#mistborn is my favorite series ever

[boreal-wood]

Okay but if you support Scadrial please kindly DNI

I don't care what you call it, the way they study less-developed planets is colonialism and that is NOT OKAY!

They literally withhold technology and information that could save hundreds of thousands of lives on EACH PLANET so they can exploit the native people for information and supplies

Let me repeat: they keep a monopoly on life-changing information to fuel their sense of superiority over the "simple-minded natives." (This is genuine language they use. It's sickening to even think about.)

No I don't care if Allomancy is "cool" or that they're so "technologically advanced" or "giving us a better understanding of Investiture"

There are better methods of studying Investiture than invading other worlds. Besides, yall know they're weaponizing their research wherever they can right. It's not some benevolent volunteer group of scientists, it's a literal military operation

TLDR; Scadrial is a colonialist planet and yall need to stop acting like they're so perfect

[natavinsmoke06]

I have already said this but I do love The Stormligth Archive those books are something especial, but dam the Mistborn series it's just my favorite thing ever, the world, the magic system, the characters, Sanderson just makes it all come together very well, I know Era 2 isn't perfect, but I had my best time reading them, they are so fun, like magic cowboys? Facing an alien invasion by the final book? Some characters may be annoying but they build up by each book and you get to really know them, their quirks, I really feel like I know very well Wax, obviously Wayne, Steris, the lesbian gun lady, I really really like Marasi's journey through this books, they even expand on yk who and his dammed brother.

I do wish there were more fan art of this Era :b

What I'm trying to say is, yeah the Wind and Truth hype is killing me but it will be worse when Sanderson gets working on Mistborn 8

[dangermousie]

A book recommendation post

Welcome to my new love, Brandon Sanderson's standalone fantasy novel Yumi and the Nightmare Painter.

There is a world. One of endless night, surrounded by an even deeper darkness. Filled with nightmares come to life, twisted shapes that slink to windows and ease open doors, sliding across floors to look down on helpless faces.

There is another world. A bright world, so bright it burns. Filled with stacked stones that call forth miracles, raised by callused hands that tremble in their work, drained with each stone lifted, settled, lifted again.

Between these worlds two souls connect. Collide. Entwine.

A bridge. A path.

A road to both worlds changing forever.

Yumi has spent her entire life in strict obedience, granting her the power to summon the spirits that bestow vital aid upon her society—but she longs for even a single day as a normal person. Painter patrols the dark streets dreaming of being a hero—a goal that has led to nothing but heartache and isolation, leaving him always on the outside looking in. In their own ways, both of them face the world alone.

Suddenly flung together, Yumi and Painter must strive to right the wrongs in both their lives, reconciling their past and present while maintaining the precarious balance of each of their worlds. If they cannot unravel the mystery of what brought them together before it’s too late, they risk forever losing not only the bond growing between them, but the very worlds they’ve always struggled to protect.

I love it so much!

Granted, Sanderson is hands-down my favorite working fantasy author in any language I read and I have never read a novel of his I didn't love (Mistborn series? Perfection. Stand-alones Elantris and Warbreaker are everything. Stormlight Archive? Best epic fantasy series I've ever read. Etc etc etc.)

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is a lot less epic in scope than his other works and slimmer but it still has all the magic touch.

The world-building is perfect. I love Sanderson's works in large part because his world-building is exquisite, none of that tired "medieval Europe only with dragons" or "Tolkien rip-off" or w/e most fantasy goes for. And the world-building here - both Yumi's incredibly hot world with spirits and floating plants and Painter's, in eternal darkness and walking nightmares with energy provided by hion lines - are so creative and so make sense and yet do not overwhelm the narrative. Like in all of his stuff, the world is utterly alien but integrated organically, not dumped on us via giant chunks of exposition.

And the characters - I love them both and their growth separately and together and their slow, lovely love story. The plot is twisty.

It's rather more YA than a lot of his other stuff (though it's not YA per se) but honestly - I better shut up and tell you all GO READ IT!!!

[callunavulgari]

Top 25 Fics of 2023

1. whatever you want by Wildehack (tyleet) | Wolf 359 | Kepler/Jacobi | 5k

Kepler doesn't fuck him that first day, when Daniel swallows his pride like it's a hot coal he can feel boiling down to the pit of his stomach and dials the number left on the card. Heather Says: Back in 2017, Wolf 359 changed my life. I relisten to it every year. I reread fic. I sometimes write it. And THIS year, I was blessed with one of my favorites writing my favorites from Wolf 359. It's honestly exactly what I wanted out of a Wolf 359 fix it/coda.

2. god was a dog-man by @andthepeople | Teen Wolf | Derek/Stiles | 13k

“Do you have a secret teenage son?” Stiles demands, as soon as Derek opens the door. Heather Says: I did NOT watch the Teen Wolf movie this year. I did, however, relentlessly stalk reaction posts and (very select) gifsets. I also read this fantastic fic, which is now the movie in my brain because since I didn't see it, I'll never know.

3. then out of nowhere, somebody comes and hits you with an ooh la la la, ooh la la la, ooh la la la, ooh by @calciseptine | Deadpool | Peter/Wade | 49k

A man with spider-themed superpowers accidentally breaks into Wade's apartment. Heather Says: Deadpool is one of those fandoms that I'm technically a part of because I like it and I think Spiderman and Deadpool is both hilarious and hot, but it's always just on the edge of my peripherals. But sometimes Steve's fic just kind of creeps on me and demands my attention. This was my feel good fic this spring.

4. By the Laws of Magic by Lenore | The Sandman | Dream/Hob | 32k

It’s 1959, and Hob Gadling is working at a London auction house, amazing his colleagues with his uncanny knowledge of art and artifacts from the 14th century on. When he gets the assignment to catalogue a family library at a place called Fawney Rig, he looks forward to a working vacation in the country. What he finds is a house with a preternatural chill where odd disturbances happen daily, an ornate carved door with a secret clearly hidden behind it, and visions of his mysterious stranger every time he turns around. Heather Says: I honestly love this ship. The fairy tale elements combined with the very compelling idea that in another universe much like this one, Hob Gadling ends up saving Dream from his glass prison made for some truly great fiction.

5. Dawnshot Through the Heart by @sirnotappearinginthisblog | Wax&Wayne series | Wax/Wayne | WIP | 80k

Ten years ago, Wayne fled instead of letting himself get arrested for murder. He’s been an outlaw ever since, keeping one step ahead of the lawkeepers who want him dead or alive—especially Dawnshot. But his luck was bound to run out eventually, and he knows how it always ends for the Bad Guys in stories. Heather Says: I think that this is the only WIP on here but I cannot rightfully leave it off because I LOVED this fic this year. I love the Mistborn series, but I've never really sought out fic for it before. This one though, this one found me. The writing is SUPERB and I wish it was a bigger fandom because it deserves so much love, you guys. It's so so so good. I love Wax and Wayne's dynamic in the series. They're great. But also- what if they had an enemies to lovers thing going on that turned poly? WHAT IF?!

6. One Size Fits All by @entanglednow | Stranger Things | Eddie/Steve | 65k

Steve just wanted to do something nice for a friend, he doesn't mean to get Eddie's ring stuck on his finger, and it's definitely not his fault that everyone he knows is jumping to conclusions. Heather Says: This is not the last time that you will see this author or this ship on this list. I really would have thought that Steddie would have crept out of my brain right now, but NOPE. And part of that is because every couple weeks entanglednow drops an absolute BANGER of a fic that obliterates my brain for anything else.

7. you are spring by @wildehacked | Supernatural | Castiel/Dean | 20k

God makes a wish. His parents work some things out. Heather Says: I got very close to leaving this one off the list, not because it wasn't good or that it wasn't one of my top 25 but purely because I've been out of the Supernatural fandom for so many years. I mean, c'mon. I didn't watch the last FIVE seasons. However, getting to follow along wildehacked's rewatch journey on twitter was a blast from the past and then THIS lovely shining fic that they churned out lured me back in for one last nibble at this ship that took over my life for the better part of a decade. It is so incredibly amazing and since I never finished the series, I will happily go on pretending that this is how it ended.

8. Interim by starkraving | BotW/TOtK | Ganondorf/Link/Zelda | 95k

She has no throne. Girls without thrones should not have knights, but hers won’t go. Princess Zelda – the girl who killed Calamity – would love to fade into legend, but Link’s bought a house, he’s fighting off monsters, and he’s selling giant horses to strangely familiar Gerudo men. She'll never have any peace now. Heather Says: This fic. THIS FIC. Is so richly built. Is so intoxicating. It leans into found family. You spend chapter after chapter watching Zelda and Link traverse Hyrule with the hot Gerudo that they met along the way after the events of the first game. And it is so fucking compelling. Honestly, while I'm happy that they smooched, I would have been completely fine reading another 100k of just these three wandering Hyrule together, being absolute goblins. 10 out 10, will read again.

9. one hundred years past by tciddaemina | BotW/TotK | Ganondorf/Link | 38k

Link wakes up a century early. It changes everything. Heather Says: Can you tell that playing Tears of the Kingdom left me desperately thirsty for any and all Ganondorf content this summer? I'm a sucker for all sides of the poly triforce but I'll admit that Ganondorf and Link scratches that enemies to lovers itch PERFECTLY if it's done well. And this one is done well.

10. Step Right Up by entanglednow | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 3k

Steve had mostly given up on trying to meet anyone new after everything, but it's been six months and his friends had started giving him pointed nudges to get out there again. Heather Says: Told you it wouldn't be the last you saw of entanglednow. I actually think that this might be my favorite fic that they've written? Which is saying a lot because I will scream it to the rafters that any Steddie fan should read their fic. But this is FUN HOUSE MIRROR MAZE and MISTAKEN IDENTITY KISSING. Guys, I have no chill about this fic. I have no chill about Steve's hands in Eddie's hair, or the sounds that he makes, or the smell of strawberry. It is just so so good.

11. the most remarkable thing about you standing in the doorway is that it’s you by @greatunironic | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 35k

Sixteen years after the world didn't end for the last time, Max Mayfield showed up on Steve’s doorstep and said, “You gonna walk me down the aisle in May or what?” Or, it’s 2002 and Steve Harrington attends a wedding, a funeral, and a birth. Heather Says: I genuinely do not think that I have words for this one. It is one of those all encompassing fics that sucks you in and just won't spit you out again. It hurts, an ache just under the breastbone. But god, it's so beautiful.

12. Fight Night by @rlnerdgirl | Teen Wolf | Derek/Stiles | 12k

Stiles starts fighting in college. He doesn't tell anyone. Heather Says: There are three...? Yeah, three Teen Wolf fics on this list. Three. Like it's 2015 again. Like my brain broke and time went ticking all the way back to when I was ridiculously invested in these characters. But honestly? All three Teen Wolf fics on this list are incredibly therapeutic. They get to be the ending for me instead of whatever clusterfuck good ole Jeff tried to pull. This one in particular is fantastic because it's canon-divergence after SEASON one. Yes, we have Erica and Boyd. Yes, Stiles is BAMF. It's a good read.

13. strange fear i ain’t felt for years by Sister | Batman | Tim/Jason | 31k

“Can’t believe a pretty thing like you has to come begging to the Red Hood,” he says against Tim’s neck. “Thought they’d be lining up down the block for you. Thought Daddy would need to get the shotgun.” Heather Says: Oh look, another ship and fandom that I was only peripherally aware of that had me in a chokehold for a good month and a half. I don't even like DC that much.

14. Silver-Tongue by starkraving | Baldur's Gate 3 | Astarion/Karlach | 9k

Astarion fast-talks an abnormal number of enemies into killing themselves in the shadow-cursed lands and the team makes idle (then less idle) conversation about it. Heather Says: Okay, so I STILL have not finished this game. I have however very carefully consumed as much content as I can get my hands on without being completely and totally spoiled. This was the first fic that I really loved in this fandom. It's no surprise that I ship Astarion happily with everyone, but damn is he good with Karlach in this one. Their characterization is perfect.

15. A Sign of The Morning by ToEdenandBackAgain | Stranger Things | Eddie/Steve | 86k

Vecna is dead. The Upside Down is cut off from Hawkins yet again. Steve is trying to go back to normal, whatever that is. He's also trying to figure out exactly how Eddie Munson has managed to fit so easily into his life. Heather Says: Honestly? What can I say about this one? It has 19,000 kudos despite being published last June. It's on a ridiculous number of collection/rec lists. The tension is exquisite. The found family? Even better.

16. Phantom of Truth by Haiju | Danny Phantom | Maddie Fenton & Danny Fenton | 58k

Locked away in a secret government lab with Phantom as her sole object of study, nothing stands between Maddie and the truth... except, perhaps, herself. Heather Says: Oh look, another fandom that I have never ever been a part of. I saw this REALLY NEAT and angsty tiktok (tw for ghosty gore) and basically immediately was sucked into a show that I've never even watched before. The comments lead me to this fic which is perfectly gen, angsty, and honestly absolutely perfect. I cannot get over how much I loved this.

17. Manacled by senlinyu | Harry Potter | Draco/Hermione | 370k

Harry Potter is dead. In the aftermath of the war, in order to strengthen the might of the magical world, Voldemort enacts a repopulation effort. Heather Says: I did the thing. I read the incredibly dark fic that I've been avoiding since 2018. I typically steer-clear of anything that is overly bleak and I do not tiptoe into non-con waters often. But one of our groomsmen who isn't even involved with fandom read this so that his girlfriend would watch Star Wars with him and then spent a good portion of a Halloween party talking it up. So I gave it a shot. Over all, it is too bleak for me. That said, I finished it in a weekend. I loved it. I hated it. I wish I'd broken it up over a longer period of time because the emotional bleed off of it was intense.

18. Ready for Love by @idiopathicsmile | Singin in the Rain | Cosmo/Kathy/Don | 12k

Don and Kathy would move in together. They would have a dog or two and then inevitably, a small parade of adorable little brats who would call him Uncle Cosmo, and they would spend less and less time with him, not on purpose but busy with the rest of their lives, and ultimately Cosmo would learn to make his peace with it because he’d have no other choice and he would have to try to move on and not live too much in his memories. He could picture it so clearly, he figured if the songwriting gig with Monumental didn’t pan out, he could always return to the backwater circuit with a new act: The Amazing Cosmo of the Cosmos—ladies and gentlemen, he sees the future, he reads the stars, he silently pines for his best married pal and all the while tap dancing! Don and Kathy inviting him along on their honeymoon, though—that part was a surprise. Heather Says: I LOVE this movie. It is one of my biggest comfort movies. I watch it to feel happy. I watch it when I'm sad. And I have always shipped these three but NEVER read fic for it. And honestly? I'm glad I waited for a good fic to find me because this one was perfect.

19. A Series of Forgettable Events by @trensu | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 27k

Steve wanted to be a dad more than anything. Unfortunately, he was a single dude in his thirties which meant no adoption agency in the world was willing to give him a chance. Or at least no human adoption agency. Heather Says: Honestly just a delightful little jaunt in a world where Steve wants to be a dad, Eddie is a very overprotective siren, and the kids are, well. Little horrors. I love it. There's a sequel now which I am very patiently waiting to read it until I am less busy in RL.

20. the dry sand of daylight by @andthepeople | Inception | Arthur/Eames | 15k

Arthur is married to Eames for the better part of a decade. Then he wakes up. Heather Says: This fic left me ACHING for the Inception fandom circa 2010-2012. When livejournal was still a thing and the fandom community was alive and thriving. It is so achingly tender and perfect. I had forgotten how much I loved them.

21. brutalist masterpieces by @greatunironic | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 12k

Ten years on, in a town in Nova Scotia, on the edge of the Atlantic, Eddie finds Steve again, and also maybe himself. Heather Says: Maybe that's my thing this year. Achingly sweet tender pieces that leave you reeling in the aftermath. This fic is SO incredibly beautiful.

22. What Made Milwaukee Famous by synthetica | Danny Phantom | Vlad/Danny | 30k

Ten years after establishing a tenuous truce, Danny crash-lands at Vlad's Milwaukee lakehouse with a particularly nasty wound, three days recovery time, and absolutely nothing to do but talk to his long-lost archnemesis. Heather Says: I'm told that this is something of a rarepair. However, from the limited information that I have from the series I can say with full certainty that two ghostly beings locked for years as enemies growing up and meeting in the middle? Fully my thing.

23. then now and always by @raisesomehale | Teen Wolf | Derek/Stiles | 13k

Stiles is stuck. Stiles is stuck in the fucking snow in the middle of bum-fuck-nowhere at night with a broken down car three days before Christmas, and the nearest tow truck company—over fifty miles away—doesn’t open until morning. Heather Says: And here we have the promised third Teen Wolf fic, the most cathartic of the bunch. I am so so sweet on future fic particularly in this fandom with missed chances. And this one is just so syrupy sweet. It's winter! There's horses! Derek's an alpha! They smooch. Anyway, this is how I cope with a series finale that didn't happen and a movie that doesn't exist.

24. Terminus by @rcmclachlan | Loki | Loki/Mobius | 4k

"Keep me here," he begs against Mobius's lips. "You must keep me here." Heather Says: What do you mean you didn't spend all three replays of the Loki series finale weeping into a pillow? What do you mean you didn't spend the next few days trying to find the perfect coda? What do you mean that you didn't find this fic and positively expire from the sheer fucking tenderness in Mobius' voice? What do you mean? What. do you. mean? Anyway, I know I'm not supposed to have number one favorites. This list exists because I cannot condense it further than 25. But guys, this was my favorite fic this year.

25. Eye Of The Beholder by @entanglednow | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 22k

Eddie works himself up to ask Steve if he can borrow his instant camera, because the type of pictures he wants to take are…not the kind he can get developed in town. Heather Says: And to round it out, another Steddie. This one with sexy photos. The tension is killer.

[eloquentspeeches]

book recommendation tag game!

rules: recommend as many books as you like. please include genre and some basic information on it (either your words or a copy+paste synopsis). feel free to include cover art, a personal review, trigger warnings, and anything else! just don’t spoil the book!

tagged by @dekarios!!! thank you for the tag I'm usually too busy and or shy to randomly talk about things but here I am. I'm putting it all under a read more because million bajillion words

American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett

Some places are too good to be true. Under a pink moon, there is a perfect little town not found on any map. In that town, there are quiet streets lined with pretty houses, houses that conceal the strangest things. After a couple years of hard traveling, ex-cop Mona Bright inherits her long-dead mother's home in Wink, New Mexico. And the closer Mona gets to her mother's past, the more she understands that the people of Wink are very, very different ...

this is sincerely my favorite book ever. i bought it from a sci-fi only bookstore that i visited once and that closed down shortly after. it's got horror. it's got sci-fi. it's got eldritch sci-fi horror set in a small town. i re-read this book almost every year and i still find new details i missed.

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. This saga dares to ask a simple question: What if the hero of prophecy fails? Mistborn: The Final Empire — Kelsier, a brilliant thief has turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler as the mark. Kel's plan is the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into the fold. But she will have to learn to trust if she is to master powers of which she never dreamed.

i can only recommend the first triology of this series - final empire, the well of ascension and the hero of ages - since i haven't read the other books from this world. definitely worth the read, this book changed my brain chemistry when i first read it in high school.

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three half brothers in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir. Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment. Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend . . . and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne–or his life.

if you like complicated political court drama!!! then oh boy this is the book for you!!! my cousin made me read this book because complicated political court dramas are her specialty and she was not wrong. this is a banger.

gideon the ninth by tamsyn muir

The Emperor needs necromancers. The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman. Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead nonsense. Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy. Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service. Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will be become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die. Of course, some things are better left dead.

if you follow my blog at all then you know i'm like a hardcore fan of TLT. i love this book series. it's such a good read. this is one of three with a fourth on the way. please read it. pelase.

bullet train by kōtarō isaka

​Kimura’s young son is in a coma thanks to the Prince, and Kimura has tracked him onto a bullet train heading from Tokyo to Morioka to exact his revenge. But Kimura soon discovers that they are not the only dangerous passengers on board. Satoshi—the Prince—looks like an innocent schoolboy but is really a stylish and devious assassin. Risk fuels him, as does a good philosophical debate, such as questioning: Is killing really wrong? Nanao, nicknamed Ladybug, the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world,” is put on the bullet train by his boss, a mysterious young woman called Maria, to steal a suitcase full of money and get off at the first stop. The lethal duo of Tangerine and Lemon are also traveling to Morioka, and the suitcase leads others to show their hands. Why are they all on the same train, and who will make it off alive?

okay i saved bullet train for last solely because. i didn't like. the book. as much as i really wanted to like the book. BUT i really do like isaka's writing and i think reading the book and watching the movie is the way to go to really appreciate what's going on in Bullet Train. that's my personal opinion.

[cosmerelists]

Impressions I Got from Tumblr Before I Starting Reading Cosmere

I started reading the Cosmere books because of tumblr--people I followed suddenly started posting about it nonstop, and I was like, “Huh! This seems like a fun series.”

But I also got some...interesting impressions about what the stories and characters were like, based on the tumblr posts I was seeing. Here are a few things I remember thinking that I knew!

1. I thought that Kaladin was guarding a bridge.

I knew that a guy named Kaladin was part of something called Bridge 4, which was a group of men that everyone was really invested in. I just assumed that they were a company assigned to guard a bridge, and that they lived out there, and that it must be really remote and dangerous because it seemed like being a part of “Bridge 4″ was a death-sentence. 

I NEVER would have guessed what it actually was.

2. I was CONVINCED that Elend was not a main character.

I clearly remember saying to my wife, “I’ve seen posts about ALL of the main Mistborn characters but no one EVER talks about Elend. I’m pretty sure he’s not going to be a main character.” 

Going back to check the tag later, there are definitely plenty of Elend posts. I don’t know why I was so very convinced that he was a nobody, but let me tell you, I was BAFFLED that Elend just kept on being a character.

3. I thought that Dalinar was a war-crime-committing tyrant who was sexually harassing Navani...but that everyone liked him anyway.

Okay...let’s break this down. I remember seeing jovial posts about how Dalinar’s war crimes could not destroy people’s love for him. I also saw at least one post that talked about how Dalinar saw Navani as such a dangerously alluring and sexy woman even when she was just vibing. In my head, this meant that Dalinar was some kind of whiny tyrant who thought Navani was leading him on by existing while beautiful (what a jerk!), and that he also did war crimes but nobody cared. I assumed he was some sort of poor little meow meow.

I wasn’t totally wrong.

4. Someone named Adolin was a huge horse girl.

I saw that one a lot. This one was pretty accurate, although there wasn’t as much horse stuff with Adolin as I expected, based on tumblr. I thought he’d be, like, braiding his horse’s mane each and every morning or something.

5. I knew Kaladin as “classic fantasy hero whose dad still wishes he were a doctor instead, ha ha.”

I recognized Kaladin’s name immediately when I started reading the books, and I knew he was going to be the hero (honestly, there were more main characters than I expected; I thought it was just going to be Kaladin). And my impression of Kaladin based on tumblr was pretty accurate--it is true that Kaladin is a big damn hero whose dad still grumbles that he’s not a doctor instead. But my read on this was that it was, like, funny and not equal parts tragic (he actually wanted to be a doctor!) and frustrating (I want to slap Lirin whenever he starts monloguing about what a monster Kaladin is).

6. Everyone’s favorite character was some stick.

Oh man, I saw SO MANY Stick-related posts during that period. I was so hype for that stick to show up.

I was NOT disappointed.

[brongusthearcanist]

Sci-fi and Fantasy are linked in a strange way. Both deal with impossible premises and both typically have what we call "magic" but we don't normally call Sci-fi shenanigans magic, unless they are strictly spiritual. Sci-fi approaches the impossible as if it's simply not possible yet, and that this world has made a break through, allowing them to make this possible. Sci-fi also tends to spend a lot more time explaining how something works with science, or a modified version, while Fantasy explains it through the supernatural and mysticism.

Obviously no series in either category perfectly follows these rules. The cosmere explains that the supernatural is actually natural and measurable, therefore spiritualism is just another part of science. Star wars in my opinion does the opposite. It takes place in a society with future technology and all the trappings of Sci-fi, but it does it in a very fantasy way. Lightsabers are I think the best example, why would you ever need a sword when everyone else has laser guns, because cool fantasy that's why, it's a laser sword. The futuristic elements are portrayed with a mystic elements. And of course there is magic, they try to make is sciency later by explaining that the force is medicorians or whatever, but it still operates on a spiritual and mystical level, and truly isn't completely comprehensible. Which is in contrast to the Cosmere where all the mystical elements just feel like science that hasn't been explained yet.

Dune is where it gets a little weird to me. I think most people would put this in the hard Sci-fi camp, but I disagree. Yes this series is to Sci-fi what Lord of the Rings is to Fantasy, but I think there's a lot of Fantasy in there. I mean the voice? That's magic, Bene Gesseret being able to transmute substances in their body including poison? Magic. Prescience? It comes from a magic drug, made by magic worms! Yes the books do try to approach this from a very sciency way, but a lot of it just feels like magic, no matter how much Herbert tries to make it scientific. (Btw Sanderson's favorite book series other than the Wheel of Time is Dune, so you can definitely see a lot of his inspirations in this, in fact Taldain, the setting of white sands, is definitely just Cosmere Arrakis, like it even has its own version of sand trout.) There's also a shit ton of mysticism in Dune, and yes much of it is discussing the manufactured nature of religion and aspects of spirituality to control the masses, but there is also a sense that not all of it is made up, that the people in power are manipulating truth without really knowing what it is, just so they can get ahead and stay that way.

Obviously genre, especially in books are really just marketing terms designed to help find the right audience for a particular story. This is the same with YA. YA is an even less concrete genre as it requires very little. Mistborn was not originally marked as YA, it's an epic high fantasy, but after a couple years the boys at TOR figured out that it has a lot of the trappings of YA. It's fast paced, has a young strong female protagonist, a dark dystopian setting, and is written in pros that don't require an incredibly dense knowledge of vocabulary, making it easy to comprehend for all ages. It was a no-brainer for Tor to start printing a YA version(just a paperback with a different cover that is stylized in a way that is very common for YA). YA really just means a teenager could read this without feeling like it's homework. That's really it. There are a lot of people who hate YA for incredibly weird reasons. I personally am weary of YA, simply because I enjoy a slower plot with more room for nuance and sitting in the moment. YA tends to be more fast paced, which I enjoy, but it often comes at the cost of depth. There are a lot of YA books that I enjoy and a lot that I would enjoy if they were written to be a little more "boring". But some of y'all really just don't wanna read anything that is labeled as YA, and I'm positive it is just misogyny. Like y'all just don't wanna read books that are popular and "primarily" marketed towards women, and it's really, really pathetic.

I don't know how this turned into what it is, and I don't have a final point to end this on that will tie it all together. Enjoy this ADHD clusterfuck of a post where none of my points are truly taken to completion

I do not know how to end this, I just wanted to talk about it

[theinquisitxor]

December 2023 Reading Wrap Up

I read 11 books in December, and it was a great reading month to finish the year. I read 4 audiobooks, and 7 physical books.

1.The Lost Metal (Mistborn 7) by Brandon Sanderson 4/5 stars. I’m glad I read this series, and reading on audio was definitely the way to go for me. I enjoyed this last installment in the series, and I loved how this book flung the doors wide open for the Cosmere and relations to other books. Adult High Fantasy, read on audio.

2. A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows, 5/5 stars. I reread this favorite in anticipation for the sequel. This book has a lot of what I enjoy-- a character driven political fantasy romance with plenty of representation and a good dose of drama. I enjoyed my reread just about as much as the first. Adult Fantasy Romance, Queer

3.All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows, 4/5 stars. This was a good follow up adventure following our two main characters from book 1. There were some tropes/elements I didn't enjoy as much, but it was still a gripping and engaging as the first book. Adult Fantasy Romance, Queer

4. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, 5/5 stars. When people ask me "what's your favorite book?" this is the answer I give. I like to reread this every other year or so, especially around the holidays. Middle Grade fantasy

5.Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones, 3/5 stars. Despite HMC being my favorite, I've never actually read the 2 follow up books. I finally told myself I would read these before the end of the year. This was a fun enjoyable story that takes us to another part of this fantasy land that DWJ created, with new and old characters. It's not nearly on the same level as HMC, but I enjoyed reading it and getting more of the classic DWJ wit and narration. middle grade fantasy

6. House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones, 4/5 stars. Diana Wynne Jones was so clever, and that really shines through in this story. I think part of the reason why I put off reading the two sequels to HMC for years was because I never wanted the story to end and be "done". This was one of the last books DWJ ever wrote, and it really feels like saying goodbye. middle grade fantasy

7. Index, A History of the: A Bookish Adventure from Medieval Manuscripts to the Digital Age by Dennis Duncan. If you enjoy book history and diving deep into a niche topic, then I think this is a great book. It's amazing how the concept of the 'index' has existed in some form since humans began writing. Nonfiction, read on audio.

8. The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper, 4/5 stars. I reread this via the BBC Radio production, while listening to the corresponding days for each segment. I really enjoyed this production, with different voices for each characters, and background noises as well. Gave a very cinematic experience.

9. Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer, 5/5 stars. I loved this book narrated by the author herself. I loved learning more about moss, while also getting essays about the authors life, work, and natural world around us. I very much recommend this one. Nonfiction, read on audio.

10. The Blue Sword (Damar #1) by Robin McKinley, 5/5 stars. I really enjoyed my time reading this book and this was a good reminder of what makes classic fantasy so great. This novel is also proof that you can have a fully realized fantasy story with great characters, lore, and plot, and have it all under 300 pages. This is one I can see myself rereading.

11. The Hero and the Crown (Damar 2) by Robin McKinley, 4/5 stars. A good prequel to book 1 and exploration of some of the myths/stories from book 1. This is very much a Girl + Horse + Magical Sword go on an adventure and save the kingdom type story.

That's it for December! It was a strong finish to the end of the year, and pushed me over 100 books for 2023. Here's to 2024 and another good reading year! 🥂

January TBR:

A Winter's Promise (Mirror Visitor series) by Christelle Dabos + book 2?

A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft

Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard + book 2?

The Atlas Complex by Olivie Blake

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire (audio)

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

Beartown by Frederik Backman + book 2?

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (audio)

[ramblings-of-lola]

🌻

In addition to the song request, here are some books you might like! Sorry if you've read any of these before, haha.

Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson. (He's mostly known for his Big Honking Doorstopper Series now, but Warbreaker is stand-alone, and it's got some of my favorite character development ever.) It's about two princesses; the elder is betrothed to the king of a hostile nation as a peace-making gambit, but it's seen as a death sentence because of an almost-unavoidable war, so their father decides to send the younger, less valuable sister instead. Her elder sister decides to follow and try to save her, despite a lack of any skills necessary to do so. Great plot, great characters, and a very fun setting!

Ysabel, by Guy Gavriel Kay. Ed Mariner, a Canadian high schooler, is on a work trip to France with his father, when he stumbles into a love story that has been repeating since before Rome fell. In order to save a friend, he has to intervene—or she will be lost forever. (This one is a little hard to summarize, because a lot of the draw is figuring out exactly what he has stumbled into. Also, I will say that the first third or so is kind of slow, but I still enjoyed it.)

Amusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil Postman. This one is a very different rec; nonfiction, but still entertaining and very worth the time. I was assigned it in college and it really changed how I interact with media (both "content" media, as in books and shows, but also social media). It's one of the keystone books for the field of media ecology, or the study of how different kinds of media effect us. Highly recommend it!

The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame. If you haven't read this yet, man, you are in for a delightful, delightful time.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll look into them!

The only one I've heard of is Warbreaker. The only Sanderson I've tried is Mistborn but maybe I'd like a standalone more.

[emiliosandozsequence]

hi! i hope you’re well and have had a good week so far :) one of the things i associate with you/your blog is sci fi? so i hope i’m coming to the right person here (and not bothering you - if i am just ignore this ofc!!); i’ve been wanting to get into reading science fiction but have no idea where to start or even begin to look, do you have any recommendations? or favorites?

AAA YES!!! you are in the Right place 💕below are some of my fav books!! they're all different brands of scifi!!

the sparrow series -> this is my all time favorite novel; mixes science with religion flawlessly and i still notice new things every time i read it!!

the southern reach trilogy -> more mind-bendy than the sparrow and it leaves a lot unanswered, but there's something very distinctly divine about the series as well.

the locked tomb -> you've probably seen this posted around here on tumblr and for good reason: this series is so well done. mind-bendy and a very unique take on religion in scifi i think.

dune series -> been one of my favorite series since i was 17!! it's similar to the locked tomb in the way that it mixes mind-bendy aspects with science and religion.

mistborn trilogy -> i don't think most people consider this scifi, but i do; it's a fantasy scifi i think especially considering the way it ends. i went into this one knowing nothing and tbh i think that's the way to do it.

his dark materials -> this one also mixes scifi and fantasy as well as magical realism and religon. one of my favorite series ever tbh

ender's game series -> try to get this one used if you can bc the author sucks, but it's another book that mixes scifi and religion and involves a unique relationship with an alien race.

wayfarers series -> i've only read the first two books in this series (they're all companion novels i'm p sure), but i ADORED them. the second one especially. it involves found family and it reminds me of the sparrow in a lot of ways except way more lighthearted.

legend trilogy -> this is YA dystopia, but it's one of my favorite book series even to this day. i recently reread it and it literally was just as good to me as it was 10 years ago. it's a very unique dystopia too in comparison to a lot with came out at that time. cannot recommend it enough tbh.

86: eighty six -> this is a series of light novels and, admittedly, i've only read the first one and seen the anime series, but the anime is amazing and so was the first book and i own the rest, so i'm still going to recommend them bc i think about the anime all the time; involves mecha, but it's another one i think it's good to go into knowing nothing

as for where to find more books like these, honestly i just go through the fantasy/scifi section at barnes and noble and half price books and pick up whatever catches my eye!!

here are some also that are on my tbr that i've heard are good; they're a mix of adult and YA novels

the three body problem series

arrival

rendevous with rama

unwind dystology

shatter me series

the young elites trilogy

[wibben]

WIBS!! 💜

I come to thee for the ask game.

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction? 

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

🏜️ ⇢ what's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

🦴 ⇢ is there a piece of media that inspires your writing? 

☁️ ⇢ what made you choose your username?

FUKU!! ❤️

Mwah, hello hello -- it's a little funny, we've fringe known each other for months now and only just started getting to know each other in the last couple of weeks, but it's been so nice and felt so natural! We've got lost time to make up for! 💕

🍓 -- Short answer: forum roleplay!

Longer answer: I did written forum roleplay for over a collective decade. By the tail end before I "retired" from it, I'd come up with some really complex plots and character arcs for my OCs that other people just...couldn't quite fulfil the way I needed. So I'd make side characters for my characters, and side characters for those side characters, until my best RP work was really just a series of one shots of me playing by myself haha. At that point I started to realize I'd more or less graduated. It took another two years or so for me to comfortably post my fanfiction though, but I'm very glad to be here now!

🍄 -- May come as a shocker but...my favorite ship is Higunana, and my favorite headcanon is that they absolutely LOVED each other (even if only platonically) from the very start, or there was a ton of friction to overcome because they're both very similar men but with very different ways of going about their similarities. We know Higuruma can be pretty explosive, but Nanami definitely has a fuse in him too and I think Higuruma sorely tested it (but maybe he kind of liked that).

🏜️ -- Honestly, just people saying they enjoyed it haha. It's still so surreal to me that my writing is something people actually like, especially other writers whose work I really look up to. But the comments that go in depth about exactly what they enjoyed and give a sort of analysis will absolutely have me in SHAMBLES for the rest of the day at least.

🦴 -- My writing is a mosaic of a lot of different things I think. The Haunting of Hill House is a literary masterpiece and I'd give a limb to sit down with Shirley Jackson to talk about it. Brandon Sanderson is great when I'm feeling high fantasy (Mistborn is phenomenal)! But I actually draw a LOT from the band Burn The Ballroom or spoken word musician Hotel Books. Both are very different musically, but their word choices have really influenced my vocabulary and I find myself accidentally yoinking lines of lyrics for my writing from time to time lol.

☁️ -- So, my cousin won a stuffed bear from a claw machine once, and the thing was really messed up. It was missing an arm and an eye, its paws were half stitched on and sideways, and the nose was sewn on upside down. She named it Wibbensnickles (couldn't tell you where SHE got the name from) and gave him to me. Enter my online era where my favorite usernames were so basic and always taken, and I wanted a consistent cross-platform screen name. You know what was never taken ever? Wibbensnickles. So that just devolved to a more palatable "wibben" or "wibs" (with the added bonus of "wibben" sounding like a cutesy pronunciation of "ribbon").

[inventors-fair]

NPC Commentary: Notably Nameless

As much as I make a big deal out of not knowing all these references, it's honestly the things I most look forward to about these kinds of contests. Everyone bringing their own take on their favorite properties like dishes to a potluck is a delight to watch every time. Sure, some designs can be more resonant with some knowledge of the source material, but it's just as often that something that I've never even heard of before catches my eye.

Naturally there was no shortage of media from all over the spectrum this week. I am impressed just how much of variety of designs we had across the board, however. The difficulty with designing nonlegendary creatures designed to stand out is that there's often far less room to work with in making them unique. That's only amplified when you get into designing for Universes Beyond, as there's often much less to base their abilities off of than with named or prominent characters. Even still, you all performed wonderfully this week, and I think that deserves to be highlighted.

But enough of that, let's get into the meat of this.

@aethernalstars — Kandra from the Mistborn series

Well, this certainly goes about cloning in an unusual way. We've seen something somewhat similar with the most recent iteration of Lazav, but the restriction to only stealing cards the turn they hit the yard is a fun twist. That said, I'm concerned the initial payment is just way too high here. 4 mana for a 0/2 is a miserable rate, and then you need to invest at minimum 5 more mana before this actually gets to copy anything. A reduction in the numbers somewhere is probably warranted, and I would say you're better off cranking down the initial mana cost, given that the second ability doubles as protection. Also, I don't know if this is intentional or not, but given the current wording doesn't retain the ability to exile cards between transformations, its "pool" of transformations is essentially fixed the moment it decides to commit. It's an extremely interesting idea, but the current iteration unfortunately is a bit on the clunky side.

~

@bergdg — Roughs Tough from the Mistborn series

Whew, this one's an absolute house—design-wise and appearance-wise. A trampler with reasonable stats that consistently grows is already pretty scary, but a potential fight every single turn—even at instant speed—catapults this straight from "scary" to "terrifying." The ease of sacrificing an artifact varies pretty wildly from set to set, of course, but with the ever-presentness of treasure I can't imagine it would be too difficult in a limited environment. Despite not knowing the source material, I've got to say the flavor is very cool, though. Artifact sacrifice is an interesting pair with a rough-and-tumble collection of gangsters, but it also feels very natural. It's got me interested to see more of the organization to be sure.

~

@dimestoretajic — Dragon Slime from the Dragon Quest series

Aw, little guy! A pretty simple design all-around, but there's plenty of small details that catch my eye. I do like the use of red's often unused domain of ice and snow, although I'm not sure just having ice-related powers with no wintry visual theming qualifies this as being a snow creature. The classification is a little on the arbitrary side at the best of times, but that's one part that's fairly consistent. It's kind of funny that it can copy itself—an ability extremely common among Magic's various Oozes—and yet have it flavored as something different. Not questioning your decision on the flavor, just a fun parallel. It's an odd pair with firebreathing, though; that's one of the few abilities that doesn't improve with more copies. If anything the copy ability seems like it would play more like protection—if it's ever threatened, it can just make another in response.

@evscfa1 — Tonberry from the Final Fantasy series

And the award for Scariest Creature to Revive with Alesha goes to! This is an odd one, though. We haven't seen much design space explored with self-stunning yet, and this is certainly a very extreme example of it. While Sleep-Cursed Faerie was just an extremely efficient beater once it finally untapped, this one seems more likely to have opponents quaking in fear of when it finally gets to attack. I like the dynamic created by the fact that this gets to swing every turn once it sloughs off the counters. It really does feel like it's looming and slowly approaching, which I assume was the intention. The ability to choose the nastiest ability for the situation is also pretty delightful, though I do worry that the half life mode is notably more weak than the other two, while the hand attack is much stronger. While they're all reasonable if you played fair and waited four turns, there's plenty of ways to not play fair with this thing, and a full discard too early in the game is potentially ruinous. The sacrifice mode feels a bit redundant as far as your opponent is concerned, because blocking also usually loses them a creature of their choice.

@horsecrash — Nac Mac Feegle from the Discworld series

Certainly wouldn't want to see a horde of these surly fellows bearing down on me, though the faerie type could mean it's less of a horde and more of a swarm. I'm always happy to see more exploration of the design possibilities of squad, and this feels like a great fit. Besides the value that squad always brings, it allows you to hit the condition of three opponents attacked using fewer cards, which is smart. I do worry that it's a bit all-or-nothing, though. Their low toughness means that the gap between having indestructible and not is pretty gargantuan. Indestructible feels a bit out of character for monored, as well, and I think that first strike with an accompanying power budget increase could accomplish something similar. As an aside, the reminder text of melee implies a slightly different wording for abilities that scale based on how many opponents you attack. There's no reason to assume your wording wouldn't also work, but it's something to keep in mind.

~

@hypexion — Replicator Drone from the Stargate series

It does exactly what is says on the tin. Replicate on permanent spells is still largely unexplored, and while Squad fulfills more or less the same role minus some edge cases, I can understand doing it for the flavor. This one's really hard to judge in a vacuum, though. The first question is how hard it is to sacrifice two artifacts, which you have to do at least once if you want to get your mana's worth, and that largely depends on the density of artifact tokens or artifacts that want to be sacrificed. More than that, the question is if you're likely to have the tools to take advantage of a bunch of vanilla artifact creatures. Even outside of a specific limited environment, this one strikes me as a card that's absolutely dependent on other cards to synergize with it, which can be a pretty sharp turn-off.

~

@insect-glaive — Medium Blocker from Destiny 2

Well, it's definitely a blocker, no doubt about that. I assume Taken is the name of the race, but without any context on the source material I'm a bit dubious of Blocker as a creature type. Be careful with this wording, though: anti-sacrifice effects against your opponents such as Angel of Jubilation prevent permanents from being sacrificed to pay costs or cast spells, and defensive ones such as Tajuru Preserver prevent you from being forced to sacrifice permanents by your opponents. This does both, meaning that while your opponents can't crack their fetchlands, they're also completely immune to Fleshbag Marauder or similar effects. Uniquely, this also prevents opponents from having to sacrifice permanents to their own effects, which is potentially an outright benefit for them.

~

@jestingmaniac — Jabba's Hunter from the Star Wars series

We've seen a smattering of bounty counters over the years, and this fits right in. Plus, he high prominence of bounty hunters in Star Wars—including two of the main characters of the original trilogy—means I could easily see it promoted into a full archetype in a hypothetical set. In that hypothetical set, though, I'd worry that triggering on any bounty might be a bit too much for a common. You could have it grant the bounty reward alongside the counter in a similar vein to Mathas, but that might constitute an increase in complexity that would necessitate a bump to uncommon anyway. The flavor also feels just barely not quite there. The variety of bounty hunters I've seen from the series are a hugely varied group, so I think the card actually ends up being slightly too generic. A bit of flavor text could go a long way, I feel.

~

@just--a--penguin — Umbrella Waddle Dee from the Kirby series

Who gave this little guy all of this power? My understanding of the Kirby series is that the Waddle Dees are essentially just cannon fodder, so a statline as bulky as 3/3 is a bit surprising. While it's more in black's wheelhouse, green has flirted with above-rate creatures with downsides before. Granting flying is a good pick, too, as it's a form of evasion you're less likely to have a meaningful way to deal with. That said, I think this might be a bit too efficient with the downside only kicking in if it dies. Which is to say, if it never dies, which is perfectly feasible in a color like green, you've got a powerful, low-investment beater at common. Also, while this is dampened by your opponent getting to choose exactly where the counter goes, it can actually end up being a boon depending on the limited environment. It's mandatory, so your opponent is forced to make one of their creatures suddenly vulnerable to Plummet or similar cards. Touching on the flavor for a second, I imagine the flying counter is meant to signify Kirby gaining its ability, and you could reflavor it as just a creature picking up the umbrella. That said, it strikes me as a bit odd that it ends up with flying when the Dee itself only has reach. Maybe the other creature is just better at using the umbrella?

~

@mildewpyre — Rain Deer from Rain World

What on earth is going on in Rain World? Well, not on Earth, I suppose. At any rate, this curious specimen offers some pretty hefty protection to whatever wants it. It's reminiscent of the series of white and blue fliers that grant flying to something else on attack, but in a much more dramatic fashion. The vigilance combined with triggering on block is interesting too, as odds are you'll be granting the protection to a different creature on block than on attack. Given that protection, though, I do question to comically high toughness number. While I'm sure toughness matters decks appreciate it, given nothing on the board can damage it anyway, it's really only protecting from damage-based removal, which struggles to kill creatures past 5 or 6 toughness anyway. It's very fair, though. High casting cost plus low power means this needs to find something powerful to enable before it's a real offensive threat, which feels very green.

~

@misterstingyjack — Oberon's Attendant from A Midsummer Night's Dream

Here we have the only submission taken from a play, and from a true blue classic at that. Magic's no stranger to faerie courts, though, and I think that leaves this feeling a bit unfortunately generic. That's not your fault, of course—it's just that so much of Magic's faeries are taken from either the same sources as A Midsummer Night's Dream, or just directly from the play itself, that as a Universes Beyond card it doesn't have much to set itself apart. The gameplay, too, is definitely interesting and unique, but also nothing that couldn't work in existing magic settings. In particular, while we don't see them much nowadays, Dominarian faeries are primarily green and blue, and we've even recently seen a legendary faerie in those colors who deals in auras—that's Ivy, Gleeful Spellthief for reference. But enough of my bellyaching, let's dig into the meat of this card. Four faeries is quite the ask, especially on a card that does nothing to increase that number, but that's quite the reward. An almost debilitating level of tempo that pairs extremely well with both green's assortment of buffing auras as well as blue's assortment of debilitating ones. It might be a bit on the strong side as-is, but I'd be very interested to see more of it.

~

@nine-effing-hells — Chest Burster from the Alien series

Ah yes, finally, the Alien Alien. I do want to take a second to say that emerge is such a natural fit for the xenomorph's signature parasitism that I genuinely couldn't think of a better way to do it. Asking to emerge from something specific is a great evolution of the mechanic, and picking Human as a nod to one of the most iconic scenes from the first movie is great. I do think the emerge cost could stand to be a bit lower, though. While I'm not the most knowledgeable on how to balance emerge, and 5 life is undeniably a sizable chunk, humans aren't really known for their high mana values. Having to pay that much up-front for a body that's nothing impressive is a bit of a hard sell.

~

@party-in-the-ipa — Bladefish from Dungeon Meshi

First and foremost, I would advise you to be careful with hybrid costs. While it's been shown that you're allowed to bend the rules a bit, hybrid card crucially have to be something either color would reasonable be capable of doing on their own. Black fits just fine here, as they're not strangers to powerful creatures with downsides, and though flash is a bit uncommon in the color, it's hardly unheard of. Blue, on the other hand, just does not get creatures this aggressive or efficient, especially not at this low of a mana cost. Beyond that, this card's just really, really strong. 3 power that early in the game means it can trade with just about anything while simultaneously applying huge pressure on your opponent, which the downside isn't nearly enough to make up for. If it manages to connect even once, the most the death trigger can do is even the loss out, and they still have to spend a card to get rid of it. Even beyond early aggression, flash allows this to play as a surprise blocker that hits way above its weight class. It's not all bad, though. I love the life gain on death being flavored as, well, flavor. Hopefully Shock doesn't add too much of an aftertaste.

~

@real-aspen-hours — Adaptive Xenomorph from the Alien series

Great minds clearly think alike, because this is improbably the second xenomorph with emerge submitted. This one also zeroes in on the relatively unexplored design space of the characteristics of the sacrificed creature mattering, though this does it in a much less specific way. This is a bit beyond my ken, but from what I gathered, the xenomorphs supposedly emulate whatever they parasitize, which this does demonstrate well. That said, these kinds of keyword inheritance effects work best when they're able to gather keywords from multiple sources, which emerge inherently stymies by only allowing a single sacrifice. Besides the admittedly very cute interaction of converting temporary buffs into permanent counters, you're often trading a card in hand for a slightly larger body and menace. I could see that being an attractive option in some situations, but it seems a bit more finnicky than previous cards with emerge we've seen.

~

@reaperfromtheabyss — Hideous Zippleback from the How to Train Your Dragon series

Don't be mean to the poor thing, surely it can't be that bad. Although based on that ETB, they might be on the right track. This beastie would be right at home in Shadowmoor block, at least. The two abilities make for a very effective one-two punch, which according your submission is supposed to be the breath of each of its two heads. That's clever, and it's also really strong. The fact that it blankets counters across the entire board and has evasion means that as soon as summoning sickness wears off, it's essentially free to pick off the enemies piece by piece. While I get the reasoning behind allowing it to target creatures with any kind of counter—presumably to make it a bit more versatile and prevent it from being pigeonholed into strictly -1/-1 counter strategies—I'm not sure it ends up playing all that well. Principally, the most common type of counters are +1/+1 counters, which will often push creatures out of range of the damage, severely gimping the zippleback's effectiveness.

~

@snugz — Mettaur from the Mega Man series

This is about as simple as it gets, so I'm afraid I genuinely don't have much to say about it. It's functional, and as far as I can tell the stats versus cost for that effect are about right. But in a contest all about marrying design and flavor, I'm afraid I just don't get much of anything here. If anything, wouldn't an enemy that retreats behind a shield (or under a helmet, in this case) have an effect to make itself temporarily indestructible rather than a shield counter?

~

@squeezyboi — Life Model Decoy from Marvel Comics

We've seen clones that double as removal for the original before, but all of those are either more expensive to cast or more difficult to use, so this ends up feeling a bit too strong. While scrubbing legendary-ness feels appropriate for a decoy, the fact that this is best used offensively feels a bit off. Admittedly I don't know the source material, but "decoy" implies that the person is being replaced for their own safety, which lends itself more to copying your own creatures. That would also allow it to be a fair bit cheaper, as copying strictly your own creatures is a step down. But, I'm rambling. Point is, this is a really interesting take on a clone that I can see a clear flavor direction behind, but it's just not quite there in a number of aspects.

~

@stupidstupidratcreatures — Nurse Joy from the Pokémon series

There sure are a lot of Nurse Joys, huh? These kind of effects are always fascinating to me, challenging you with an extremely strict timing restriction to try and wring the maximum possible value out of them. There's surprisingly few of these effects that return to hand rather than the battlefield, too, and the hilariously specific restriction is a great nod to the source material. As far as gameplay goes, while you're unlikely to return the full six on average, I'd imagine you're still perfectly happy if this grabs back two or three. Plus, the flash means this can be leveraged both as an offensive option to recover sacrificed resources and as a defensive one to rebuild after a wipe. It's also far less likely to break the game than Second Sunrise and its sibling, which is always a plus. This was a strong contender for the winner's circle that just barely got edged out, but don't go thinking for a second that it's not great.

~

@tavi-en-astra — The Apathy from RWBY

A horrifying sight, to be sure, not least because of how effective this is at slowing the game down. That certainly fits something called "The Apathy" like a glove, though I can't say I'm particularly happy about it. The decision to give it 1 toughness is smart, just because its toughness is in practice far higher than whatever is printed on the card. The squad cost does strike me as far too low here, though. The lowest mana cost for squad we've seen so far is 2, and given how good the returns are on multiples of these, I would say 2 at minimum would be more than justified. The effect being split across multiple bodies also makes removing it with anything short of a boardwipe a pain, which is even more of an issue when the decks that would struggle against this the most are unlikely to be packing many boardwipes for fear of hitting their own guys.

~

@thetabbybadger — Treasured Nug from the Dragon Age series

As much as I want to love this adorable little guy, and believe me, I do, I think it's unfortunately just too weak. With its starting stats, you'd have to sacrifice two Foods a turn just to give it a reasonable statline, which is likely unfeasible. Also, I'm not sure if this is intentional or not, but the effect excludes any nontoken Foods like Three Bowls of Porridge, which feels like an unnecessary restriction even if the trigger was stronger. A better baseline stat spread and/or changing the trigger to give counters would help a lot. I do love the direction here, though! Tacking a bit of life onto every food sacrifice is a great way to play into what foods already do.

~

@walker-of-the-yellow-path — Imperfect Swordsmachine from Ultrakill

Blood tokens serve as a great companion for Ultrakill's bloodthirsty robots, but that also highlights a sore point of missed potential. From my knowledge of the game, these robots are quite literally fueled by blood, which presents a perfect opportunity to explore how creatures can interact with blood tokens, and simply making on one hit doesn't quite accomplish that. It's a perfectly good card, if a bit on the weak side—especially for a creature that wants to wade into combat as often as possible—but making a creature designed to fill in the gaps of the world rather than sell it feels like a bit of a lowball.

~

Thank you once again for all your entries! @spooky-bard

[lunaticbookblog]

Stormlight Archive 1-4 Reread

With book 5 coming soon, I decided to do a reread of the first four books now that I’ve read the rest of the Cosmere to see it again, fresh, with the broader context. This series really pays off on reread. In my opinion, coming back through a second time equalized my enjoyment of each novel. Not that any of them were bad on first read - individually, they are my favorite Sanderson novels to date, so saying I enjoyed one more than another is still comparing within my top 5 - however, a reread has made determining my favorite Stormlight book extremely difficult. Maybe impossible.

For myself, I stand by the reading order for Cosmere introduction. Mistborn is often the recommended starting point. At the advice of a friend, I started with Stormlight instead and am glad for it. I would not have read more Cosmere if I started with Mistborn. Well of Ascension would have been a DNF, and probably would not have picked up Stormlight. Which would be terrible, as it’s one of my favorite series ever now.

On reread, I think either Stormlight or Warbreaker is the correct place to start. Or, to read Warbreaker before Oathbringer. Oathbringer was my least favorite of the four on first read. With context from Warbreaker, it was more enjoyable. And then read Dawnshard before Rhythm of War. Edgedancer, though it is chronological before Oathbringer, can be saved for after finishing ROW.

Oathbringer might still be my least favorite of the four, if only because Dalinar’s are my least favorite flashbacks. But it has my second favorite Sanderlanche. Nothing quite hits like Way Of Kings. And where Rhythm of War was my third favorite originally, because on first read, I found Venli chapters difficult to get through. On reread her perspective was fascinating and filled with lore. Her character seems so incredibly emblematic of the themes of Stormlight, where anyone at anytime can change to be better than who they were at the start. So on reread, the ROW experience felt significantly more balanced and made me love a book I already liked. Way of Kings on first read felt slow in parts, where I was so invested in Kaladin’s story and then bored by Shallan. This was not the case on reread, where it is Shallan’s chapters dropping hints of the overarching plot set against Kaladin’s more personal journey.

Overall, Stormlight is amazing. Kaladin owns my heart. I spend almost as much time wondering who Shallan is as she does. Unclear how I’m supposed to make it until December.

[writtenonreceipts]

Hi friend! Can I ask you a book related question? So I read the Skyward series from Brandon Sanderson—those were the first of his books that I’ve read, and I loved them. I’ve wanted to read his other series for a long time, since I always hear so much about them, but I have no idea where to start. Cosmere? Stormlight? I read that they take place in the same universe, so do I need to read those series in order? If you could help me out it would be much appreciated. If not, I’m sure I can find the answer somewhere through google, but I thought I’d ask a friend first 🫶

Hey friend!! Yes! I love book questions! Haha 😄and I love Sanderson too, lol, and never get to talk about it enough. Forgive the rambling that is about to commence 😅

Skyward is honestly such a good place to start with his books tbh. He is very much a high and epic fantasy writer and that series really eases readers into his style as well. I still need finish them, lol, but I'm so glad you liked them! I've just read the first one and it was such a fun reach honestly.

As far as his other books go: The Cosmere is basically what Brandon called the magical universe he created to interconnect most of his books. (I think theres only 1 or 2 right now that aren't considered part of the Cosmere). So yeah, if you wanna choose chaos you can read any of the different series as you want in whatever order. But I do have some thoughts:

I do recommend starting with Mistborn. It is what he is best known for and what really launched his career. It's...it is a little denser, but the world building and characters and pay offs are phenomenal. It highlights a great magic system, political intrigue, overthrowing evil, and heists. Brandon describes it as his Cinderella heist novel, lol. It's the what would happen to the world if the villain had won? And highlights one man's desire to fight kill/eat the rich. The Mistborn books are considered "Era 1". He has 3 series planned set on this specific planet in the Cosmere.

Era 2 of Mistborn: The Wax and Wayne Books. A Western fantasy. And I love it. Queer characters, autistic characters, chaos, broody male mc, sarcasm and puns, marriage of convenience (thought that plot is very small. It's my favorite thing about the series though). The final book just came out last Nov. I'll spare you all the other thoughts lol. But it can technically be read on its own without needing to read Era 1, though, there are a lot of things about this series that work better when read after the og trilogy. I hold this series close to my heart. It's a lot of fun and you can tell Brandon just had fun.

Warbreaker. Handsdown love this book. I want to recommend reading it even before Mistborn as it does bridge the gap of ya to adult fantasy rather well. The magic system is different and fun too. This book has the forced marriage plot a bit stronger, political intrugue, queer rep (albeit small), and magical talking swords that want to kill you be your friend. And I love the female characters. Vivenna is my love. Hands down one of my favorite female characters ever. I don't think this book is talked about enough tbh. I could go OFF an all the things I love about it.

The Stormlight Archive. Get ready to buckle in. It is planned to be a 10 book series. Book 5 should be coming out in 2024. They are 1,300-1,500 pages long. So... yeah, long and epic but so so worth it. Like. I can't even begin to describe it. War, mental health, religious discussions, honor, depression, hope. Iconic characters. I also hold these books special to my heart. You can jump right into this one, but there are references to world hoppers on this book and the magic system is steep. So, I would recommend reading at least Mistborn. But that's just me.

>>Other Sanderson Books and thoughts: The Rhythmatist, people have mixed feelings but I liked it, which is why I bring it up. It's another ya almost adult fantasy. It's another great one to get into the way Brandon does magic systems and world building. Elantris is technically his first published. It was not my favorite. I mean...I enjoyed it but it was hard to get through. You can tell it's his first book. The premise is cool and interesting but I struggled with it. It is technically the first book of the Cosmere universe. He has a book of short stories and novellas interwoven through the Cosmere. If you can find it on it's own The Emperors Soul is great.

I'll stop. I loved this...anyways...

[caracarnn]

TAG PEOPLE YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW BETTER!

favorite color(s): black / red / gold

favorite flavor(s): chocolate / bbq / salt / caramel

favorite music: I listen to anything that sounds good tbh honestly my playlist has like nearly genre ever

favorite movie(s): The lord of the rings trilogy - can I just put those?

favorite series: the walking dead / DARK / the borgias / game of thrones but if we're talking book series? The Wheel of Time, Stormlight Archive, The Vampire Chronicles/The Mayfair Chronicles, ASOIAF, The Witcher, Mistborn (esp era 1)

last song: dead inside - younger hunger

last series: rewatch of game of thrones

last movie: underworld: evolution

currently reading: a reread of asoiaf

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[inolienkiki]

cataloguing all my new books because I love doing this

my friend was in town last week, and having somebody visit reminded me that I can just. go places and do things whenever I want

so I went to three different bookstores, and I also ordered some online "just in case"

so. new this week:

Lumberjanes 1 & 2 (ND Stevenson & friends)- I read the first one earlier this year and liked it, but was a little confused? so I got the sequel to help me out with that!

Wheel of Time 4, 5, & 6 (Robert Jordan)- I'm already this far in. What more do I have to lose?

Echo (Pam Muñoz Ryan)- A fond memory! I was asked to review an advance copy of this book when it came out in 2015. At the time I was making fast friends with the local librarian, and she ended up asking me to review a lot of books after this, including The Box and the Dragonfly, my favorite book ever! I remember liking Echo a lot, and then it got the Newbery medal so I was probably right.

Hollow Dolls (MarcyKate Connolly)- I was looking for Monstrous, another book I reviewed around that time, but found out the author is still writing... about body snatchers apparently? How could I say no?

Edgedancer, Dawnshard, & Mistborn Secret History (Brandon Sanderson)- Found some nice hardcover editions of these three Sanderson novellas I love. I know Lift's not a popular character but she's one of my favorites <3

Power of Three, Omen of the Stars, & A Vision of Shadows (Erin Hunter)- Finally got myself Warrior Cats arcs 3, 4, and 5! I've never actually read AVoS so I'm very excited about that.

Onestar's Confession (Erin Hunter)- I don't actually like Onestar and I've heard this book isn't very good, but it's the only Super Edition any of the bookstores had...

Secrets of the Clans, Code of the Clans, & both Ultimate Guides (Erin Hunter)- The first two of these are a lot nicer than I expected! The full-color illustrations and fold-out maps are very welcome, and almost make up for Featherwhisker not being in the second Ultimate Guide >:(

A Thief in ThunderClan & The Rise of Scourge (Erin Hunter)- Rise of Scourge isn't my favorite but it's waaaay prettier in color. I've been excited about its release.

The Disappearing Spoon & The Icepick Surgeon (Sam Kean)- I love both these books! But I didn't own them for some reason... so I finally got them in paperback to match my other Sam Kean books.

Chasing Vermeer & Hold Fast (Blue Balliett)- The Wright 3, also by Blue Balliett, is one of the most well-thumbed books in my library! I finally got myself a copy of Chasing Vermeer, plus Hold Fast, which I've actually never read.

Gregor the Overlander (Suzanne Collins)- I don't actually remember why I put this on my reading list, but I'm really excited to try it out!

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Jessica Townsend)- One of you on my dash is really excited about this book, and I'm ready to get into it too.

The Constant Rabbit (Jasper Fforde)- I'm going to read Thursday Next eventually and I think it's going to thoroughly absorb me, so I figured I'd try some of his other books first! This one is about anti-rabbit bigotry, apparently.

Babel: An Arcane History (R.F. Kuang)- I'd been casually waiting for this to come out in paperback so I could try it without committing too much. We'll see how I feel about it!

The Thursday Murder Club (Richard Osman)- I love mystery series, especially big or ongoing ones, so I figured I should give this a try! Weirdly enough, I know Richard Osman from having been on Taskmaster, despite him being pretty thoroughly independently famous.

Legends & Lattes (Travis Baldree)- The premise intrigued me. I normally go for epic fantasy, so I'm not sure if I'll find this fun... depends on the quality of the storytelling and the presence of a romantic subplot (or, preferably, the lack thereof.)

The Hexologists (Josiah Bancroft)- My best friend told me about this, and it looked so ridiculous I just had to try it (/pos).

Raybearer (Jordan Ifueko)- I know almost nothing about this! But it was another friend's first recommendation, and if her taste is anything to judge by, I'm going to love it.

Gideon the Ninth (Tamsyn Muir)- Also new and exciting for me. I say I like to read fantasy, but I feel a little bad that most of that rests on Brandon Sanderson. So I'm trying some new fantasy authors!

Because Internet (Gretchen McCulloch)- I used to listen to her linguistics podcast a lot- "Lingthusiasm"- so for a long time I thought her last name was spelt McCullough. I'm sure she'd find that interesting.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (V.E. Schwab)- I know V.E. Schwab has written a lot of cool-looking fantasy books, so I'm trying out a standalone from her to see whether I'd like to read more. Should be intriguing!

Watership Down (Richard Adams & friends)- This is actually a graphic novel adaptation of the original classic, which is a book I absolutely love. I got this for my grandma for Christmas, and I just couldn't resist getting my own copy!

This Is How You Lose the Time War (Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone)- I do love time travel, and anything that scratches the DARK itch will be well welcome.

In the Lives of Puppets (TJ Klune)- After reading The House on the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door, I'm sure this will be lovely. I'd been eagerly awaiting its paperback release for quite a bit!

Yeah, I don't know why I did this. I love both reading and collecting books, and sharing them with people is quite the treat <3

I hope my 3 followers and cheezbot enjoy this!