most bland actors I’ve ever seen. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt that it’s the writing right now. Her character doesn’t feel entirely fleshed out, especially in comparison to Jihoon’s. But even Jihoon was pretty dull. The two characters are equally stoic and mysterious and very serious but together on screen it’s just so….boring. And if someone talks about how much *chemistry* those two cardboard cutouts have together one more time I’m gonna scream.

I’m going to try rewatching it tonight. I’m hoping that maybe I’ll feel differently. Maybe my mood was off yesterday I don’t know. But I was so looking forward to this series based on the cast alone, I’d be so upset if it let me down like this.

Speaking of the cast.

The big reveal of my man Choi Youngjoon had me SCREAMING at the tv. I will at least stick around for him.

[essentiamortis]

@okeancs sent a raven : [ injured ] sender brings an injured receiver home and refuses to leave their side overnight

she grinds her teeth together as she lowers herself onto the black leather couch. her skin drained of any small fragment of color. it had to be her femoral artery that got cut. at least she had enough strength to summon fire to cauterize the artery. not the best method due to the potential infections but better than becoming lunch to an angry vrykolakas. may hades and persephone both curse those blasted undead creatures.

her hand grasp for percy's. "listen to me closely -" her vision darkens, and her words fall short. "go...i'll be fine but.." she screams in pain as she foolishly tries to move her leg closer.

[wheredidalltheusersgo]

I think I accidentally made an Aleduncan AU where Alejandro is a witch and Duncan is an outlaw

[schizononagesimus]

passages from the haggadah that go fucking hard

[triedkiss]

wan xuchen art dump

[lucky-draws]

15.7.23

[rctchild]

CONTINUED

he watches her hands try to work.  her being a higher order of undead in the hierarchy the curse decides, she still has the dexterity of life;  a recognizable ease of functionality that malkhaz knows not everyone is lucky to retain.  when she stops, he can see the minute tremble of the needle.  ( had he not had his eyes replaced during the fourth war, he wouldn't have been able to. )

"i meant it as a statement of empathy,"  he offers, raising his hands.  "it's okay if you're still mourning everything."

mal trails his gaze down the tearing of her wedding dress, the dirt that sullies its end.  she's the image of grief, everything taken from her the moments within a pivotal turning point in her life.  her circumstances are akin to a lot of first-generation forsaken;  stories that mal has been told and retold, sometimes with bitter resignation, sometimes with tears.  he knows he can't relate to her — his life was cut short waiting for something to change, and ultimately, becoming undead was his change.  though he's much older than he was when he died, and understands that many of his initial feelings about his status were naïve and foolish, he still generally believes:  becoming undead was one of the best things to happen to him.

"there's not anything you can do but keep going,"  he says, in answer to her question.  "the stuff you're feeling — it burns out in due time.  i know right now it's hard, but i mean...  you do what you want, now.  what's-his-face never gave you that."

keeping felix's name out of his mouth is an intentional gesture of sensitivity, but mostly, a subtle insult to that witless legion crotch-licker that he doesn't expect mary to necessarily catch onto.  no one who whores themselves to the legion is anything more than a grovelling coward,  mal had once been told by a wise old warlock.  their legacies, their desires and intentions — the waste of worms has more value than any of it.

"take care of yourself before you worry about anduin,"  mal suggests.  "that's what i'm trying to say.  after all, y'can't really save someone else if you're already drowning."

@lichbride

[tarantula-hawk-wasp]

Also obsessed with Sun and sunshine motifs

[kichiquax-draws]

Press f to pay respects for my little fey cleric who died fighting the pope

[grapefruide]

Episode 7: The Piper

Berry is indeed insanely lucky. Perhaps his survival is a blessing from the Slaughter for his experience. After all, someone has to walk away and tell the tale...

I feel I understand the Slaughter a lot better after the Chad incident. Unsure as to whether this makes it worth it. I also feel a lot closer to the Spiral, which is comforting in a way. My own doubts of my actions, my confusion regarding the will of the Fruit God... it's almost exhilarating, to be so close to my own Fear.

It's such an honor, to be an Avatar. I envy Wilfred.

That's a part of the Slaughter, too. Even the fear of anticipation, the fear of a lack of fighting. The fear of the war, even if it if isn't near you.

The misery of war... it fascinates me.

What does he mean, that his poetry lacks soul? There is no soul. There is no soul in death. That's the point of it.

I long to hear the sound of the Piper, but for now I'll settle for MCR.

I know that anticipation, I know it in the mud and blood trapped forevermore beneath my nails.

I love the fear. I love the Fear. I love the FEAR.

I love the blood I love the pain I love the fear I long for it I long for it I want to taste his blood and taste his pain and taste his fear

I long for the taste of a weapon in my hands my heart sings for the sound of the drums the pipe is my breath the screams are my blood my mind is

not

mine