#master tieren

[tsunahimeyuki]

Managing a Divine Beast Kindergarten in the Immortal Realm

My komment (german) : nun daas war ne Süße geschichte. Nicht zu viel Dramen aber mir zusenden babys. >w<

English:

One day, Yun Zhao found himself transported to Yuming Mountain by his clan members to fulfill the marriage contract of the Mountain Spirit’s young master.

On their wedding night, Yun Zhao’s husband stood on the bed, wagging his tail energetically. Yun Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that his husband was actually a small dragon.

However, Yuming Mountain had depleted its spiritual energy, and Yun Zhao had no choice but to make a contract with a system that suddenly appeared. Together, they opened a divine beast kindergarten to earn spiritual energy.

Soon, when the various clans in the Lingxu Realm were ready to mock the Dragon Clan’s young master, they received advertisement letters delivered by blue birds: “Still struggling with mischievous divine beasts? Worried about picky eaters? Enroll your divine beast cubs in Yuming Mountain Divine Beast Kindergarten’s Beginner Class! We are here to solve all your worries. The first three registered divine beast cubs will receive a 50% discount!”

From that day forward…

System: Please help the host accumulate funds!

Yun Zhao pushed a small wooden cart to become the center of attention at the market. He tempted all the immortal families with fragrant and spicy grilled squid, as well as cheese sauce stir-fried spare ribs.

System: Please take care of the registered cubs!

Yun Zhao combed the fur of the meowing spirit cat and fed it fish snacks. He gave the immortal family’s black panther a thorough grooming.

Late at night, while nursing the young cubs, Yun Zhao looked up at the sky and sighed, “When others transmigrate, they become world-saving dragons. Why did it turn into a never-ending modern labor for me?”

Just as Yun Zhao was about to be overwhelmed by the fluffy creatures, the system made a ringing sound once again.

System: Please help the young master of the Dragon Clan regain his strength!

Yun Zhao fed the spiritual energy he earned to the little dragon and was suddenly pounced on by a silver-haired beauty landing on the bed.

Yun Zhao’s pupils trembled, “Seems like this won’t be easy!”

Ao Yu smirked triumphantly, “Of course, x2.”

Yun Zhao, a slow-witted, money-grubbing, soft and fluffy-loving “Mommy” (uke), and Ao Yu, a proud, reserved, powerful, and expensive young noble (seme)

German :

Eines Tages wurde Yun Zhao von seinen Clanmitgliedern zum Yuming-Berg transportiert, um den Heiratsvertrag des jungen Meisters des Berggeistes zu erfüllen.

In ihrer Hochzeitsnacht stand Yun Zhaos Ehemann auf dem Bett und wedelte energisch mit dem Schwanz. Yun Zhao atmete erleichtert auf, als ihm klar wurde, dass sein Mann tatsächlich ein kleiner Drache war.

Allerdings hatte der Berg Yuming seine spirituelle Energie erschöpft und Yun Zhao hatte keine andere Wahl, als einen Vertrag mit einem System abzuschließen, das plötzlich auftauchte. Gemeinsam eröffneten sie einen Kindergarten mit göttlichen Tieren, um spirituelle Energie zu sammeln.

Bald, als die verschiedenen Clans im Lingxu-Reich bereit waren, sich über den jungen Meister des Drachenclans lustig zu machen, erhielten sie Werbebriefe von blauen Vögeln: „Kämpfen Sie immer noch mit boshaften göttlichen Bestien? Besorgt über wählerische Esser? Melden Sie Ihre göttlichen Tierjungen für die Anfängerklasse des Yuming Mountain Divine Beast Kindergartens an! Wir sind hier, um alle Ihre Sorgen zu lösen. Die ersten drei registrierten göttlichen Biestjungen erhalten 50 % Rabatt!“

Von diesem Tag an ...

System: Bitte helfen Sie dem Gastgeber, Geld zu sammeln!

Yun Zhao schob einen kleinen Holzkarren in den Mittelpunkt des Marktes. Er verführte alle unsterblichen Familien mit duftenden und würzigen gegrillten Tintenfischen sowie gebratenen Spareribs mit Käsesauce.

System: Bitte kümmern Sie sich um die angemeldeten Jungtiere!

Yun Zhao kämmte das Fell der miauenden Geisterkatze und fütterte sie mit Fischsnacks. Er pflegte den schwarzen Panther der unsterblichen Familie gründlich.

Spät in der Nacht, während er die jungen Jungen säugte, schaute Yun Zhao in den Himmel und seufzte: „Wenn andere auswandern, werden sie zu weltrettenden Drachen.“ Warum wurde es für mich zu einer nie endenden modernen Arbeit?“

Gerade als Yun Zhao von den flauschigen Kreaturen überwältigt werden wollte, gab das System erneut ein klingelndes Geräusch von sich.

System: Bitte helfen Sie dem jungen Meister des Drachenclans, wieder zu Kräften zu kommen!

Yun Zhao fütterte den kleinen Drachen mit der spirituellen Energie, die er verdient hatte, und wurde plötzlich von einer silberhaarigen Schönheit angegriffen, die auf dem Bett landete.

Yun Zhaos Schüler zitterten: „Das scheint nicht einfach zu werden!“

Ao Yu grinste triumphierend. „Natürlich, x2.“

Yun Zhao, eine schlagfertige, geldgierige, sanfte und flauschig liebende „Mami“ (uke), und Ao Yu, ein stolzer, zurückhaltender, mächtiger und teurer junger Adliger (seme).

[larrikin-is-a-himbo]

[sharry-arry-odd]

"Love and loss," he said, "are like a ship and the sea. They rise together. The more we love, the more we have to lose. But the only way to avoid loss is to avoid love. And what a sad world that would be."

A Conjuring of Light, by V.E. Schwab

[itsjustlikefallingsnow]

Hogwarts Houses au with the adsom gang

Kell: Ravenclaw. Definitely. All those trinkets he collected for no other reason than he wanted to have them? Literally going against direct orders to get all of them? Always trying to think rationally and logically? Learning so much about magic? Being pessimistic? Ravenclaw.

Lila: Slytherin- my girl is the DEFINITION of ambition, like she followed a guy who had every reason to intensely dislike her on a trip she isn't sure she'll survive, entered the Essen Tasch, a whole ass tournament for the best magicians IN THE WORLD just to test her strength, holds grudges, planned to kill a ship's captain to take it as her own and overall was a Slytherin.

Rhy: Hufflepuff. Do I have to elaborate? No. Am I going to? Yes. This is the person who got kidnapped and nearly killed, and his first concern when he woke up was that his brother was hurt, AND THEN literally pardoned the people who were planning to kill him. He is explicitly stated to be extremely trusting and fully loyal to Kell, and stayed with Alucard on that ship even though he had no actual reason too. Also just generally how much he cares for his people, the b e a u t i f u l scene where he goes around with blankets, and how the trait he values in himself the most is how lovable and approachable the people see him as, all just make him the most Hufflepuffy Hufflepuff ever.

Alucard: Gryffindor, but I can't really explain it. I guess it's just how much of a natural leader he seems to be, but how much he tries to seem like part of the crew, laughing at all the jokes, teasing his crew mates, ect.. Also his reaction when Rhy stopped breathing just seems like A Gryffindor Thing.

Holland: Slytherin. So I'm gonna try to keep this unbiased even though i hate this guy with a passion (don't attack me ok i can see why you would like him but i just don't). Anyways I think Slytherin because of how intent he was on helping his city. He was willing to do just about anything for his city to prosper, and this lead eventually to him being reckless. He also held a grudge against Red London his whole life, and was actually willing to give up his body and will a SECOND time for the sake of his London, that's how ambitious he was.

Also the dynamics? I mean sorry if this is just me but I've always thought that Gryffindors and Ravenclaws would get along the worst out of all the possible combinations, while Ravenclaws and Slytherins, and Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs would get along well because they are the pessimistic and optimistic houses respectively.

EXTRA MENTIONS

Tieren: Ravenclaw

Ned: Ravenclaw, he was so eager to learn

Maxim: Gryffindor

Emira: Hufflepuff but this one is the hardest

Ojka: Gryffindor, she's loyal to Holland

Calla: Hufflepuff, she deserved so much better

Astrid/Athos: Slytherin, just like anyone on that throne

Hastra: Hufflepuff, I will never forgive V.E.Schwab

[kiras-monkey-bum-face]

V E Schwab really popped off with this one

[missbookiverse]

Abenteuerspaß für Pokémon-Fans

Meinung zum Middle Grade Fantasyroman The Accidental Apprentice (Wilderlore #1) von Amanda Foody

Mancherorts wird dieses Buch als eine Mischung aus Pokémon und How To Train Your Dragon angepriesen. Wenn ihr das mit einem Touch Zauberei, einem Gildensystem und einem Turnierplot ergänzt, habt ihr eine gute Vorstellung davon, worum es in diesem Middle Grade Roman geht. Seit der Junge Barclay seine Eltern bei dem Angriff seines Heimatdorfes durch ein Biest verloren hat, hält er sich fern von allem, was mit diesen Kreaturen zu tun hat. Stattdessen versucht er als Lehrling des Pilzfarmers mehr schlecht als recht den zahlreichen Regeln von Dullshire zu folgen. Doch als er eines Tages unfreiwillig eine innige Verbindung mit einem Biest eingeht, muss er seine Heimat hinter sich lassen und sich der Welt der Lore Keepers öffnen. Mit Hilfe neuer Freunde, die sich bestens mit wilden und gezähmten Biestern auskennen, versucht er einen Weg zu finden, das Band zu seinem Lufthund zu lösen.

Mitreißende Erkundung magischer Biester und eines originellen Magiesystems

The Accidental Apprentice ist ein rasantes Abenteuer voller Action und magischer Kreaturen, sowohl von der klassischen Sorte, z. B. Drachen, als auch innovative Neuschöpfungen wie Barclays Lufthund (ein Wolf, der sich in Wind verwandeln kann) oder Stoolips (kleine pilzartige Wesen, deren Kappen gepflückt und als narkotische Pflaster benutzt werden können). Für Pokémon-Fans wird es eine wahre Freude sein, die verschiedenen Wesen zu entdecken und mehr über ihre Aufenthaltsorte, Fähigkeiten und Klassen (von gewöhnlich bis legendär) zu lernen.

Das world building ist kreativ und magisch. Die Biester werden z. B. in Form von Tattoos auf der Haut ihrer Keeper getragen und können nach Belieben hervorkommen. Außerdem gibt es ein Turnier mit verschiedenen Prüfungen, bei denen Anwärter*innen auf eine Ausbildungsstelle bei den verschiedenen Gilden ihr Können und Wissen unter Beweis stellen müssen. Ziemlich lustig ist übrigens die Vorliebe der Autorin für wahllose deutsche Namen und Begriffe: Da gibt es Master Pilzmann, Diddlystadt, Dismaldorf, einen Silberwal und Personen namens Floriane, Erhart und Soren.

Keine kritische Beleuchtung der Mensch-Biest-Beziehung und Gary-Stu-Protagonist

Und nun zu den Mankos. Für einen Roman, der sich so intensiv mit der Beziehung zu magischen Tieren beschäftigt, wird – selbst für ein Kinderbuch – wenig hinterfragt. So essen die Charaktere unkommentiert Fleisch, bekämpfen (töten?) wilde Kreaturen und die Biester, die angelockt und gefangen werden, müssen sich ungefragt dem magischen Bindungsprozess mit den Menschen unterwerfen. Vielleicht bringt die Fortsetzung dahingehend ja einen kritischen Blick mit.

Davon abgesehen ist Barclay ein Wunderkind wie es im Buche steht. Obwohl er auf keinen Fall ein Lore Keeper sein möchte, scheint er unbegrenztes Talent für diesen Beruf mitzubringen. Überhaupt kommt sein Widerwille gegenüber dieses neuen Lebenswegs ein wenig unglaubwürdig daher. Barclay hält daran fest, dass seine Eltern, die ja von einem Biest getötet wurden, keine Zukunft für ihn gewollt hätten, in der er sich mit diesen beschäftigt. Dabei ist es natürlich mehr als offensichtlich, dass Lore Keeper seine Berufung ist. Barclays Motivation gegen diese Zukunft wird emotional nicht tief genug erforscht und wirkt dadurch zu fadenscheinig.

Fazit

Ein Buch für alle, die es lieben, sich mit magischen Kreaturen anzufreunden und neue Magiesysteme kennenzulernen. Liebevoller Lesespaß, der nicht zu sehr in die Tiefe geht.

Wilderlore: The Accidental Apprentice von Amanda Foody erschien erstmals 2021 bei Margaret K. McElderry Books in der Kategorie Children’s Fiction. Die deutsche Übersetzung von Ann Lecker erschien beim Loewe Verlag unter dem Titel WilderReich: Eine schicksalhafte Prüfung.

[thegayfromrulid]

Behind the Fic Writer: Pairings

I want to occasionally do little posts about me as a fic writer while we wait for Progressive! This is just a little snapshot into my favorite pairs to write for on AO3. 

Yujikiri

What I Like About the Dynamic: It’s the goofy one shipped with the grounded one! Also they have good chemistry together, being able to make up for what the other lacks. 

Preferred POV: First person from Kirito’s perspective; he’s very fun to write.

Favorite Tropes: Best Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Awkward Pining

Favorite Thing I’ve Written for Them: Probably my one-shot Symphony.

Kirisuna

What I Like About the Dynamic: Nerdy child helps strict child be okay with being herself and then later is head over heels for her because she could whoop his ass...what isn’t to love here? 100% the way he looks at her and is like “Yes this is a strong woman and I love every bit of her” without question. 

Preferred POV: Tough, but I think still first person Kirito here; I love writing him when he’s in love with someone...

Favorite Tropes: Established Relationship, Soulmates, Love At First Sight

Favorite Thing I’ve Written for Them: Actually one I wrote the other day called Sunflower. 

Alisuna

What I Like About the Dynamic: Very strong rivals who wind up kissing energy. Two strong people who are connected through that strength. A very capable duo who should be feared if their love makes them stronger. 

Preferred POV: First or third person Asuna. 

Favorite Tropes: Rivals to Lovers, Not Realizing They’re Dating (But They So Are), 

Favorite Thing I’ve Written for Them: Still ongoing, Priestess of Light.

Eiyuuna

What I Like About the Dynamic: Tragic lovers who deserved better trope, would (have) died for one another. They will support the other until their dying breath and are just super loyal to one another and each other’s dreams. 

Preferred POV: Third person Eiji. 

Favorite Tropes: Awkward Pining, Musical Duo, Established Relationship

Favorite Thing I’ve Written for Them: My one-shot Butterfly that I am seriously considering turning into a bigger fic. 

Tieron

What I Like About the Dynamic: Very fricking SOFT lesbians that look like a chocolate-cherry combo that aesthetically pleases me. Supportive best friends to lovers, always helping out one another. Also they’re totally a baking couple. 

Preferred POV: Third person for either of them.

Favorite Tropes: Awkward Pining, Forbidden Love, Baking, Friends to Lovers

Favorite Thing I’ve Written for Them: An older one-shot called This Won’t Be the Last. 

Sheykhan

What I Like About the Dynamic: The truest enemies to lovers ship I’ve seen and holy shit it’s canon! Two powerful beings who are probably very wild in certain settings. Physically monsters when it comes to powers but emotionally soft for each other. 

Preferred POV: Third person for either of them. 

Favorite Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Power Couple, Tough People Soft for Each Other

Favorite Thing I’ve Written for Them: I’ve only dedicated one thing soley to them, which is called Just Them. I’m also enjoying playing with a complex issue with them in Starship Centoria.

Tieren

What I Like About the Dynamic: Cherry limeade vibes are real. Soft boy meets soft girl and pines after her after heartbreak and pain filled his heart, and she’s the warmth he’s been looking for. A gentleman who appears timid but will protect her at all costs. 

Preferred POV: Third person Renly. 

Favorite Tropes: Awkward Pining, Awkward Crush, Healing Through Love, Shy Flirting

Favorite Thing I’ve Written for Them: A recent one-shot called Everfall. 

Eldrice

What I Like About the Dynamic: The perfect gentleman knight-in-shining armor feel from Eldrie combined with a “I don’t really need protecting but thank you” feel from Alice, who is too busy protecting him for him to realize she probably doesn’t need help. A master-student relationship without an awkward age gap. Also Eldrie comes across as a dramatic romantic who is dealing with Alice, who is very blunt and straightforward. 

Preferred POV: Third person Alice. 

Favorite Tropes: Knight in Shining Armor (for either let’s be real), Hopeless Romantic (Eldrie)

Favorite Thing I’ve Written for Them: So far, this ship only appears in Familiarity Within, but I hope to write more in the future!

Sugulis

What I Like About the Dynamic: Teasing character falls for easily flustered character. A girl who would crazy cheer for her girlfriend while she’s having a kendo match even though Suguha probably doesn’t want her being too loud. Rika totally teasingly feeling Suguha’s muscles. The pair also probably enjoys collectively messing with Kirito, a bonding point they enjoy a little TOO much. 

Preferred POV: Third person Suguha. 

Favorite Tropes: Teasing Flirting, Pining, Fluff and Humor

Favorite Thing I’ve Written for Them: A playful one-shot called Catch Us If You Can! was super fun to write. 

Renly/Renly’s Beloved

What I Like About the Dynamic: Very similar to the Yujikiri dynamic based off of some events in ARS. Soulmates who were inseparable. The guy fricking smiled at Renly as he died even though Renly was the reason he was dying and MAN that is some mad love right there. Respect even as I sob. 

Preferred POV: Third person Renly. 

Favorite Tropes: Soulmates, Awkward Pining, Attracted to the Other Because They’re a Literal Sunshine, Shy Flirting

Favorite Thing I’ve Written for Them: A little coffeeshop AU called The First Step. 

[hollandvosljk]

Adsom characters as John Mulaney quotes

Kell: “My vibe is like, ‘hey you could probably pour soup in my lap and I’ll apologize to you'."

Rhy: "I quit drinking cause I used to drink too much then I would black out and I would 'ruin parties'."

Alucard: "I will pepper in the fact that I am gay."

Lila: "Hey, do you want me to kill that guy for you? Because it sounds like he sucks, and I will totally kill that guy for you.”

Holland: "And I was like, 'Top 3 colleges?' I thought I'd be dead in a trunk with my hand sticking out the tail light by now."

bonus Holland:"[groans] You know, life."

Astrid + Athos Dane: "And without looking up at me, my dad just said, 'You have the moral backbone of a chocolate eclair'."

Master Tieren: "Now, we don't have the time to unpack all that."

Lenos: "I was raised Catholic. I don't know if you can tell that from everything about me."

Rhy + Kell: "My dad loved us. He just didn't care about our general happiness or self-esteem."

[melissentee]

"You can't expect me to remain clothed all the time, Master Tieren." "I suppose that would be too much to ask." Rhy tipped his head back against stones. "People assume it's just a scar from that night," he said, "which is exactly what it is, and as long as Kell remains clothed- which, let's be honest, is a much easier demand- no one will realize it's anything more."

A gathering of shadows by V.E. Schwab

[mrsxshaythamxkenway-cormac]

Herzlich Willkommen zurück im Tagebuch von Grandmaster Kenway!

Ich war leider nicht schnell genug das letzte Mal, irgendjemand hat zu lange fürs Lesen gebraucht. Dafür gibt es im ganzen Haus kein einziges Staubkorn mehr und ich konnte meine Hausstauballergie in vollen Zügen genießen, NICHT!

Meine Neugierde lässt sich aber nicht abstellen, also habe ich gewartet bis Familie Kenway sich auf den Weg zu den Tieren macht. Wer weiß, wie es dem kleinen Master Edward dort gefällt!  Leider scheinen am Abend böse Erinnerungen in Master Kenway aufzutauchen. Die Vergangenheit holt ihn immer wieder ein.

Ich wünsche viel Spaß beim Lesen!

L G MrsHEKenway

Das Tagebuch des Haytham E. Kenway - Die verlorenen Seiten Part 3 - Ohne Titel Teil61 (on Wattpad) https://www.wattpad.com/1147083743-das-tagebuch-des-haytham-e-kenway-die-verlorenen?utm_source=web&utm_medium=tumblr&utm_content=share_reading&wp_uname=Mrs_H_E_Kenway&wp_originator=GvI4hfEKDwYQ%2FYKxcyZYzB8AgrCvDUHICQJyObd%2BWCLjxQBUhYXV%2BCxl%2FL3CbZq1vUPy4KY0BG3XKPBHNlsDjSDCuUANFs63dRThxaPUpDZ50xoO7HwfqljMes9%2FBsav *** Wer konnte schon erahnen, was für Auswirkungen das Auftauchen von Mrs. Frederickson noch haben sollte. Wir beginnen unser gemeinsames Leben hier in Virginia im November 1762. Doch etwas in meinem Unterbewusstsein schürt eine Skepsis bezüglich unserer Zukunft. Es scheint, als würden wir nicht alleine die Entscheidungen treffen. Der Gedanke an das Schicksal, welches mich mit meiner Verlobten verbunden hat, rückt immer mehr in den Vordergrund! (OC / Haytham , Nordische Mythologie!) ***

[magiunific]

A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC - FANCAST - BY: MAGIUNIFIC

Hello there!

I am sure you don’t know me, but that is no issue at all.

So, I am a HUGE fan of the Shades Of Magic Trilogy, (SOM - ADSOM), that being said, I am still hyped that we are getting a movie! But the thing is, it’s being a while since V talked about this at all, and she can’t say much, I suppose. So, here I am with a fancast of what would make me happy to see in the movies (or at least in the first one).

I went through a bunch of fancasts, back to 2017, up until 2020, and I feel like I agreed with a part of them, but not completely, so I made my own fancast. I have to admit it is quite fun!

So, the characters and their actors:

Cameron Monaghan as Kell Maresh

Zendaya Coleman as Lila Bard

Keith Powers as Rhy Maresh

Cillian Murphy as Holland Vosijk

Richard Gere as Master Tieren

Naomie Harris as Emira Maresh

Idris Elba as Maxim Maresh

Avan Jogia as Alucard Emery

Dane DeHaan as Athos Dane

Natalie Dormer as Astrid Dane

Rodrigo Santoro as Osaron

Saoirse Ronan as Ojka

Talking first about Kell and Lila, I feel like Cameron Monaghan would do great because his acting is really good, he’s versatile and handsome, also he has that “no friends” face that gives me Kell vibes. Zendaya as Lila I think would work really well because she is tall and slim, she is talented, and besides that, she has that kind of sharp voice and manners that I can only see in Lila so it works just right.

Rhy was really hard to find an actor that could channel his happy face and smile, he just has this vibrant sparkly face and I think Keith Powers has that too. Cillian Murphy as Holland was something I had in my mind even before I finished the first book, years ago. When I read his description, I could see clearly in my head Cillian Murphy, he has that mad, angry but charming eyes, annoyed expressions, I had no doubt on this one.

I didn’t have one specific actor in mind for Master Tieren, but Richard Gere has this calmness to him and that is exactly what Tieren is supposed to be, therefore I think it’s a good call. Naomie Harris is one of those that most people seem to agree on, and also Idris Elba, I think that, for Maxim and Emira what matters the most is that they both need that good established King and Queen relationship.

Moving on to Alucard, it was tough, to say the least. Alucard is my favorite character in the books, so I had this perfect idea of him, long-ish brown hair, tanned skin, dark blue eyes, all that royalty goodness, but that isn’t realistic, I did look into Renan Pacheco, since he is a common fancast for Alucard, but I wanted to just put people who are actors and actresses, and since Avan Jogia has a Pirate vibe, plus his long hair, I think it would be fine, maybe not perfect, but good enough.

Now, Athos and Astrid, Dane DeHaan has this smug, but cool face, he is very white, just like Athos, and he looks like he is always annoyed so I feel good about him playing Athos. Natalie Dormer just SCREAMS Astrid to me, so it was no trouble at all, she just looks like THAT villain.

For Osaron, there are a bunch of things to be adressed, he is that kind of guy who is handsome and scary in the same way, I like Rodrigo Santoro, he seems like a good pick, also because Osaron has a charisma that somehow, in my head, reminds me of some of Rodrigo Santoro’s movies. Lastly, Ojka was not that hard, I had this vison in my mind, it didn’t make much sense, but after some  research, I see that Saoirse Ronan has this innocent face, and I just happened to wonder if she could play Ojka, maybe it is a odd choice for Ojka, but I think it fits just right.

Finally, I gave my shot at this fancast, faceclaim, kind of thing with my favorite book series, I am happy with my choices and I hope you like it as well!

[bookswithelli]

a darker shade of magic: review

synopsis:

Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

review under the cut!

stars: ★★★★☆

First of all, although I rated this book 4 stars, there were some issues with it (mainly involving representation and characterization). I rated it 4 stars because I enjoyed reading it despite its issues, but I recognize that the mediocre representation may turn others away from this book.

characters & representation

Before I begin this section of the review, I would like to say that I am not visually impaired and therefore do not have any authority on that subject. My comments on the treatment of Lila's missing eye are merely based on my own observations and what I have heard from visually impaired people on the topic.

Lila:

A cross-dressing thief and aspiring pirate with a penchant for knives, Lila Bard brings to mind the likes of Inej Ghafa from Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows and Elizabeth Swann from Pirates of the Caribbean. There were times when I really liked Lila; she can be sassy and morally questionable which is always interesting to see when well done. However, her character had a few issues that I wanted to address.

“Delilah Bard looked like a king. No...she looked like a conqueror.” pg. 289

When will fantasy authors stop romanticising conquerors and colonization?! This may be a smaller issue since aside from White London (which is villainized) there is no mention of it in the overarching plot, but this line just really bothered me. It makes me think that V.E. Schwab is a fan of adult and YA fantasy authors like Sarah J. Maas and others who write their main characters to be colonizers and romanticize it in the process. I don’t think this line was necessary at all, and I wish the second sentence had been removed or modified to something a little less problematic (e.g. she looked like a pirate/captain/etc.)

"How did you lose it...your eye?" -Master Tieren, pg. 327

It is revealed near the end of the book that Lila has been missing an eye for as long as she can remember, and she wears a glass eye as a replacement. This is all well and good, but the consequences of her impaired vision are never explored. The only reason the reader knows that Lila is missing an eye is because the author tells them. The narrative never discusses how Lila's lack of an eye affects her day to day life, and it's only brought into the story when it is needed for the plot.

It’s also worth mentioning that Lila is the only female character with a large role in this book, and no matter how “feminist” her character is, there’s not a lot of women in this book that are portrayed positively and with depth.

Rhy:

I actually really liked Rhy and I loved his relationship with Kell. I love sibling love in books and we so rarely get positive sibling relationships, so this was nice to see! It’s also really important to have queer people of color in books. However, I don’t think Rhy’s character is good bi/pan representation (I will refer to him as bi in this review for the sake of brevity, but it’s worth mentioning that neither term is mentioned so Rhy could canonically identify as either).

“He would flirt with a nicely upholstered chair, and he never takes anything seriously.” -Kell, pg. 254

As a queer girl who has identified as bisexual in the past and may in the future, this is bad bi rep 101. Schwab is perpetuating the stereotype of the “promiscuous bi”, or one who flirts and/or sleeps with everyone and everything. This is not a bad characteristic in itself, but it is harmful bi rep because that is the way every bi character is portrayed in media. It reinforces the idea that bisexual people in real life are all like this, and it also reinforces biphobes’ points of view when they say that bisexual people are more likely to cheat because they sleep with more people. This is pretty much the most common stereotype of a bisexual person, so while I doubt that Schwab intended to be harmful in her portrayal of Rhy, it shows that she did not do much research on LGBT+ rep when writing her characters. I do know that some bi people were not bothered by this; however, I believe that writers should stay away from stereotypes, especially when writing characters that are marginalized. Even though promiscuity is not an inherently bad trait, it is harmful when applied to bisexual people because it reinforces real peoples’ beliefs and affects real life bisexuals. This is especially important here because Rhy is the only narrative-confirmed LGBT+ character in the first book. It's not the worst representation I've seen, since Rhy does have a personality outside his flirtatiousness and promiscuity (in fact, it's confirmed that this is a coping mechanism for him) but it's certainly not the best, and I'm just tired of seeing bisexual people represented this way in fiction.

Kell:

I know a lot of people who didn’t like Kell very much, and that is understandable. However, I found him really compelling. It’s refreshing to see a male lead in this genre who’s not jacked and a brooding asshole whose only redeeming quality is his dick size. He’s definitely moody, but not to the point where he becomes an abusive alpha male type guy (yes, I am aware that this is a very low bar). I genuinely enjoyed his character because he’s flawed. He’s stubborn and moody but he’s incredibly caring and he genuinely wants to help people. He feels alienated from his family so he rebels and gets himself in trouble. His character is written well because he’s not perfect by any means, but he’s still likeable and you still root for him.

Holland:

Holland is what every YA love interest wishes they were. Honestly. He’s given no excuses for his actions, and yet he is still sympathetic. You understand that he is under the control of Astrid and Athos, but you also understand that all he has done for years is carry out their orders, and that changes a person. His story is heartbreaking, but that doesn’t change what he has done. He knows it, Kell knows it, Lila knows it, the reader knows it. Honestly, if he were in a YA fantasy romance, I bet Holland would be the love interest; his female “mate” would change him for the better, and he would never face the consequences of his actions. That makes his arc in this story all the more enjoyable. Holland is one of my favorite characters of all time, and not because he’s a perfect “book boyfriend” or whatever, but because his story and character are genuinely interesting and executed well.

worldbuilding

I loved the worldbuilding in this book. There was a bit of an info-dump in the beginning, but I’m willing to look past that because the world was so engaging and interesting that I forgot about the dense first chapter once I got past it. Each London has a distinct feel, and they are all almost tangible. The descriptions of each made me feel like I was in the Londons along with Kell and Lila. It seems like the system would be complicated, but Lila sums it up well:

“There’s Dull London, Kell London, Creepy London, and Dead London.” -pg. 198

After the initial info-dump, Schwab weaves information about the magic system seamlessly through the book, leaving enough mystery for the reader to wonder at what might happen in the next books, but never leaving out so much that the reader is confused. I really appreciated the rules that existed around magic. It’s draining, and Antari magic requires blood, which means there is a limit to how much you can perform at once. Magic is seen to affect the world beyond the characters and their main conflict, which I was very happy about as well. There are too many fantasy novels where the magic system has no rules and only exists to further the plot, but in this world you can see it everywhere. The politics of Red London and White London are affected by magic, even where it is not necessarily relevant to the plot. You can see small amounts of magic being performed in the streets of Red London: spells to protect from thieves, etc. Magic is normal for the people in Red London, and it is treated as such in the text.

pacing & plot

This book flew along. I’ve read it multiple times now, and every time, I can’t stop until I finish. And then I want to move along to the next book immediately. It manages to keep up a great pace and still build up to an exciting climax. Schwab’s lyrical writing is not flowery, but it draws the reader in and carries them along the story effortlessly. It’s very engaging and accessible language, which makes it a good stepping stone into adult fantasy (especially if you’re coming from YA).

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The representation that it gets praised so highly for is disappointing, but aside from that I enjoyed most of the characters and the writing was beautiful. The plot and world were engaging and made me want to read the second book immediately (even though I’m on my 3rd or 4th reread). I would recommend this book for fans of YA fantasy who want to get into adult fantasy - this book is categorized as adult, but I found it a lot easier to read than other adult fantasies. For me, this book is a reminder that you can recognize the flaws in a book and still enjoy it, so remember to stay critical, even of your favorite books :)

[larrikin-is-a-himbo]

My friend's assessment of Shades of Magic Characters based on the official art [Part II]

Astrid & Athos Dane:

Emira Maresh:

Maxim Maresh:

Master Tieren:

Ojka:

PART I

[lilasbitch]

T I E R E N S E R E N S E

���Love and loss,” he said, “are like a ship and the sea. They rise together. The more we love, the more we have to lose. But the only way to avoid loss is to avoid love. And what a sad world that would be.” ― V.E. Schwab, A Conjuring of Light @veschwab

Jeff Bridges as Master Tieren Serense, the Aven Essen

If you know the artist of this fanart, please let me know!

[ashintheairlikesnow]

6,9 & 13?

6. Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?*

Oooh, okay. Not necessarily enjoy, but I will definitely say that fandom/fanfic has made me understand pairings that made no sense to me prior, just seeing them really well written out. Like, even if I don’t become into that pairing or anything, I get to a point where I -get it-. I like fanfics for that, getting to see writers explore relationships I wouldn’t ever have thought of myself.So you know what, yes, let’s say yes, because I really enjoyed some of those fics. 

9. Most disliked character(s)? Why?

I mean, we’ve all seen my ten-point presentation on why I hate Maxim and Emira Maresh, so we’ll put those at the top of the list. Just like right up there at the top, bold marker, underlined several times, exclamation points.

Once we get past that... My main fandoms are Carry On (Rainbow Rowell’s books), Shades of Magic/Vicious & Vengeful/fuck it, all things Schwab/ACOTAR (don’t judge me, I’ll fight people on the way those books are basically a fanfic sandbox for me) and uh, Dracula (can a century-old book have a fandom? If so, I am that fandom’s vice president). 

So I dislike the main character of ACOTAR in a huge way after the second book is about halfway through. She becomes too perfect, too special, too good at everything, and the only person who matters in anyway to everyone else, and that drove me up. the. goddamn. wall. So much so that in my ACOTAR fic I literally killed her off as part of the setup because I didn’t think I could even write her at all. I has my struggles.

Also hate Tieren Serense in Shades of Magic, largely because he’s 100% just as shitty as Maxim, he’s just nicer about it. But I think he’s written in a way that makes that really hard to notice until you go back for the second or even third read, and that’s genuine writing talent, because something about him always made me uneasy but I couldn’t figure out what until I reread the books.

13. Unpopular opinion about XXX character?In Shades of Magic, this is a tough one to admit, but I honestly struggle a little with Lila. Her “I’m not like other girls” schtick wears old fast, and it doesn’t go away. She also suffers from “magically good at things it should have taken her a long time to excel at, because the plot needs her to be good at it right now”, and that... that’s rough for me, with characters. So I loved the idea of her, but reading her scenes sometimes makes my teeth grit together. That said, she was an amazing idea for a character and I WANTED to like her, so so badly.

She’s such a huge fandom favorite and I just don’t get it.

Badass knife-wielding street trash that eventually becomes the true love of a magic prince? I’m with you on that.

“I’m not like other girls/I loathe other women” - uhhhh but why

“I don’t ~do things like other people do~” okay, fine, but there’s a reason-

“I am literally so rude that the people around me cannot even imagine me saying please” - well that’s just being a shitty person - why do people enjoy that line? I will never know

“I am good at magic it took other people growing up in a world full of it years to master for literally no reason other than I need to be for plot stuff” - wait a sec“I become captain of a ship with my only experience being a few months as the ship’s thief and sort of carrying some buckets around and probably hoisting a mast or something” - … that’s not how ships work, or being captains, or or or what the fuck Lila

also you know what while I’m saying unpopular things about ADSOM - a friend of mine pointed this out, but, like, basically every female character in those books except Lila is dead, evil, or dead AND evil.

Um.

[arienheart]

❛ i know it looks like i’m making excuses. ❜ for rhylucard,

meme // @oflegendaries

the prince of arnes sighed, wishing once more that his brother hadn’t gone off to argue with master tieren once more. or whatever he was doing, leaving him unable to forget the man he had fallen so hard for three years prior. “alucard, i have guests to entertain. duties to fulfill.” he was the crown prince, and this was his party that he had spent weeks planning. luc — master emery, rhy had to remember to call him that — was just another guest.

and he would have to stay that way, despite how things had gone in his bedroom earlier.