#nona-spec

[sir-arlieosaurus-lung-struggler]

hey aspec ppl!! :> i just thought id give you a chance to rant about aspec stuff that make you happy cause i feel like the prompt to do so dosnt come up alot :> (lables, expiriences, anything!) We aspecs sometimes need some extra positivity this time of year so talk away :>

[the-uncanny-dag]

We need a mainstream post-apocalyptic story from the POV of a seasoned war criminal. Enough with the fucking teenagers already

[coelecanthheart]

On a whim I decided to google "animals with black eyes white" because, ya know, that whole discussion that Nona is a lil animal and everyone following that thread is like "uhm elephant?"

But if John had Alecto's eyes...

May I introduce you to this lil Green thing:

Zosterops atricapilla

Idk, I also think she could be a fish or a frog or something because of how many times Varun calls Nona "Green Thing" but hey if I'm wrong at least you got to see a cool bird pic lol

[phalangemedes]

CAMPAL LIT ANAL 🔥🔥🔥

To start off with, a personalised character debrief, of sorts, so the nonsense I'm about to spout stems from my known perception of them rather than just inherent batshit:

PALAMEDES SEXTUS: Tall ergo mouse faced man with the jokes and no brain shut off button. Burdened with gifted kid ego AND gifted kid guilt. Disabled even for a necromancer (not genetic turbo cancer for the nuke blast creation of thanergy but allergies, aerospace thick specs, lingering hint of the 'tism (social cues whomst, Mr that evil nun who thinks I'm a murderer is now my BEST FRIEND. Decided he was going to marry a girl because he liked that she was puzzley. His life partner is low emotive and he's never noticed.) (RE:marry Dulci the man is a glutton for a hyperfixation. 12 years and he's like 'we'll be married, Cam's my best man, I love them')). Bred for necromantic psychometry and groomed for Wardenhood (I used "groomed" because he was a literal child when they lauded his intellect as sufficient enough to egregiously test him to see if he was worthy of the title of Master Warden (spoilers, a 13 year old is a tiny baby child, no matter how cute, clever OR smug they are) This neatly slots into the "gifted kid" issues in that his parents ALLOWED this to happen, nay, encouraged it as an accolade. So I wouldn't say he was actively abused, but neither was he "cared" for, which is prime reason as to why he latched onto the only emotionally available peer AND was self sacrificial to a scary fault (re: ka-boom)

CAMILLA HECT: Tall TANK with too much inside to contain without fidget. Burdened with an inferiority complex 20 miles wide and a dunces hat of imposter syndrome. (Some of this is that The Sixth don't really respect swordhands, some of it is that in the capacity they DO respect it, she isn't ranked the most highly (RE: Not an Alexandrite. I assume Epeids? Cause she will class herself as competent and I think the Sixth aren’t stupid enough to put her in the spec ed class once she’s a Cav Prime.) Low EXTERNAL emotion, high energy, Palamedes is patently the words and she's happy with that. (As we go through HtN and NtN it reads more and more like alexithymia, more so when she just finally bursts the fuck into tears). Focuses a little too hard on being "useful", to the point and beyond of harm/self harm. Treats loyalty in a similar manner. A 0% or 100% kinda bitch. Close with her sister, but NOT her fathers, which is an interesting one because we have minimal backstory on that one, but it very much READ as a "forbidden" thing to be with Palamedes not just in the act of lyctorhood ascension but a 'They never understood' way. So her choosing to be Cavalier Primary was her choice AGAINST the wishes of other, societally and inter-familially.

ADDENDUM to Cam: She is a Carer, not in a motherly carer role, a Carer with a capital C. She cares for those with disadvantages in a MANNER I have witnessed IN the caring profession. This is MOST notable in the dynamics with Nona but she does the same with Pal. Where Pyrrha gives Nona fun dad treatment, with no less care, and Palamedes is the voice of gentle reason, consent and options, Cam is loving enforcement and active encouragement. It’s a theme. I’d like it highlit to those of you that have never had one or interacted in what is a COMPLICATED dynamic, a Carer is not a SERVITOR, they are a companion, they see you at your weakest and tackle ills with compassion. Is it a CHOSEN role.

Likewise Cam being raised female and not necromantically inclined (on planet eugenics and Your Eggs Are So Useful To Us BabyGirl) has just had humility beaten into her, but there are various places (Dr Sex coming to mind the most vividly, Pal trusting her with reconstruction of his skeleton, him trusting her opinion on things HE is looking at necromantically) where she is AS bright as him, but is not afforded the same societal perks as him as a necro.

tl;dr

Golden boy brain box who is struggling to live up to it, doing anything to be Good Enough. Held together by Cam's trust in him.

Black sheep who is struggling to perceive herself as worthy, doing anything to be Good Enough. Held together by Pal's faith in her.

Cool, we got it? ONWARD.

GENDER; PERCEPTIONS AND CHANGES:

Pre-Canaan through Canaan:

Palamedes Sextus, Master Warden of The Sixth House is a seeker of knowledge, his pronouns are forgot/to/eat (j/k.) I don't think he perceives himself as much of anything, until he's forced to. He is a man as The Master Warden and for Dulcinea, but I wonder how much of that is the "breeding program" ethos of the Sixth and how much of that is his OWN perception of himself because he's not a TRADITIONAL feeling man, even compared to other men in the canon. When I joke he's a he/him lesbian it's because he FEELS, not female, but feminine. In how he interacts with space and people, with the touchy-feeliness, with the way he expresses himself vociferous and poetically. 'Male' to him seems to be a mantle he wears above the neutrality of who he is and the femininity of his affections.

Camilla Hect, Hand of the Library, is a swordswoman and a cavalier and a hand. Cam is beautifully ungendered, but not in the same way as Palamedes is more of a... I feel like she'd be shocked to be told there's a binary? Just generally. She's practical, but butch, she's just Camilla. A she/her in the same way as a ship or a car. Not like a mother but like a deity -- and THAT is from Palamedes' perception of her. If he's a good boy, she's the Goddess he lays his altar out for. She’s not a ‘woman’ for anyone, not her house, not him. I think that’s important.

New-Rho:

I know there're alotta trans allegories here, but I'm gunna be a party pooper and say this is QUEER but not trans, not because it doesn't follow the path but because I don't think there is a Tomb binary to start with. There's a fluidity and flux IRL doesn't have (because people like their lil ticky boxes). And Pal doesn't feel different IN Cam, he feels the same. More him. He's more outwardly affectionate, he's more fussy and stroppy. He's him but Settled. I think he likes being whatever he is as Camilla. I think because he always liked Cam more.

Cam remains Cam. And I am delighted with this because Palamedes' influence within AND without is the same? I fucking love this woman, she popped out the womb like this and she's just keeping on trucking. Someone thinks she's a sex worker? Unfussed. Someone thinks she's fucking Crown? Mild distaste but that's more on the fact Corona is a biiitch. Dual daddying with Pyrrha? It's a TITLE, Cam seems to like titles. Maybe that's what it is, Camilla's self expression is a list of titles given to her by those who love her. The only one she’s picked for herself is Cavalier.

PAUL:

LEAST they/them they/them in the world. OBSESSED with them, they have the feminine energy that Palamedes carries but in Cam's body?? But the siege weapon threat of Cam?? Obsessed to get to know them more. I sense I shall kiss them on the mouth.

THEM AS CHARACTER ARCHETYPES VS "PEOPLE":

I think in part some of the issue with Palamedes and Camilla is how, on the whole, they seem to have been type cast as Male Boss and Female Minion. Because a tall dude with some authority and a quiet woman are put together and people get weird about that. (Even IRL. ‘Which one of you’s the fork?’ well firstly, she’s the knife, SECONDLY… that’s my tall glass of baby girl that speaks in a countertenor)

And this is a two fold issue:

THE FIRST: The Necromancer and Cavalier dynamic as portrayed by Muir.

It's seen as crass to dick down your cavalier (From Abigail and Magnus, through to Judith and Marta with canonical romantic refusal and LATTERLY Judith's SECONDARY canonical refusal of Coronabeth. Interestingly I don't see much shit about Isaac and Jeannemary but that's another hillock to rot on.).

But that doesn't seem to be the main issue WITHIN FANDOM or (more) people would be coming for Abigail and her lovely ottery meat shield.

Or Griddlehark.

Harrow and Gideon are lauded as the greatest romance of all time and the power dynamic there is TRULY whack. (affectionate)

Heir to the throne and indentured slave?

Necromancer made of a bajillion babies and a Base Level Not-Even-Squaddie.

Abuser and abused.

FORCED cavalier and necro?

Witness and sacrifice.

Even if you view them as a complicated sister dynamic... there are ABUNDANT issues there and a staggering co-dependancy that plays out in a sapphic lobotomy. So we have a base line of what, in the Nine Houses, classifies as a Fuckin' Ride Or Die of a relationship.

(this is without the fact that the NORM is for a baby to be specifically born for a Necromancer. Either RE:The manyfold uncles or like Babs being chosen as a zygote. Which do I have to explain how eugenics and baby-promises are worse than two people choosing each other or NAH?)

THE SECOND: People see a man and a woman and they give them preordained gender roles, which they then do some A/B/O level gymnastics to make them negatively fit into the necro and cav dynamic. It's funny because they're grey librarians who look like librarians. They look similar, they act similar but for some reason the fact Cam has tits gets some WILD hottakes.

(My favourite (said with spite and loathing) was someone asking if Cam fancied Harrow because she let Nona touch her… I.. I just??? She was letting Nona express herself in a safe way, Nona, who is a VULNERABLE ADULT with sensory issues. (yes this was reddit how did you guess))

Which.. is peculiar when you think of how we meet them, in an investigative role where they are immediately, companionably mocking each other? Where, out the gate, Cam lunges to protect Pal and as quickly as that happens he calls her back to protect her?

The Cavalier is there to protect the Necromancer. And yet he is IMMEDIATELY portrayed as a shield.

There's also an inherent, and non-canonically spoken of trust about what Pal EXPECTS of Camilla. It starts off with her with the rapier and how although adept with it, it is not her main skillset. And it's played against the bum rush way Gideon had to give in the two hander, but it's also, OBVIOUSLY, something Camilla has done forever and a day. So their roles are already non-traditional, with the basics of 'your cavalier should be your sword' cause girly pop let his barn door have two because she patently WANTED THEM.

Likewise, when hoorah boot clack salute, stick up her arse, repressed lesbo challenges them for their keys Cam is hot to go, but she waits for him to catch up. And he was erring on denial, he was erring on losing KNOWLEDGE, which is his main gain from any situation, to make sure she didn't get injured. But he puts her in that fight for HER HONOUR first, not his, not the Sixth's, Camilla Hect.

When she's injured, other than a brief moment of being a catty princess to Jody and Marta who lol DESERVED, he CHECKS Cam. He's frightened, he's fretting, he just wants her to not have been stabbed quite a lot, and PATENTLY blames himself. He is a PHYSIOLOGICALLY ADEPT necromancer and he FEARS for her injury, because of the pain not the complications of healing. It's an obvious show of how he perceives her as an extension of himself but NOT a tool.

Likewise, the only thing Pal ever did wrong and honestly, Dulci you aquatic-bint your way out of that river and give him a SLAP, was that he left her when he went to nuke Cytherea. He did it as a kindness, he didn't want her to see, he THOUGHT he did the right thing. And he didn't, and there wasn't a right thing, but oh my god dude.

He acted like a cavalier to guarantee her safety.

And I see a lot of 'oh well he did it cause he was upset about Dulci' like?? Cytherea SPOKE to them about the Avulsion trial. He had to look "Dulcinea" in the eye when she asked him to siphon Cam. Do you not think he wasn't already turbo pissed off? Hurt? Upset? Do you not think he was already mourning her, that he chose Cam over her, because he said “no”?

Which is a good segue into 'Paul is problematic'. First up, buckle up my darling little babies, spiritual cannibalism isn't exactly a fuckin' jolly holly time anyway, cause it was made by a man with the moral compass of a rabid wolverine and tits covered in biscuit crumbs.

At no point does Palamedes not feel dreadful for squatting inside Camilla. He is the (un)embodiment of a nervous friend sitting on a mostly full sofa trying to make himself as small as possible and wincing whenever he accidentally touches someone. He is there ONLY because it's what she wanted. And we know that because they discuss it, PRIVATELY, and it overheard by Nona. He also offers Cam the choice, they keep going as they are, or they do something else. But it is together, whatever they do is together. And she chooses to not suffer alone. And that some a y'all shit on that is a choice.

Harrow TBI's herself to not lose Gideon, but when two people enter into togetherness with consent it's a no?? They had a big ol’ adult chat (or 50 off screen, who knows, babygirl can’t shut up so I imagine it was more) and there’s booing and hissing.

Wah wah they're co-dependent it's not healthy, SURE, but it’s extreme circumstances, it's grimdark space heresy. Cam is a victim of torture, starvation and other such New Rho hells. Palamedes was in the purgatory of river isolation post suicide and his only hope of survival was Cam. They are the reason the other kept going. Paul is them keeping going, Paul is their promise to the other that it'll be okay, because they're there. Yes, they're co-dependent but they are each other's reason for being.

Even in the real world, when everything is subterranean, sewer level shit, you are told to find a reason to keep going. It can be a concert in a few months, or your ageing cat, it can be your mother or your tomato plants. And it's not long term, but THEY don't have long term.

And they BOTH chose. Palamedes had no promise of what would happen once he was booted back out of Babs, did he go back in Cam and risk her soul, or did he try another body? Was he already compromised by Tridentarii taint? But he was willing, if it was for her.

Likewise she was at the precipice of a wound that really needed a necromancers attention (look how BoE left Judith, like jesus colostomy christ the woman is a menace but shoving a carrier bag in her then blood letting her to refuel your stolen tesla is rough guys). It needed HER necromancers attention. And that wasn't happening. And she couldn't take not having him any more.

And they didn't go into it blind, The Sixth as a house patently had more knowledge on the melange of souls than most (via all the secrecy that was shared with BoE etcetc), and Pal had just learnt more, first hand, shoved up inside Naberius feeling their edges bleed together. And they had felt what it was to be Them before. They BOTH experienced that, like, blood-sweat and worried daddy lap aside, they both knew it would hurt her, and I have no doubt it cut Palamedes up, but it ate some of him too. 'Oh it hurt her more' my DUDE the man was already bone dust and fuck all else all that COULD be hurt WAS hurt.

THIRDLY (I realise there was not initially three points but there sure fucking is now LESSGO):

SACRIFICE. I've seen it said, repeatedly, they have an uneven power dynamic because Cam 'sacrifices' herself for him.

WELL. Let's break that down with a direct comparison.

Gideon Nav, a woman who had never been loved, but had sometimes been useful, sacrificed herself for a chance to die with the knowledge of being wanted. She knew and wanted to be eaten, absorbed, nothing more than her sword. This was seen as a rejection by Harrow for reasons even GIDEON was aware of, poor kid.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, woman who, understandably, thinks she's cursed as all fuck, refused to take the sacrifice of Another Body and in the process made Gideon think she was being rejected. I think she is less aware, but not totally unaware. And it was in desperation. And she is so young, they both are, they were scared and staring at a bone wall or forever death.

But my point is their togetherness, no matter how complete, was born of VIOLENCE and the eradication of one of them, the violence of need, of desperation to belong, to not be torn from the one consistent point in their lives : each other.

Camilla Hect saw the buckshot shrapnel of her life partner embedded in Canaan's masonry (this is an actual sacrifice, he sacrificed himself for her safety) and chose to take the red string of fate and GANK IT until she got Palamedes back. Because they had a (theoretically possible) predetermined get-out-of-jail-free plan for if something took him first. They planned to never be apart, this was one plan of many.

And Palamedes Sextus, for his part, did everything he could to keep them safe, keep her safe, to make sure, even in the end, they would be together in the safest, sanest way possible. He dredged her from death both times they were shot, he sewed her back together from within the cage of her body. He resurrected them. He was a god FOR them, so they could stay them.

Was it actually safe and sane? Compared to gutty stabs and being consumed by a IANTHE, honestly, yeah.

Was it ideal? No, but it was better than death.

They lived, together. Discussed it, chose it.

If Palamedes is Decisive Consent and Camilla is Patient Protection, Paul is a Conversation with a lil line of kisses at the bottom. They're not made from love, they're made from necessity, but they are born BECAUSE of love, gentility. The difference between rabid hunger after suffering food scarcity and spending 14 hours cooking a meal for someone you love. They are both acts of consumption, but the tone is so vastly different.

✨anyway yeah hi I fucking love Cam and Pal and this is the hill I've chosen to climb and repeatedly die on✨

(I'd like to postface this with I love ALL these characters, I slag them off with the love of literary analysis, and none of them ever did anything wrong they are my tiny angel baby war crimes whom i wub them a normal amount.

...And I'm not getting the books out to quote shit so you're gunna have to embrace the Vibes.<3)

(shout out to @grievingbovine this is (partially) their fault *heart hands*)

[bookwyrminspiration]

heyyy 3 4 5!!

What were your top five books of the year?

I've shared my 5 and 4.5 star books, so here's my 4 stars (excluding rereads) in no particular order!

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Gideon + Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin

Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

I haven't been going into detail about these lists because of the length, but just so y'all know if you want more info about any of them all you gotta do is ask :)

Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

I did!! I'm very eager to continue Moniquill Blackgoose's debut series, since it was so well done (one of my 3 new five stars for the year).

Also, I've heard Ursula Le Guin's name a bunch, but this was the first year I actually read any of her work, and I'm curious to read more. This is partly because one of my favorite professors was friends with her, so that's definitely carried over

What genre did you read the most of?

This is going to surprise absolutely nobody, but fantasy. It's my bread and butter I'm afraid. You could more broadly say Speculative Fiction, since there's some sci-fi in there and other spec fic stuff, but most of it is fantasy.

A handful of classics for classes as well.

[commander-gloryforge]

i havent played on nona for a while because im in the middle of PoF right now and i cannot for the life of me survive on scourge. usually with my story playthroughs i like to use the elite spec of the current expansion but god i dont know how to play this class??? i just cant do it. nothing dies except for me. im too stupid.

[pinespittinink]

Hi! I'm a novice writer who is looking to improve. I recently saw your post about how writers need to read published books to hone their writing skills, and I was just wondering if you had any recommendations for books/authors that are very strong in their craftsmanship to read and study? 

I know I should be reading books similar to the stories I want to write, but I haven't finished a published book in years because of work and school. I'm not even sure I know what I like anymore, and I think that's evident in my writing because I can't commit to a single story idea. At this point, I don't know where to start but I know I want to get back into reading by starting with a book I can learn from.

Sorry if this seems like a silly ask, please don't feel obligated to respond. Have a good day!

Hi there! Welcome, this isn’t a silly question at all. If anything I was musing on it because everyone has different taste, so I wasn’t sure how to answer exactly, but I’ll just list some examples I can think of that I���ve really enjoyed! These all fall under the sff genre for the most part, as that’s my jam. Though I will say, for a craft perspective, Stephen King’s On Writing is really excellent.

Insofar as authors i can think of immediately who really have their craft and voice down pat, ones who come to mind are Katherine Arden, Ava Reid, Madeline Miller, Erin Morgenstern, Tamsyn Muir, and RF Kuang. All of these authors really decidedly know what they’re doing with the craft, at least in my opinion, and the results are extraordinary. I’m currently reading The Warm Hands of Ghosts, Katherine Arden’s most recent adult book since the Winternight Trilogy, and the research she put into the setting of WW1 is so evident throughout it, especially in the voice and colloquialisms. She also did a ton of research for the Winternight books, which is historical fantasy at its finest, while creating an authentic old fairytale feeling

Madeline Miller is another with excellent command of voice, the queen of Greek retellings with Circe and The Song of Achilles, which are really tremendous character studies. Ava Reid I personally adore for the nuance of her characters—Juniper & Thorn and The Wolf & the Woodsman feature tremendously human and flawed protagonists—their language seeps through their settings, their metaphors are divine, and A Study in Drowning, her YA debut, is thoroughly saturated with all its core themes.

Erin Morgenstern, of The Night Circus and The Starless Sea, is known for her prose and atmosphere, a prime Vibes™️ writer. The Starless Sea is a more experimental novel, though both of her books play with disjointed timelines and perspectives, which is fascinating; The Starless Sea concerning itself with storytelling specifically.

Tamsyn Muir, the author of The Locked Tomb series, has such a handle on her characters and plot that it’s actually insane. Talk about a masterclass in writing a large cast with defined personalities. The difference in voice between Gideon, Harrow, and Nona, is unbelievably fascinating, just for how starkly different the headspaces of these characters are compared to each other. The layering and reread value is immense.

RF Kuang is a chameleon writer, who changes her style to match the genre she’s writing (grimdark historical fantasy, dark academia historical fantasy, contemporary satire-turned-thriller). Babel feels like her magnum opus, a modern day classic that I cannot praise highly enough. A slow start, but halfway through shit hits the fan, and it does not stop from there.

Shout outs also to: Simon Jimenez with The Spear Cuts Through Water, epic fantasy that uses first, second, and third person, and is a miracle for it. A masterclass of storytelling. Roshani Chokshi with The Last Tale of the Flower Bride, which might as well be evil toxic sapphic adult Bridge to Terebithia, dripping with decadence. Emily Habeck with Shark Heart, a contemporary spec fic novel that studies grief and caring for loved ones through a lens of terminal illness in the guise of a genetic disorder that turns people into animals; it plays around with script structure sometimes, and made me sob. Cormac McCarthy with The Road; bleak and dismal and post-apocalyptic, and nameless man and boy, nearly poetic. Camilla Andrew @aninkwellofnectar with When the Stars Alight, a romantic fantasy that positively teems with lush intentional language and is also a fascinating look at third person omniscient.

For classics: A Wrinkle in Time, the Lord of the Rings, Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein, Lord of the Flies, The Great Gatsby, Lolita.

I don’t think you can go wrong with any of these books or authors, though at the end of the day, there’s something to be learned from any book you read, whether it’s a good lesson or something to be avoided. I’m also down to try to give other recs, if you’re looking for anything specific!

[specialagentartemis]

locked tomb for ask game!

For the a-spec headcanons ask game.

CAMILLA HECT my love. My best girl. Camilla is aroace and is watching everyone else like [Palamedes mooning over a girl] [Gideon mooning over the same girl] [Gideon and Harrow having What Ever is going on between them] and is just like. There is so much nonsense going on here.

And then the murders start so like. You Know.

And THEN she’s hanging out with Coronabeth and Judith and there’s no escape.

But god I love Camilla so much. I’m still only a few chapters into Nona the Ninth so no spoilers about that but Pal refusing to use Camilla’s body to write bad erotica? I rest my case.

Unrelatedly the line from GtN where Gideon watches and thinks “Camilla fought like a grease fire” lives in my mind rent-free.

[dammit-tazmuir]

It's also coming from a Pyrrha who knew Wake died with a baby that Pyrrha believed for two decades was hers.

Hers or G1deon's, I guess, but honestly? G1deon was "legendarily unamorous", and coupled with Wake's "later I kissed him before I knew what you were", I personally get the impression G1deon was aroace-spec of a recipro-variety, where the sheer intensity of Wake's attraction and confidence with which she acted like they were already intimate sparked something in him. (Even then, I have to wonder if he might have been more chaste than Pyrrha?) Point is though, from Pyrrha's perspective, there'd be a solid case to see any conceived kid as still hers regardless of who was fronting, even if the body sharing wasn't already enough to nullify any distinction.

Pyrrha spent nineteen years grieving a child she thought was hers only to find out the kid was alive (and now isn't, but kind of is, but it's complicated) but not hers, but she's still Wake's child and that still means something. And also, far more than Pyrrha realized, this kid is the thing Wake died for. The thing she and G1deon were ordered to kill Wake for. The Bomb with which she'd wanted to damn near literally rig the universe to explode, that she was so determined to procure she grew it with her own body for nine grueling months. Gideon is the single most Landmine People thing Wake ever did incarnate.

And then when Pyrrha does meet her (but she's not who she thought, but also not as dead as she thought, but also holy shit she's WHAT now? and JOHN'S?) they get all of a few minutes to actually talk as they're trying not to die (again for real this time, or maybe worse in the River), and THEN, for all Pyrrha knows, she might have lost her AGAIN, IMMEDIATELY. And she spends six months "playing mother and father" to a kid who does not look like Wake and is not the young woman she so briefly met but may or may not have part of the same soul? And it turns out she doesn't (unless), and she loves Nona as Nona even when she grows to understand she's Alecto, but Gideon is still around and once again sporting that fiery red hair.

AND FROM GIDEON'S PERSPECTIVE...

:/ Some dead chick who apparently could hijack her necro's body used that to bang her mom (who was not only apparently a huge dick but managed to betray Gideon's trust beyond anything she could have ever imagined despite having been dead for all but one day of Gideon's entire life) and for some reason thinks that gives her any kind of connection to Gideon. Like, okay??? Even her mom didn't see her as a daughter, why the fuck is this bitch trying to all of a sudden? Plus she just got one new parent and frankly he kinda sucks but he's God and he actually makes her feel special and important. At least he didn't know she existed! Pyrrha can't say the same! Hell, Pyrrha basically killed Gideon once already (or might literally have but ya know, Jesus). And she wants to, what, just be buddy-buddy now? Because she had the hots for Gideon's mom? Shut the fuck up.

As we the audience sit recognizing how insanely good and healing for each other they could be if they really got the chance and not knowing for sure if they ever will. I hate it here.

the miscommunication between Pyrrha and Gideon is killing me. when Pyrrha brings up Wake, she is saying "your mother was important to me, I wanted to be someone important to you too. I still do". but Wake is a sore spot for Gideon! the very first thing we learn about her is that she loves her mother, she goes down to talk to her bones one last time. Gideon survived the Ninth believing that at least her mother loved her

and then she is proven wrong! Wake had her just to kill her, didn't even name her, instead calling her Bomb! she is mourning the idea of a mother and every time Pyrrha brings up fucking Wake, an awkward way to show she cares, it's just another reminder that her mother never loved her. I need to hug her so bad

[c0ffeewitch]

@batmanisagatewaydrug thanks for the cool bingo! This is my progress so far! Im reading Harrow and Nona the Ninth next so I may just put one in fantasy and one in horror, and then my 20th century spec fic pick is Dune.

[goldenwanderer]

Decided to answer all the asks from this post. Full list of what I read this year coming soon.

How many books did you read this year?

125.

Did you reread anything? What?

Yes. 17 of the 125 were re-reads. Most were from series I haven't reread in many years (like Wheel of Time and Green Rider).

What were your top five books of the year?

Oh god it's hard to pick just 5 out of 125, especially when your preferred genre(s) tend to come in series. But, in no particular order:

The Outside by Ada Hoffmann

Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman

Even Though I Knew The End by C.L. Polk

Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

Finally got around to reading some of N.K. Jemisin's work, and I completely understand the hype. I look forward to reading more from her next year.

What genre did you read the most of?

Unsurprisingly, fantasy. The two tracking apps I use have different numbers - Storygraph has me at 76, while Fable has me at 94 - but either way, there's no question fantasy is my most-read genre.

Second place goes to science fiction, at 32/45. I'm actually quite new to the genre (in literature at least), but I've been enjoying it immensely so far.

Honorable mention to the LGBTQIA+ category. The majority of my reading choices, across genres, feature queer characters or themes (predominantly WLW or a-spec).

Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?

Nothing in particular, though there are a few books that have been on my shelves for years which I need to get around to at some point.

What was your average Goodreads rating? Does it seem accurate?

I don't use Goodreads, and I dislike rating/reviewing books. However, I do have an average star rating of 3.9 out of 5 on Fable. Which tracks.

Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones?

I kept exceeding my yearly goal - I started low, since I only read 30 books last year, and had to keep raising the bar every few months. I struggled a bit at the end to get to 125, thanks to a hyperfixation pulling me toward fanfiction, but I just managed to get there.

I also took part in several reading challenges on Storygraph, mostly during the spring and summer.

Did you get into any new genres?

Thanks to aforementioned reading challenges, I dabbled in poetry, literary fiction, and horror for the first time. Not sure I would say I "got into" them, per se, but I'm not opposed to further dabbling.

I loved historical fiction as a kid, but haven't touched the genre much as an adult. I finally found a few I enjoyed this year (all queer, and some blended with fantasy elements), so hopefully I can find more next year.

What was your favorite new release of the year?

I already put Late Bloomer on the overall top 5 list, so I'll mention The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton here. It's sci-fi mixed with cheesy rom-com, and it was a really fun read.

What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

I guess I'll go with The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin - and its sequels, since I read them all in rapid succession and so they're blurred together in my head. This was my introduction to her work, and I'm glad I took the plunge. Jemisin's storytelling and worldbuilding is phenomenal.

Any books that disappointed you?

Not sure it was disappointment, exactly, since I also struggled to connect with Harrow the Ninth, but I really had a difficult time getting through Tamsyn Muir's Nona the Ninth. I enjoyed the first book in the series, but the sequels have not really been my cup of tea, with Nona being my least favorite so far. I appreciate how important Muir's writing is to the community, but it just isn't for me.

What were your least favorite books of the year?

I didn't hate any of the books I finished, but I suppose there were a few I liked less than the others. Nona the Ninth was one. Some others were We Free the Stars by Hafsah Faizal, Your Driver is Waiting by Priya Guns, and What I Mean When I Say I'm Autistic by Annie Kotowicz.

What books do you want to finish before the year is over?

None. At this point, I'm saving any current reads for my 2025 count.

Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year (Booker, Women’s Prize, National Book Award, Pulitzer, Hugo, etc.)? What did you think of them?

Yes. The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older was nominated for a Hugo award in 2024. It's a brilliant sci-fi/mystery novella featuring queer main characters - so, naturally, right up my alley.

What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

Anything by Hafsah Faizal seems to be trendy on social media, but I especially kept seeing A Tempest of Tea everywhere. It was a perfectly fine fantasy heist book, though I found the (straight) romances uncompelling.

I also don't love This Is How You Lose The Time War (by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone) nearly as much as other people seem to. It's very unique and very queer, and it was okay for me, but I probably wouldn't read it again.

Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

I wasn't expecting to like The Deep by Rivers Solomon, et al., as much as I did. It's a beautiful piece of speculative fiction that examines pain and trauma and memory - and there's a queer romance in here to boot.

How many books did you buy?

Somewhere around 20, give or take.

Did you use your library?

Not my local library, no. I did, however, sign up for a card from the Queer Liberation Library on the Libby app.

What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

I wasn't waiting on any new releases this year - except maybe for Brandon Sanderson's Wind and Truth, which came out this month but I haven't read yet.

Did you participate in or watch any booklr, booktube, or book twitter drama?

Absolutely not.

What’s the longest book you read?

That'll be Brandon Sanderson's Rhythm of War, at just over 1200 pages. The other book to (barely) crack 1000 was The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan.

Out of 125 books, 22 were 500+ pages, and 65 were between 300-499 pages. This is what happens when you're a fantasy/sci-fi fan; you tend to end up with longer books.

What’s the fastest time it took you to read a book?

I read a few of the shorter books/novellas in one day. I remember getting through The Deep in one sitting, for example.

I'm a fast reader, but I also have ADHD, so most of the time my focus is split between multiple books. Sometimes I like a book well enough to get through it in a week or less, and sometimes it takes a few months. That's why my average read time (according to Storygraph) is 25 days.

Did you DNF anything? Why?

Yup. Not too many, though. Most were free ebooks I tried but couldn't get into. I tried to reread Pride and Prejudice, since my sister gifted me a beautiful edition, but I didn't like Jane Austen's work in high school, and I don't now, so I gave up on that pretty quickly. It looks gorgeous on my shelf, though.

What reading goals do you have for next year?

Not much of a goal-setter, tbh. I'll probably set a basic goal of 100 books for next year, and see how it goes. I've joined a couple of Storygraph challenges, to give my ADHD some additional motivation. And I plan to continue rereading a few older series, however slowly.

[synpa-tee]

Mono-spec

describes those who might experience more than one form of attraction, but only one form of allo-attraction

Mono-spec Flag:

Mono-spec (or monoattractional spectrum) comes from the term, monoattraction. Monoattraction is used to describe people who exclusively experience one form of attraction, while mono-spec describes anyone who is a-spec and only has one form of allo-attraction. For example, one might be aceflux, greyromantic, aplatonic, and frayaesthetic, while also being bisensual (which is a form of allo-attraction). Mono-spec can also be called monospec.

[hypnothesis-au]

“As their King, you do an excellent job of representing the stereotype that Octarians love machines.” --T

“. . . Well, what’s not ta love? Anyways, gettin’ into the specs would take too long and is nona your business, but there are some old blueprints you can take a look at. Stunning, I know~” --O

[judithdeuteros]

hello! since this is the spoiler-okay-zone (i think??) I was wondering if youd be willing to give a run down of what this leak was and what we know? I’ve been trying to find info but I can’t seem to piece anything together! Judith POV?? NONA???? what is going on????

okay. sup! i was in the discord last night when we figured out that a glitch on the amazon preview of the htn paperback made extra content viewable!

obvious big shit. major takeaways:

there appears to be a re-branding from “trilogy” to “series”

there appears to be an additional book of some form called “Nona the Ninth”

“Gideon will return in Nona the Ninth” is the blurb. it’s unclear if this is gideon nav or g1deon the saint of duty

bonus content also includes 3 major parts:

BOE intelligence files (gives insight on BOE)

Judith Deuteros’ intelligence files (a short story judith POV)

an updated glossary that includes information about resurrection beasts, BOE naming conventions, etc.

that’s the rundown!!

i have read it all myself (at like 2am last night when it happened and was live-blogging a bit in the discord) so im game for theories and specs

also first op post here,, but my non-spoiler blog is @thunderon

[branched-man]

9 10 11?

9. Did you get into any new genres?

Hmmm well I read a pure horror novel this year (This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno) which I have not done in many many years, if ever. It was fine but I didn't love it so I can't say it got me into horror as a genre (I enjoy horror as an element in other things but as the main course it doesn't usually do much for me). I also read a biography (The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes by Zoe Playdon) and it was the first time I've ever enjoyed one but similarly it didn't really send me on a biography kick. So short answer no I remain as predictable in my tastes as ever

10. What was your favourite new release of the year?

I usually read too slowly to read much stuff in the same year it's published but the two things I read that were actually published this year were Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and This All Come Back Now edited by Mykaela Saunders. I thoroughly enjoyed both but everyone and their mother has read Nona at this point so I'm taking this chance to plug This All Come Back Now, which is the first ever collection of Indigenous Australian speculative fiction and a lot of the stories in it slapped my ass clean off. It's both comforting and familiar to read Australian spec fic but also a lot of the stories have such a unique approach to the genre and have such cutting insights into our current social and political situation that it was deeply uncomfortable and unfamiliar at the same time

11. What was your favourite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

If we're taking "been out for a while" as more than a couple of years old then it's going to be If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino. When I first read it I thought some parts were really interesting but overall it was just a book I was glad I read but didn't have strong feelings about. But as more time passed I found myself thinking about it more and more and it's grown on me in a major way. I love a book that can do that

[thenwire]

Galaxy S22 camera features: What is nona-binning & tetra-binning?

Galaxy S22 camera features: What is nona-binning & tetra-binning?

Source: Pocketnow video Samsung Galaxy S22 series is one of the best Android smartphones you can buy right now. All the smartphones of this series come with impressive hardware, excellent displays, and pro-grade cameras. But, when you run down the specs sheet of the Galaxy S22 closely, you would realize there’s something mentioned as nona-binning in the S22 and the S22 Plus specs sheet and…