#okay so genre is most probably ya fantasy

[tinkerbelle05]

could you do like a bookworm kinda quiet reader with E42 Miles?????

I Always Got You, Got That?

Characters: E42!Miles Morales x Fem!reader

Genre: Fluff

Summary: Going on an impromptu bookstore shopping run. (Requested) Thanks for the request sweets 🖤

Warning: none :)

While sipping your coffee, you continued to walk throughout the mall when you spotted the bookstore. It was practically calling your name but you didn’t have enough money and you already took too much from Miles.

You weren’t exactly sure about what his job actually is, but he made a lot of money from doing that. So realistically he wouldn’t have a problem with you asking but you didn’t wanna seem like some gold-digger. Your mama raised you better than that.

“You wanna go in there?” Miles asked you. He caught you eyeing the place but was confused as to why you didn’t go in.

“Oh, no. We don’t have to go on and it’s probably boring for you,” you answer and turn back around.

“Nah, nah.” He takes your hand and starts pulling you into the store. “If you wanna go in, then go in. And don't worry about the price, you know I always got you.”

“But you already spent a lot on me,” you argue. And he has. Last week, he took you on a date to a fancy restaurant and the week before that a concert to see your favorite artist. Both of those were extremely expensive and you felt guilty about it when you searched up the prices.

“Because as my girlfriend, you deserve to be spoiled. It’s how I show my love.” He gives you a playful pout and comes closer to you, “Are you gonna stop me from showing you how much I love you?”

“Of course not,” you're quick to say.

He gives you a smirk, “Good.” He drags you into the store, “Now shop to your heart’s desire, okay?”

You nod and go deeper into the store. You pick up some books that caught your eye and put them back because they didn’t interest you as much as the others. You weren’t that greedy.

Little did you know Miles was behind you and picking the books back up to buy them. He watched as you went around the store, going into different sections; YA, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Romance, etc.

Miles loved seeing you smile as your fingers glided on the book spines, he loved the way your eyes lit up as they read the summary of the book. He loved how you talked so passionately about the books you’ve read and are planning to read. The ones you loved with all of your heart and the ones you hate with every fiber of your being.

You turned around to see Miles carrying a stack of books that pales in comparison to the ones you have in your hand. When you looked closer, it was every book that you liked but put back.

“Miles…” you narrow your eyes at him and walk back to meet up with him. “Why are you picking up these books? I didn’t take you for a fan of romance.”

“1, don’t put me into a box and 2, you can’t carry all these books so I’m carrying them for you. That’s why you put them back because they were getting heavy,” he explains and lies without any shame knowing damn well that’s not the reason.

“Now Miles.” You say and stare up at the ceiling to combat the incoming headache. He doesn’t have to keep spending all this money on you.

“Hey.” Miles called out to you and lifted your head by your chin to meet his eyes. “Listen I told you this before and I will tell this until you get it through that pretty little head of yours, hermosa. My money is yours, okay. You need something you got, you want something you got. I’ve always got you, got that?”

He was being so intense about this which was unusual for him since he’s probably the most nonchalant guy you knew. You suspected there was more to this issue, but you decided not to push it. With being a nonchalant, Miles is also not the most emotionally vulnerable person in the world.

You give him a smile, “Okay then, don’t come crying when I drain your bank account.” You turn to continue shopping, being more liberal in your choosing. And where do you put all the books you pick up? Right in Miles’ hand.

He chuckles at your response and carries the mounting books with ease, “Trust, you won’t hear a peep outta me.”

Tags: @butterfi, @justbeethings, @jam-skullz, @zomb1te, @dreamxcollide, @shibble, @sleepdeprivationis4coolkids, @somber-starz, @maypersonne, @hoeboat101, @rosebunny, @midnight-the-shadow-wolf, @mur-docs, @eight-cats-in-a-box, @emgavi, @sawi-06, @707xn, @niktwazny303, @nagi3seastorm, @ghostsimp000, @cloudstrifefantatic, @vixqn, @yourtsahik, @angelzira, @im-jisoo-im-okay, @andhdi68a, @itstooearly-its3am, @universallypeanutpizzapersona, @sodapopzds, @sciamachy-after-dusk, @peter-parkers-gf, @liural, @mewzxz, @star-light18464, @gricelovesu, @wraithlueintheirlittleworld, @targaryenstormborn

Taglist & Masterlist & Reqs Info

Reqs are open!!

A/N: Thanks so much for 1K notes guys!! 😊😊

[writingquestionsanswered]

How do I decide on a setting for my story? I've come up with a character conflict but not sure what kind of setting it would fit. I also still have holes in the conflict, like how it happened, who the character actually is and how their life is. Any tips on how to approach all of this? How to make it all connect?

Guide: Finding a Setting to Go with Conflict

A Word About Conflict

When talking about plot, "conflict" refers to a problem that must be resolved. More specifically, it's a problem that must be resolved by your character, but there are obstacles they must overcome along the way.

There are two types of conflict in plot: internal and external.

Internal conflict refers to a problem within the character's heart and mind. Some examples would be an inability to trust others, lacking a sense of belonging, or shouldering an unnecessary burden of guilt.

External conflict refers to a problem in the characters situation, life, or world. Some examples would be a murder mystery, a natural disaster, or trying to find a buried treasure.

Plots can be "character-driven," meaning they are driven entirely by internal conflict, "plot-driven," meaning they are driven entirely by external conflict, or they can be both. Many stories these days are both, meaning that the characters are driven partly by internal conflict (and a need for change) while they tackle the external conflict.

How to Figure Out a Setting

1 - Examine the conflict for clues. Some conflict ideas are really general like "I want my character to solve a murder mystery." Well, that could be set pretty much anywhere. Other conflict ideas are more specific, like, "I want my character to learn to trust again after a contentious divorce." That's probably going to be a more contemporary story, so you would be looking at a more modern, real world setting.

2 - What settings appeal to you? If you're looking at a more general conflict that doesn't have requirements related to time or place, look instead at the settings that interest you the most. Do you want to write a story set in Victorian England? Or maybe the Wild West? Or maybe far-future on a space station near Mars? When the sky's the limit, you can afford to indulge your interests.

3 - What genres are you most familiar with? If you still find yourself unsure, consider the settings of genres you're most familiar with. For example, if you read a lot of YA fantasy, you have a pretty good grasp on imaginary magical worlds, to that might be a setting you consider.

4 - Develop your character further. Although setting often informs character, it's also okay to flesh out the character first and see where that leads you. Sometimes a setting becomes apparent just based on the needs of your character or what you imagine for them.

5 - Use a setting generator. If all else fails, there are quite a few great setting generators that will help you come up with a setting. You can also try a random place/location generator.

6 - Where have you always wanted to go? If someone handed you a crystal and said, "You can use this to travel to any time and place, real or imaginary," where would you choose to go? Might that be a fun setting to try for your story?

Stay tuned for part two where I tackle the other part of your question!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[unforth]

i don't know if you are still into 2ha? but what would you say if someone asked you what makes 2ha stand out? It's full of tropes that have been done before and there is nothing new. it's full of cliches according to some people. So, what makes it stand out?

I am still into 2ha, I'd consider it one of my top fandoms right now.

I'll own I find this whole ask rather odd? It implies that novelty is a. possible and b. what I'm looking for in a book.

For a... Name me a book that isn't full or tropes, name me a book that isn't full of "nothing new," name me a book that isn't full of cliches. Enjoyable books aren't ~original~, and imo original is a myth. It's about how the ideas are strung together, not about them being fresh and different and new.

For b... look. I'm almost 42 years old. I've been reading a ton since I was 8. I've read a l.o.t. over the years. And I've come to learn the things I love in characters and books.

Give me a main character (or, in 2ha, BOTH main characters) who thinks they're worthless and will give everything they have to save an innocent stranger. Give me archetypes of self-sacrifice and martyrdom and low self-esteem and adoration and obsession cooked so deep into their bones that it extends over multiple life times. Give me that adoration reciprocated but the pining, oh, it is mutual for these idiots who should be and will be lovers. I'll eat that up every time. Give me someone who thinks they're unlovable but loves the world anyway, and give me someone who loves them so much they'll tolerate the claws.

Give me epic length I can sink my teeth into. Make the plot sprawling, the side characters lush, the world developed. It's okay if some parts drag a little, it's hard to keep momentum over an epic, and one person's "that dragged" is another's "that rocked." Anyway, the slow bits makes the more exciting parts that much more thrilling.

Give me whump, and hurt/comfort, and pain that burns the soul. Make the characters deep and compelling and then confront them with nothing but bad choices, force them to pick... and then see them pick each other, everytime, even in the midst of the darkest night imaginable. Give me unreliable narrators and angst and characters with nobility that shines like the sun even when they're covered in shit.

I adored this kind of story when I was 12 and I started the Wheel of Time and fell in love with Rand al'Thor, and I adore this kind of story now, in Tian Guan Ci Fu and The Husky and His White Cat Shizun and Modu. The patterns in the kinds of books I enjoy most, the ones that make me feral and obsessed, are very consistent, and being Old means I know what those patterns are and I can seek out books that have them, and recognize them when I find them again. It's happening with the book I'm reading now, in fact, and I can feel the feral obsession growling in delight in my brain, lmao.

Ya know how some people go into fanfiction because they love a character and want to see iterations of them over and over a little to the left? Well, that's why I started fanfic, and through fic I found a genre of original fiction that does that for me. I want similar character archetypes in endless iterations of stories, and danmei gives that to me, and that's why I'm up to my nose in danmei fandoms, and why the specific ones I like best are my favorites.

What stands out about 2ha, for me, is that it fits my taste in character archetypes and plot type. If someone out there shares that taste, they'll probably also love it. If they don't share that taste, they may not, but they may, because it's a complex enough book to cater to more than just one specific type of taste. Someone who likes OP control fantasies will also probably like it, for example. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, and that's not a bad thing. Stories that appeal to everyone tend to be shallow and not attract deep obsession, having sacrificed the depth to draw a wider audience.

Anyway, anon...you phrased this like an anti. 80% of your ask is trashing the book on false premises about tropes and cliches. I genuinely can't tell if this is meant as a troll or if it's sincere, but I've answered as if it's sincere. But regardless, you'll be a lot happier as a reader if you forget originality. Books aren't original. Find an author, genre, series, whatever, that fits your taste, and frolic there. That's the route to happy reading.

I've found mine. I hope you find yours.

[monst]

Da rules

     I go by Monst and I guess I’m writing again: I do read faster than I write so enjoy all the reblogs lol

I like the color orange it's not relevant, just thought I'd put it out there

Uh the bnha master list is definitely not up to date and needs a revamp (I will probably get to that eventually, someday...soon...) Speaking of it Here's the DC one

Here's the BHNA one.

Here's the Kinktober2024 one

Anyways if you're interested below is basically the what's what. Stick around if you want.

 Okay cool! Let’s get to it:

All characters for nsfw stuff are aged up 18+ (If you’re one of those (Can't separate reality from fiction/fantasy) then the unfollow/block buttons haven’t moved from their location and you are free to use them at your discretion )  

If you're a minor while I can't stop you from reading I will block you if I catch you interacting with any of my 18+ content posts. As a matter of fact for my peace of mind and your safety I would prefer you didn't reblog/comment on my sfw stuff too, they're are dangerous people on the internet so please understand and don't take it personally-Thanks💕

Moving on-

     I’m cool with: 

Requests- Hcs, Scenarios, thirst posts, Ya sending ideas and recommendations👀

For requests I might not get to all of them in a timely manner and I might not do some I’m not feeling. I write for F. Reader, GN. reader and M. Reader. Ships are cool too so you can request Character x character or poly reader- character x character x reader.-Genre: all of them tbh

I’m okay with dark content- (Dubcon, noncon, yandere, somno, etc.) and everything should be labeled appropriately. You can always ask that I tag something if it is missing. I do like a challenge/learning so even if I'm not personally into something I'll definitely give it a whirl (Kinks and or tropes)

Sfw- Fluff, angst basically anything that tickles my fancy and isn't risque or full on smut.

* In regards to requests the things I do fuck w might be prioritized 👉👈

    I’m not cool with: 

Scat

Underage/PDF

I'm generally cool w being uncomfortable, especially in regards to what I read or write whether it be by being grossed out or scared. I've always been ridiculously curious mostly to my determent but fiction is a safe way to explore shit so I'll give most things a fair shake in other words the sky's the limit but use your discernment⁉️

Extra:

Random shit- You telling me about your day, thoughts, opinions on whatever ig. ask for advice (trust me bro I got you✌️) or info dump👀 I love to chat. 

Music! Tell me what your listening too! (Yes I'm one of those 'I listen to everything' I need new stuff to listen to)

Also! I miss the whole deviant art/Quizzilla shit so I might do a whole seven minutes in heaven thing lmao (This doesn’t belong here but scream at me about it cause I need it to happen for nostalgia’s sake) 

Also, I'm kinda using this space as a chill/fun mostly nsfw diary? lmao so it's just mostly gonna be vibes :p That being said keep your fandom discourse and weirdo hate bs to yourself cause I will clown/ignore you if you come at me w some sideways ass energy. I'm just as nice as I am mean so don't try me ☯️❤️

So here’s the fandoms&Characters if you wanna request: 

Mha- 

Shocker, but I do have some old asks that are too good to just let’em go ya know?  

Shinsou (I started this blog cause of him so.. yeah) 

Villain/Yandere Deku sorry

Bakugou

Endeavour 

Dabi

Hawks

Tokoyami 

Shoto

Dc- 

Please, please, please send me shit about Tim Drake. (Need him biblically) Literally hopped back on for him. 

Jason Todd

Dick Grayson

Bruce Wayne

Selina Kyle 

Poison Ivy 

Joker (Nothing good is coming out of anyone requesting this I just know it) 

Constantine 

Diana (Wonder woman my beloved) 

Amanda Waller 

Cheetah 

Slade Wilson… 

JJK-

Nanamin 

Gojo  (He's like crack to me istg)

Inumaki 

Invincible- 

Mark Grayson 

…Nolan...

Debbie

Alan! 

Naruto-

Kakashi ‘blow my back out’ Hatake

Itachi 

Shisui (My love)

Madara

Tobirama’s messy ass

Ask for more but these are my faves 

D- gray man-

Yuu Kanda!

Tyki Mikk

Kingdom Hearts-

Riku

Vanitas 

Most of the organization tbh

FF7-

All of them. 

But especially Sephiroth 

Any type of monster lmao 

Kenji Sato lmao

You can ask for others not listed in different fandoms I just think this has gotten a bit too long  

And Yeah, Let’s have fun! ^^

New Tags: 

         This bitch is yapping - Any asks answered or just general shit

         Thirsty bitch juice - Small scenarios, thirst,

         Pretty things- Art 

         Oh la la that’s some good shit right there- Fic recs & reblogs

         On my monster fucking bs - Monster fucking lol 

         Lock that shit up in the basement pls- cursed asks and stuff 

Uh random bullshit go! - My newer writing

And if you made it this far down here's a cookie 🍪

[absolutebl]

Heyo! I have a friend I'm trying to get more into BL. She's watched KinnPorsche and I recently got her to watch 3 Will Be Free (I know, not BL). She's somewhat picky about the romance she likes to consume, so I thought I'd ask you which BLs you think would be best to get her started with the genre. Her specifications are 1) a good, solid plot (any type is fine); 2) slow burn; 3) and good chemistry. She also loves sci fi and fantasy. My initial thoughts are MoD, Not Me, and AToTS. Any additions?

BLs with: 1 Good Story, 2 Slow Burn, 3 Good Chemistry, 4 PNR elements if possible

I have not one specific list for you, but several! Many of these not updated so likely to recommend pre the 2023 madness. (Imma rag on some of your choices briefly: KP & MoD only satisfy one criteria - chemistry IMHO.

I did give you a final list of winners at the bottom tho!

1) BLs with the best stories:

2) BLs with best slow burn:

3) BLs with the best chemistry:

(by my definition)

4) PNR BLs (paranormal, sci-fi, or fantastical elements)

P'ABL did the math:

BLs that do or should show up on most of those lists:

Dear Doctor I’m Coming for Soul (Thailand) - the first one I thought of that satisfies all criteria. Good story, great chemistry, PNR & slow burn. By your friend's accounting, this should be the perfect BL. I'm a fan of this show and I have a full review here BUT I don't actually rec it often. Why? My quibble with DDICFS is that for dyed-in-the-wool BL or romance fans the ending may not satisfy, BUT that seems to be the one thing your friend is NOT - so this should be perfect.

Triage (Thailand) - good chemistry, frustratingly slow burn, def PNR, and good story. This was my second pull. It suffered at the time of airing from distribution issues and (perhaps more sadly) being up against KP. It's really good tho. A “correct the past” Groundhog Day plot, that has narrative baggage I normally do not like but is so clever about time loops, I have to forgive it my hang-ups. About a doctor who must save a boy to fix reality, but not in the usual way. 

Until We Meet Again (Thailand) - GREAT story, decent chemistry, very PNR, but not slow burn. It’s a perfectly executed fated mates reincarnation plot, fantastic well-seeded twists & reveals, and the only BL I would love to see adapted by other countries or read professionally translated. 

Old Fashion Cupcake (Japan) - slow burn, great story & chemistry, no PNR. This is a deceptively simple office romance that actually has a lot to say about life, love, maturity, and pancakes. It’s charming but also deeply moving and loving in its exploration of what it means to give up, and how connection can bring with it second chances. It’s also beautifully filmed and acted. 

Seven Days (Japan) - slow burn, great romance plot, good chemistry, no PNR. This is a pitch perfect elegant little YA romance that stays completely true to its yaoi roots but neatly avoids all the flaws of the genre. The story is deceptively simple but allows for angst and miscommunication to develop with VERY good reason, and is almost worth studying because of that. As a romance, it is elegant. I can see why it got stolen adapted.

1000 Stars (Thailand) - solid romance, very slow burn, okay chemistry, no PNR. All BL is romantic, but not all BL is a modern romance in the literary sense of the term, but 1k* is just that, an absolutely glorious slow burn gay romance that nods at BL but isn’t behooven to it. It’s just a really well executed linear romance story.

HIStory 3: Trapped (Taiwan 2019 Viki) - not PNR and maybe not exactly slow burn but aces everything else. (This was MY KP when it aired.) Taiwan often struggles with story because their BLs aren’t always long enough to really get stuck in, Trapped is different. It has a baby murder investigation that promotes conflict between the leads, so the romantic tension is between plot and character, it’s so smart. The leads did a GREAT job of showcasing mature chemistry. The side dishes in this series are wonderful too. The main couple has an amorphous ending, but like with Dear Doctor, that shouldn't rank under these specific circumstances.

My School President (Thai 2023 YouTube) - great chemistry, very slow burn, okay story, no PNR BUT you have to like YA. I know not everyone does. This is very youthful. GMMTV gave us a classic high school set Thai BL with tropes like messy boys singing their feelings that made this one Love Sick for the modern age with all the gentle sweetness and pining ache, but none of the dated damaging tropes or issues. Yes, we’ve seen it all before, but I still ADORE this. And there is a lot to be said for the classics being executed perfectly. Who let my BL be this wholesome and funny? Possibly too slow burn for some, we wait many eps for that pay out, and Tin's pining is NOT quiet, but it defines dorky and earnest, so when the payout comes? Lovely.

About Youth (Taiwan 2022 Gaga) - exactly the same criteria as MSP just Taiwan's version. A truly lovely little coming of age high school BL with a classic YA low drama but high angst and an earnest depth. I didn’t even mind the singing, and that’s saying a lot. A weak seme/uke dynamic but tons of BL tropes (both rare in a high school setting but common for Taiwan) makes this one feel both sweet and colored by an almost real world queer authenticity and grit. Full review here.

See You After Quarantine? (Taiwan 2021 Viki) - it's short there isn't a ton of story development, but it's a nice nugget introduction to Taiwan's style. Great chemistry, def slow burn, and CUTE. This under-appreciated gem is Taiwan’s answer to Gameboys and is just as charming and adorable yet still quintessentially Taiwanese. It features a Japanese love interest and the cutest most confused disaster gay. Slow burn because the two have almost no actual screen time together and yet manage some truly amazing chemistry. How does Taiwan do it?

Why no KBL?

Fascinating but despite the fact that KBL tends to earn the highest ratings from me and occupies the most slots in my 10/10 BLs of all time, because they are so short they tend to fall... erm... short in the arena of story and slow burn. Also, until recently, not a lot of great chemistry.

So here are a few others I considered but ended up eliminating for not containing enough of your required elements:

He's Coming to Me (Thailand) - review here

Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding (Korea) - this has a 12th Night meet Cinderfella feel to it, plus some great story tricks like a plot that requires a historical setting (I love it when narrative elements are codependent). 

Our Dining Table - It’s a quiet & cozy little parable of found family alleviating loneliness. Possibly too slow for some but definitely high up there for me with the best of what Japan can do, it’s only flaw (if I dare say such a thing) is that it is not really “romantic.” Lovely & sweet but the romance beats are being used to build a family relationship, not just couple intimacy, it’s OK with me, but not totally BL.

DNA Says Love You (Taiwan) - full review here

Ghost Host Ghost House - if your friend likes horror and culture immersion this might be a winner. Boys shack up with ghosts and each other. The story is weak but everything else is on point and it has some of the best slow burn HOT chemistry ever to hit our screens. No... really. The THIRST is real.

Semantic Error (2022 Viki) - Simple story, no PNR, not slow burn, but for Korea it’s some of the best chemistry the traditional studios have ever managed. It is flawless BL. Truly, perfection for the genre. If your friend doesn't like this, BL is probubly not the right genre. Full review. 

Light on Me - def slow burn but story is a little weak and while there is chemistry, it's not really acted upon. Also v YA and a little stiff. I love this BL unreasonably.

KP not tagged to protect me from the fandom. Don't troll me and prove my point. Remember I can has ban hammer and am not afraid to use it.

(source)

[olderthannetfic]

While we're on the topic of Mainstream Publishing Discourse...

There's a lot of discussion about how a lot of sci-fi/fantasy written by women and especially WOC that is not YA gets miscategorized as YA on Goodreads and other sites like that. And sure, sometimes it's unfair and just misogynistic/racist. Like, no one should be calling NK Jemisin's writing "YA."

But sometimes you get writers who will make that argument about where you're like.... okay, the reason people keep thinking you're YA is because of actual features of your writing that are similar to YA. Like if R.F. Kuang (she's the one I feel like gets complained about the most lately and I recently read Poppy War and Babel and agree with the complaints) wants to stop being seen as YA, she could maybe learn to have enough faith in her readers to not feel like she has to mention the moral of the story - that is already obvious from every other feature of the story - explicitly spelled out like 50x. She also seems to assume that her reader will disagree with her unless she does that, which is a strange thing to conclude about "colonialism bad" which I don't think anyone who is picking up Babel and reading the description on it is going to go in thinking the opposite of! And that is what makes it feel like YA: because so much YA is designed as intros to "serious issues" for teens that writers assume don't pick up on that stuff without explicitly being told (which I think is a bit insulting to teens, but whatever, it is the genre convention and it is why by 15 I was already reading books for grown-ups in both my free time and my classes). You don't NEED to do that and if you didn't, way fewer people would think your books are YA!

Or like Erin Morgenstern, you'll be seen as YA less if you were able to construct a coherent plot and characterization and didn't instead seem to be going entirely on aesthetics and vibes. Or like Casey McQuiston, whose books absolutely do read like YA books that just have more explicit, fanficcy sex scenes in it. You cannot be shocked people think of Red White and Royal Blue that way when it has such a YA-tastic romance premise that there have been multiple actual YA books since that were blatant rip-offs of it.

I also saw a post about how a lot of these books seem to be set in things like "magical boarding school" or focus on teen protagonists and like, yeah, I feel like in general if your books keep focusing on teenagers in a very similar to way books written FOR teenagers, you can't be shocked that people keep thinking they're YA. Of course there are books about teens that are for adults, but they are usually approached in a very different way with different plots.

Anyway, I do wish people would stop assuming that books that are clearly not YA "are YA" because they are sci-fi/fantasy written by women, because it just makes it that much harder to talk about the ones that really do feel like YA in ways where the authors should probably take that criticism to heart a little bit more. Someone like Kuang clearly does want to be writing for a more adult-litfic-style audience, and should probably listen to the people telling her that her books are too didactic in a way that feels insulting to people who aren't BookTok YA readers.

I tried to bring that up to my book club though when we read Poppy War and one person wouldn't stop shouting me down about how it's "just sexism and racism." And I had to keep shouting back, dude, yeah, I know that's what the discourse is. I know that's why writers like this can brush that off. I'm saying though that in this case, I think some of it's warranted based on how *the book is actually written*

--

[alpaca-clouds]

A measured critique of Love Death + Robots

Okay, let me talk about something I kinda wanted to talk about for quite a while: The Netflix anthology series Love Death + Robots. A show with which I very much have a love-hate relationship.

Because I absolutely love the concept. The idea of turning short stories (a piece of literary media that often gets ignored) into short films (that also tend to get ignored)? Genius! It gives a chance for some authors to shine, that normally do not get that much attention. Same for smaller animation studios/teams. It really is a super cool idea.

And I gotta say, that there were some short films in there, that I really loved. My favorites are:

Three Robots (Just LOVED the humor in both stories)

Sonnie's Edge (I loved the Cyberpunk-Monster mix)

When the Yoghurt Took Over (Again, something that hit my humor nerve right)

Good Hunting (Ken Liu still is among my favorite authors)

Fish Night (Pretty)

Zima Blue (The Artstyle was just super cool)

The Tall Grass (I liked the atmosphere)

Snow in the Desert (I really liked the aesthetic in this one)

The Very Pulse of the Machine ( I mostly liked the main character)

All Through the House (Once more: My type of humor)

Mason's Rats (Because Rats)

You will notice one thing: Most of these are from season 1. Though to be fair: Season 1 had 18 episodes, while seasons 2 and 3 put together only had 17. So generally... Well, there is a few issues I had with season 1. Issues that not only I had. And seasons 2 and 3 did not improve on either.

The one critique you have probably heard quite a few times: A lot of those stories really love to objectify and/or sexualize the female characters. There is a ton of unnecessary sexualization of female characters going on. At times sexualization in a way that is not even precedented by the short stories the movies are based on.

At times this goes as far as some of those short films fetishizing violence against women. Jibaro was the worst example of this, but it is something that happens in quite a few of the short films. And that just leaves a really bitter aftertaste after watching the stories.

Again, I am not the first person to criticize this aspect.

Meanwhile the other criticism I have is one that I barely have seen anyone bring up, even though it is very much connected to that first one: Almost all of the short stories that the short films are based on have been written by men. Of the first season there are two movies based on stories written by women (Sucker of Souls and Helping Hand). Of seasons two and three, not a single short film was based on a story written by a woman. Or to put it differently: Out of the 35 episodes, 33 have been written by men. And, while we are on it, mostly white men.

And... Look, fantasy/scifi already has a big issue when it comes to major novel publishing that often female, queer and non-white authors are overlooked outside of the YA genre. Still, when it comes to the short story magazines, like @uncannymagazine female and otherwise marginalized writers get more of a voice. The same is also true for a lot of anthologies, that are not dependent on "oh, we just will publish a couple of short stories by already known authors". So... Why the hell does Netflix not give those writers a chance to shine in this anthology series?

Like, fuck... This annoys the living hell out of me. Just allow other people some time to shine as well.

[sailforvalinor]

1-8 for Echo North, 11-15 for Rose in Bloom, 16-18 & 20 for Eight Cousins, and 1-4 & 16-20 for Wingfeather, please?

Echo North:

1. What got you into this story?

I think I stumbled across it by chance while looking for something to read on Libby, and it sounded interesting.

2. Describe it in one or two sentences.

A Beauty and the Beast retelling that draws influence from Eros and Psyche, as well as other related Beast-as-Bridegroom stories. Magical, mysterious, and romantic!

3. Quickly list 3 things you like about this story.

I ended up really liking the main character (which is pretty rare for me these days with YA), the worldbuilding is absolutely gorgeous, and I liked its take on the “Beast.”

4. assign this story a hyperspecific genre name.

Beast-as-Bridegroom casserole.

5. Do you have a favorite character?

Probably Hal/The Wolf, though I was fond of Echo’s brother, too.

6. Do you have a least favorite character?

I wasn’t very fond of Echo’s father. WHY on EARTH did you marry that woman??

7. How does the story compare to your initial impressions of it? Has it surprised you? How?

To be honest, it’s been awhile, so I don’t really remember my first impressions. But I did love being surprised by just how many influences and references to other fairy tales (and fairly obscure ones, at that) there were throughout, especially the Tam Lin reference near the end. But it also had some really nice worldbuilding and story that was entirely its own, I don’t want to undersell that.

8. What questions are or were you most excited to learn the answers to while experiencing the story for the first time?

I was really intrigued as to how it would handle the Beast/Eros figure, and I was NOT disappointed.

Rose in Bloom:

11. If you were put in the main character’s position, how well would that go with you on a scale from 1-5?

I’d say a 4? I’m not as social as Rose, so parties would be interesting, to say the least, but otherwise I’d think I’d do pretty okay in that environment.

12. Assuming your loved ones would be there, would you want to live in the world of the story?

Why not? I don’t have a particular hankering to live there, but I’m certainly not against it.

13. Tell me an out-of-context piece of worldbuilding or lore.

Technically Eight Cousins lore, but Alec was in love with Rose’s mom (before she was Rose’s mom, of course), and it took me till my THIRD REREAD to pick up on that.

14. How likely do you think this story is to break a person’s heart?

This isn’t an inherently heartbreaking story, but because it’s fundamentally so cozy I think the reader is in some serious danger of being caught VERY off-guard by the ending of Charlie’s storyline, especially if they haven’t read Alcott before and aren’t familiar with how she handles serious subject matter.

15. What time are you most likely to be found reading/watching this story?

I don’t really have a specific time, but I do usually reread this book at some point every year.

Eight Cousins:

16. Do you think this story has broad appeal, or is it meant for a very specific audience? If it’s more niche, what kind of person would enjoy this story?

Fairly broad, I think? This story doesn’t have any romance, so I really think it appeals to anyone who’s just looking for a light, sweet read.

17. Compare this story to your usual tastes. How does it differ from what you’ve already enjoyed?

My usual tastes are either fantasy, mystery, or Alcott/Austen/Montgomery-style, and this definitely falls squarely into that last camp. I will say though, I don’t usually read books that are as episodic in nature as this one is—the only other one I’ve really read and enjoyed was Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie.

18. Compare this story to your usual tastes. What parts of it are exactly the kind of thing you’ve always loved?

Found family (though in this case, also actual family), the story has a strong moral backbone, and it’s very dialogue-heavy.

20. What’s the WORST thing about this story, in your opinion?

I do wish we could’ve gotten a little bit more about Will and Geordie—they feel a little underdeveloped at times compared to the rest of the cousins.

Wingfeather Saga:

1. What got you into this story?

I’ve listened to Andrew Peterson’s music since I was practically an infant—he’s one of my dad’s favorite artists—and grew up on his and Randall Goodgame’s children’s album, Slugs and Bugs. I didn’t find out he had written a fantasy series until I saw the first book in my youth minister’s living room when I was a preteen, and me and my youth minister’s daughter read it around the same time.

2. Describe it in one or two sentences.

One group of siblings’ trip to their village festival kicks off an epic quest for the redemption of their family, their homeland, and the world.

3. Quickly list 3 things you like about the story.

It is undeniably beautiful and hopeful but also unapologetic about talking about evil, the true ugliness of it, and its consequences, I absolutely love Janner as a main character and relate to him so much, and I love its poetic language.

4. Assign this story a hyper-specific genre.

Hopeful tragicomic family fantasy epic.

16. Do you think this story has broad appeal, or is it meant for a very specific audience? If it’s more niche, what kind of person would enjoy this story?

I think it is very clearly appealing to those who already like fantasy (especially Tolkien and Lewis), and while it’s a “children’s” series, I think it’s meant to appeal to all ages. It is very obviously a Christian story to me, but I do wonder how easily it might fly under the radar from a secular perspective? I think it could for the first book or two, at least.

17. Compare this story to your usual tastes. How does it differ from what you’ve already enjoyed?

I don’t normally love stories that end like *REDACTED*. This is an exception.

18. Compare this story to your usual tastes. What parts of it are exactly the kind of thing you’ve always loved?

The epic fantasy, the redemption arcs, the strong coming-of-age story—really, this whole series is EXACTLY up my alley.

19. Pitch an idea for a sequel or a spinoff novel for this story?

I’m trying to avoid the VERY obvious sequel potential here about *REDACTED*, though I desperately want it…lemme think…

Personally, I think it could be really interesting to see a story about Kalmar and his rule as king, picking up in his mid-to-late teens.

Alternately—a prequel about Esben and Artham. We all want it! We all want their antics and adventures! We all want to see Artham in his lady-killer era!

[arryn-writes]

Introduction!

Hello everyone!

First off- some things about me:

My name is Arryn, though I'm also okay with Azrael or Az

I am 18

I use they/them, it/its, and he/him pronouns

I am agender (AFAB), queer, and aroace

I'm autistic, and probably ADHD too to be honest

I like to write (clearly), read, draw, and sew occasionally

I am mostly self-taught, with the basic knowledge I've learned in English classes and videos

I am an aspiring queer author.

I write in most genres, but currently I am trying to write a YA Fantasy book called 'Rhododendron', which I will try to post updates on and answer questions about while I work on it.

I am working on NOT abandoning works when I lose motivation or get stuck. So because of that, I thought that maybe starting a tumblr blog for my writing would keep me interested and all that.

Anyways, that's me!

If you wanna check out my main, more fandom related blog, here it is!

[lightwarriorinc]

/post/190330484060 "the post-canon AU I’ve made in my head in which they fight some more and work out their differences and Fighter gets help and BM actually tries to be a better person [...] and ughhhhh I could go on for days" (slides you a $20) please go on for days

(pockets the $20) BOY HOWDY HERE WE GO

Firstly I need you to imagine me getting pulled back into 8BT like a guy getting yanked off a stage with a cane by this ask ok

Secondly...ah. My boys. Here we go

(Probably needless to say for how old 8BT is but spoilers for the whole thing below)

This is one of many post-canon AUs that I have. So 8BT is cyclical right? Just like FF1 it ends where it begins. And none of the (main) characters really grow or change over the course, and that's part of what drive the comedy home, the subversion not only of typical fantasy-RPG-genre characters, plots, and tropes, but the outright aversion of the usual narrative expectations. Characters usually have an arc, but the LWs only tease arcs (see: the couple times BM starts to imply that he' gonna turn good, Thief continuing to steal after he has no real reason too, etc.).

But what if they did have arcs tho.

The Temple of Fiend Revisited kinda fucks Fighter up. For the first time, he's without Black Mage for a long time, and everything's going to shit, and he even ends up having to face BM in battle and gets killed by him. He gets revived by Sarda but still. Dude's frequently breaking reality with how upset he is.

After the LWs run off to try to take credit for saving the world, and that ends up not happening thanks to WM making sure the DWs get all the credit, the LWs are kinda like. Well. We're done. See ya

Thief goes to prepare to rule Elfland. RM runs off to go start his last members of secret sects club or whatever. BM tries to get away from Fighter again but Fighter's just like wait what. No. Get back here

But still...something is off for Fighter. He's fine! They made it out alive and intact! He's with his best buddy again! He should be fine! But BM crossed a line with killing WM, even if it was by accident. And he started killing the other LWs too. And for some reason even though his friend is the nicest and sweetest guy in the whole world Fighter can't get that pain and those images out of his head. BM notices that Fighter seems a bit off, but he brushes it off. It's always something with that guy.

But Fighter starts noticing how callous and mean BM is being with everyone they run into. The rose-colored glasses start to lose their tint. And more and more Fighter's speaking up with "shouldn't we help that guy?" or "was nuking that entire orphanage really necessary?" And BM gets fed up with him and is like LOOK. THE OTHERS ARE GONE. WE DO THINGS MY WAY NOW AND IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT YOU CAN LEAVE.

And Fighter goes Fine. And leaves.

And it's the hardest and most painful decision of his life. But he wants to be a Hero, and he can't do that when BM's constantly undoing all his good deeds. Even if he's not really smart enough to connect all the dots, he at least knows now that he's better off alone.

But BM? BM is not better off alone. At first he's ecstatic, he never thought he'd be rid of Fighter and his shenanigans, but he is! He's finally alone! He can nuke all the orphanages he wants! He can be the evil, brooding, villainous wizard he was always meant to be without having to worry about his idiot meat shield giving away all their money or accepting some stupid 'save the world' quest or throwing cereal all over the kitchen floor or whatever!

He promptly goes out to his first solo fight and gets beaten to a pulp.

Yeah...he stuck with Fighter in the first place because he needed a meat shield. In the end, he's just a squishy wizard who misses most of his attacks. But that's okay! He doesn't need Fighter, he just has to change tactics! Be sneaky and deliberate and gain some experience with the weaker enemies in Corneria before he gets back into the swing of things!

Jump cut to BM sitting in the rain like a sad puppy missing Fighter for much more than his damage soaking. He misses sharing a tent with him, he misses watching him cut down enemies in battle, he misses his warmth and talking comics with him and listening to insane sword-themed rants and his cooking (Fighter was gonna give up the blade to be a short order cook, you can't tell me he doesn't cook for the team) and his impromptu hugs and how he seemed to care for him despite the cruelty of the rest of the world and why did he leave?!?!?! WHY?!?!?

So cue both of them getting help. And they both get help from the same person.

Fighter goes to the White Mages' Guild because they heal people who are hurt and he's hurt. And maybe he can pick up another magical companion! He ends up running into WM and they chat a bit, and WM's happy that Fighter got out of his abusive friendship, and she gives Fighter a bit of advice about moving on, but Fighter can't find another companion there and he ends up sulking away to try to throw himself into his heroism.

And BM ends up running into WM as well, and she braces herself for another round of dealing with him but he's just oddly quiet and talks about how he's totally not missing Fighter, and she's like 'good, and you better stay away from him because he deserves someone who's a lot nicer to him and who will support him in his efforts to improve the world and not a mean, stinky little jerk like you', and BM just suddenly gets something in his eye and runs away. And WM checks the Guild for mold and carbon monoxide leaks because there's no way that just happened.

But that's the kick in the pants that BM needs. Of course Fighter left him! He thought BM was nice until he realized he wasn't and then he left. So was their friendship just a result of Fighter's overbearing stupidity? Is BM just better off pretending like none of this ever happened?

Or is there a chance that he could get Fighter back...?

By being...k...kh...kuh-iii....kuhhhiiinnnd??? Ugh. He just threw up a little bit.

In the next couple weeks, BM just happens to bump into Fighter a couple times. And Fighter jut kinda tries to brush him off, and BM is like...trying to be nice in the only way he can. Which is, he's trying to imitate Fighter.

"Yeah uh...I was thinking...maybe it is, like, a good thing that...the world exists. Maybe I shouldn't have learned all those apocalypse spells. Maybe I should've put my time into, like...I dunno. Feeding the poor or whatever. Or like. Volunteering. Yeah. There's gotta be some use for a dark wizard down at the community garden or something."

And Fighter's like. Huh. What

And eventually...he figures he's gotta give BM a chance. That's what he does. He's a good person deep down, and if his former best buddy has really turned over a new leaf, then he wants to encourage that! So he keeps an eye on BM, and watches as BM slowly starts to build a repertoire of being nice.

He watches BM go to pop some kid's balloon, hesitate, and then turn away. He watches BM stand still for a really long time at a store till before pulling out some extra money and paying for the guy behind them. He watches BM open a spellbook on a hot day and spontaneously teach himself an ice spell to help keep them both cooled off. They start hanging out more and more and they slowly start to get along again.

And then somebody tries to take advantage of their kindness. And BM get PISSED. Chases them away, throws a couple fireballs at them, and spits some nasty words. Wheels around and yells at Fighter, what's the point of being nice if we're just gonna get pushed around by assholes like that all the time?!?!?!

And Fighter just smiles and thanks him for protecting him from that guy, since without people protecting each other like that, there would be no goodness left in the world.

BM is still evil deep down. He doesn't like being nice, doesn't like helping people, doesn't really like the world. And Fighter is still good deep down. But they understand each other a lot better, and they're nice to each other, and they take care of each other. Not many people are happy to see that lovable dork Fighter hanging out with stinky mean little BM again, but it's evident that something about them has changed, and they're happy together.

[edenfenixblogs]

Hello Eden (is it okay to call you that?)

Do you have any current favourite songs? What kind of music do you generally listen to?

And do you have any favourite books? What kind of books do you like to read?

If you are okay with sharing, no pressure.

Sending you love and strength ❤️

Ah!!! Thanks for this ask @sunnenfinster! What a lovely change of pace.

Eden is fine!!!!!

Ok, so I love music and books!

Of all broad genres of entertainment media, music is probably what I follow least closely. It’s not that I don’t like it; I just am always behind the curve in my tastes. I love listening to most confessional singer/songwriters. I love folk, rock, pop, and rap. I also get a lot of music I like from the background of media like TV, Movies, and podcasts. In general, I love confessional singer-songwriters from any genre.

Fave singers (and the albums I’d recommend from them: songs I’d recommend from that album [notes]):

Jem (Finally Woken: Come on Closer, Falling for You, Just a Ride). All songs on this album rock, to me.

Sheryl Crow (Sheryl Crow: A Change Would Do You Good, [about choosing love over anger and stopping gun violence], Redemption Day [about the Bosnian war], Maybe Angels [could be about aliens or being in a cult idk but it’s a good song about misplaced belief] I love every song on this album tbh. Wall-to-wall bangers.

Missy Elliot (Under Construction: Gossip Folks, Work it)

Suzanne Vega (99.9 F: 99.9 F, Blood Makes Noise, Rock in the Pocket, When Heroes Go Down)

Artists and songs I like in general: Aimee Mann (her voice is like butter and I could listen to her sing forever); Eliza Rickman: Pretty Little Head; Sims: Icarus; Dessa: Call Off Your Ghost; Sifu Hotman: Matches (I know no other songs by this artist but I LOVE this one so much. I’m gonna go listen to it right now); Lorde: Yellow Flicker Beat; Björk: Human Behavior; G Flip: Hyperfine, Gay 4 Me, Killing My Time; Aimee Mann: That’s Just What You Are [I love Aimee’s voice and could listen to her sing the phone book. All songs off her Magnolia Album are amazing too]

And gosh. So many more…

As for books!!!! OMG! I love books so much. I love so many different kinds of books. Some fave genres include: Classic Lit, Magical Realism, Sci-fi/Fantasy/Speculative Fiction; Engaging YA Series, Historical Fiction; Culinary History and Analysis; and Mythological Retellings

Classic Lit Faves:

“To The Lighthouse” by Virginia Woolf [This contains my fave quote in all of literature. This could also never be adequately adapted into a movie. It’s a fascinating look into how people think and how we all process internal thoughts. Must be comfortable with long sentences, semicolons, and allowing sentence clauses to wash over you like ocean waves in order to enjoy this book]

“Cider with Rosie” by Laurie Lee

“All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque

“The Portable Dorothy Parker” by Dorothy Parker

“The Odyssey” by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson

“The Iliad” by Homer — both Emily Wilson’s Translation and Stanley Lombardo’s Translation

Magical Realism

“The House of the Spirits” by Isabelle Allende

“Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter” by Mario Vargas Llosa

“Bless Me Última” by Rudolfo Anaya

“Like Water for Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel

SFF Faves:

“An Absolutely Remarkable Thing” and “A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor” by Hank Green

“The Martian” by Andy Weir

The Tiffany Aching line of the Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett (“The Wee Free Men,” “I Shall Wear Midnight,” “A Hat Full of Sky,” and “Wintersmith”)

“The Locked Tomb” Series by Tamsyn Muir (“Gideon the Ninth,” “Harrow the Ninth,” “Nona the Ninth” so far)

Engaging YA

“The Hunger Games” Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

“Grishaverse” Series by Leigh Bardugo

“Shadow and Bone Triogy” (related to the Grishaverse) by Leigh Bardugo [note: I didn’t know until making this list that Leigh Bardugo is an Israeli Jew! Very cool]

Historical Fiction:

“Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe” by Fannie Flagg [the associated cookbook is very good. Also, you’ll never eat ribs the same again]

“Tracks” by Louise Erdrich [one of the most interestingly written books I’ve ever read. Has two dueling narrators. This is part of a series of books but can be read as a standalone]

Culinary Analysis History

Bree Wilson’s books (“First Bite: How We Learn to Eat,” “Consider the Fork,” and “The Way We Eat Now,” specifically) are some of the best out there. [I didn’t realize until a couple weeks ago that Bee Wilson and the classicist translator Emily Wilson are sisters! They are both extremely smart, engaging writers.]

“Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan

“An Edible History of Humanity” by Tom Standage

“Food: A Cultural Culinary History” by Ken Albala (this one is a Great Courses course, so not technically a book. But it’s available most places you can get audiobooks. And it’s what got me fascinated with this subject)

Mythological Retellings

“Circe” and “The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

“The Silence of the Girls” and “The Women of Troy” by Pat Barker [TW Rape]

“Norse Mythology” by Neil Gaiman

Genre Defy-ers

(These are some of my All Time Faves that can’t really be confined to any genre)

The “Outlander” Series by Diana Gabaldon [and the related “Lord John” Series by the same author] (TW: for Rape)

“The Anthropocene Reviewed” by John Green

Just Finished Reading

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s” by Truman Capote (Wow it was so good. I haven’t seen the movie in a while but I seriously doubt they adapted it faithfully. It was so surprising!!!)

Currently Reading

“Murder on the Orient Express” by Agatha Christie

Selections From My To Be Read List

“The City of Brass” by S.A. Chakraborty

“Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus

“The Source” by James Michener

“The Secret of Cooking” by Bee Wilson

“Equal Rites” by Terry Pratchett

“A Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England” by Ian Mortimer

“What You Are Looking For Is In The Library” by Michiko Aoyama

“The Doomsday Book” by Connie Willis

I also love to read cookbooks from various cultures to gain insight into those cultures in a very tactile way.

Sending you love and gratitude! 💜💜💜💜

I’m always down to discuss books!

[longsightmyth]

what's a book or series that you genuinely love? I'm always seeing your commentary on "not so great" (bad) books (no hate, love ur commentary) but I'd love to know the ones you like best.

Ah tumblr search function you fail us yet again (inexplicable fondness).

"The ones I like best" is a very broad category that I will try to narrow down I guess?

My favorite book of all time remains The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by NK Jemisin. The other books in the trilogy are still excellent (I have yet to read anything by NK Jemisin that is not excellent) but specifically the first book of the inheritance trilogy remains my favorite. Other standouts of hers include the short story The Effluent Engine and the second book of the Dreamblood series, The Shadowed Sun (though, again! I cannot stress enough that I'm not even sure NK Jemisin could write a bad book/story if she wanted to!)

I routinely recommend all of Alyssa Cole's romances: not only are they incredibly inclusive, the characters navigate believable conflicts based around their characterization and not simply Because Of The Plot. Her contemporary romances are some of the few contemporary romances I enjoy: it's not usually my genre, but anything Alyssa Cole writes I will read. Shoutout to her expansion into horror, she's also one of the few authors who will get me to read THAT genre. Standouts include Can't Escape Love (novella), A Duke by Default, and Let It Shine (also a novella). Another author who I cannot stress enough: just go read her entire backlog okay. She's got historical romances in a range of time periods. She's got contemporary romances. She's got horror, god help me.

The other author who can convince me to read horror is T Kingfisher, aka Ursula Vernon. Her fairytale retellings are A+ and always contain horror elements, and she is another author who has yet to write a dud for me. Standouts include Nettle & Bone (NETTLE AND BOOOOOOOOONE), The Raven and the Reindeer, and The Seventh Bride.

Tamora Pierce is sort of a no-brainer here for me. Her books are not always perfect by any means, but they are always progressive for the time they are written and she continues to improve and take feedback into account. Plus you probably owe the existence of your favorite stabby ya lady to her. Tortall owns my heart because I read it first but she has a lovely magic school series in a different world where friendship is literally magic and social commentary the norm.

The Dragonriders of Pern is not for everyone. Much of the sexual politics in the early novels are, as I have discussed elsewhere, outdated, but the books evolved as Anne McCaffrey's understanding did, and there are soulmate dragons and impeccably rendered closed time loops (multiples! Happening at the same time!) and a constant discussion and tension of evolving social norms and the needs of society: at what point does technology become Too Much? Does it at all? What happens when the people in charge stop giving a shit about their responsibilities? Seriously the impeachment plot in Dragonseye/red star rising is nearly prescient. Most of these conflicts originate early on but don't truly come to fruition until later, and please take my word for it and simply don't read the books written by her son. They are bad.

The Witchlands series by Susan Dennard! Tbh I think this series deserves more love than it gets. It's not perfect, it can improve, but that's the thing: it routinely does. Dennard puts time and care into her work from all sides and discusses openly her early and middle mistakes, from a technical level to a 'needing a sensitivity reader' level.

Sarah Rees Brennan! Y'all know I love Sarah Rees Brennan, right? You should. She likes to explore tropes and genre convention and snappy, snappy dialogue. I haven't reread The Lynburn Legacy yet this year, but that's an anomaly. In Other Lands is pretty widely acknowledged as superior portal fantasy, I think. Tell The Wind and Fire was constrained by the book it was retelling and I think suffered for it, but that just means it wasn't as good as I personally think it could have been, not that it wasn't good at all. The Demon's Lexicon trilogy is her first series and yes, okay, it shows a little, but have you ever thought to yourself, hey. What if Supernatural was actually, like. Good. And wanted to actually explore in a thoughtful manner morality and what it means to be a person and nature vs nurture and how complicated your relationships with parents can be. Because if so, go give The Demon's Lexicon a shot.

The Rivers of London! We will excuse magic cops this once because they are specifically *magic* cops and because Nightingale literally fought nazis and Peter is pretty critical of the met in general. These books almost make me like London, and as a bonus Peter is fully aware that King Arthur was Welsh (look this is important to me okay)

Lockwood & Co! I am on the final book now and really enjoying my feral child soldier ghosthunters. I want to give them all soup. I want to wrap them all in blankets. My inexplicable attraction to the actor playing Kipps in the show is irrelevant to book enjoyment but I am still flabbergasted, by all accounts it doesn't make sense.

The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold is space opera. I love it. I admittedly love the Cordelia and Ekaterin novels most, but that is a matter of my eternal love for ladies who are generally nice but willing to fuck shit up, they're all good.

Artemis Fowl! Criminal mastermind child WHO JUST NEEDS FRIENDS OH MY GOD. I cried at the end of the third book. It's fine! We're all fine! Colfer does an excellent job of portraying the fairies as having a culture different from ours with real reasons that they haven't taken over the world, and if you don't love Holly you're wrong.

I have more but I'll stop here for now I guess. Whoops.

[weirdscholar]

Yo, guys , I think more of you should wanna rp with me. Like, I'm 18+ like most of the rpers i see. I'll first off draw your characters (probably) if I like them (which i probably will). Lesbians? Ya, cool, love little lesbian characters. I gotta have that mlm solidarity. I got you. I'll give you wlw characters that aren't y/n bbys or super sexualized.

Gay guys? Totally got you! Will I say I wanna fuck your mlm characters? Probably. But I'm mostly joking. It won't just be an absurd fetishized version of a gay guy. As a gay guy, I can assure gay guys that are just guys.

Non binary? I so got you. It's not my field of expertise, but I think I can play a good, non binary character. And I def don't care if you do.

Just want trans characters? I totally get that! Wanting to either explore gender via characters or just wanting more content that you find relatable is so real! I have trans characters, and it's coming from a trans person!

Straight characters? It's not my usual flavor of spice, but I'm down. Plus, I can assure you it won't be oml big dominant scary man and smoll uwu princess. Even better if you want a straight queer couple. Love some happy bisexuals vibing together or a straight t for t couple.

None sexual rp? Definitely. Are you tired of these horny bitchs? (No offense horny bitchs, I luv ya'll) I'll happily do none sexy rp. If anything, it's perfered! And with the bonus of not expecting all non sexy rp and uwu fluff. I don't think sex is needed for a rp to be mature! So you can still enjoy mature topics without feeling forced to have to rp sex.

Multiple characters? Yes! Definitely! More character interactions and development? Right up my ally.

1v1 character? Cool, too! Love focusing on two particular characters. Get right into their little brains.

Wanna do genres other than romance? Amazing! 10/10 gimme your genres rn. I know finding anything other than romance can be exhausting when romance is the predominant genre within rp spaces. It's pretty much expected by 99% of people.

Wanna do romance? Amazing, too! I love a good well developed romance.

Sexy rp? Maybe (under specific circumstances). If you're willing to meet my specific conditions for sexy stuff, then I'm super open-minded and non judgmental! (I'm not proship!!!) You wanna do something weird? Gross? Or just cringe? Can't promise I'll be down, but I can promise I won't be an asshole! (Within reason, please don't hit me up with beastiality or something else like incest- like - I'm okay with Taboo within reason)

Tired of characters that are a part of angst town and want characters to have backstories that match average people? So real! Can't say my characters won't have any struggles- its not realistic for them to not. But I can assure you I have characters whose family is alive AND loves them.

Do you enjoy angst town characters? Wooowie, I got that too, dw. Dead parents, asshole parents, bullying, mental illness, physical disability- all open subjects. If each topic is treated with the thoughtfulness and respect it deserves, then I'm perfectly cool with it! (With mental illness and other disability do at least a few minutes of looking at legitimate medical information on whatever you're rping *please*)

Fantasy? I can snort that shit give it over rn

Non fantasy? Maybe not snortable but still delicious. Nom nom nom

Just p l e s. Ik I'm chatty as all fuck and I don't do Fandom but I'm literally so versatile and ready to try anything. (Okay, not everything. I do have boundaries, but still lol). Lemme fawn over mine and your characters. Give me something for my brain to chew on.

[sumire-no-nikki]

September Finally

August is over. What a relief. August is a restless month. The sunshine has lost its novelty, the weather is no longer appreciated and we’re all caught in the in between. The summer bounty has started to spoil. The desire for something new has become more urgent, and it’s all starting to feel like there’s nothing that can be done but let time pass. I think that might be the worst part of it—the passivity. August demands endurance. September provides release.

As I’m typing this, the sky murky, gray with rain filled clouds. A sign of a promising weekend and a refreshing month to come.

What have I been up to this month? I’m flipping through my planner and wow, I have been busy! Most notable thing accomplished is finalising my schedule for the rest of the year, which is very exciting, because now that everything is decided all that’s left to do is wait for them to happen. I can’t wait!!

I am also happy to announce I am out of my reading funk!! I read a couple of books this past month—all outside my comfort zone (plus points for that!) I tend to favor literary fiction, historical fiction and mystery novels, but this month I exclusively read YA fantasy. I have a handful of YA/fantasy books because once upon a time I thought I was falling in love with this girl who liked the genre. Pulling my signature “I-Will-Read-What-You-Like-To-Read-Because-I-Love-You” move™️ I bought these books, eager to get to know this girl’s world. But without going too deep into it for now, I very fortunately realized that relationship wasn’t going to work at all and all I have left of that time are these books that are totally outside of my usual taste. Ah, silly me.

Books read this month:

We Were Liars - E. Lockhart

The Impossible Girl - Lydia Kang (okay this is historical fantasy… so it’s only partially out of my comfort zone lol)

Sky in the Deep - Adrienne Young

Vicious - V.E. Schwab

All these reads got a 3+ out of 5 rating by the way. They’re all solid but I also don’t feel a sense of attachment to any of them so I ended up giving them away. I’m glad I read them but it is also a relief to have tidied up my collection a little bit.

Now, what shall I name my Snow Queen pothos babies? They were sitting in a propagation jar for ages and I finally potted them. The mama plant had some root rot issues so I had to save it by chopping it up. When it gets fuller, I’m going to chop it some more and maybe finally make my pothos medley dream come true. I have five different kinds of pothos in my plant family and I really want to experiment and combine them in one pot.

Speaking of plants, I have to trim the dining room plants for the fourth time this year. They’re growing out of control. I’m going to do that later today while listening to some podcasts.

Oh! Yes, podcasts! I come to you with a recommendation. My usual podcasts are True Crime (yes, I am one of those people I’m afraid), scary stories, history and politics. This one is a Sci-Fi fiction podcast (so I’ve continued the theme of staying outside my comfort zone in August it seems). Anyway, I got an ad for a Spotify Podcast called Case 63 a couple of days ago while listening to Disappeances by Sarah Turney (another good podcast). The ad was compelling enough to get me to check it out and I’m so happy I did. It’s a really short 10-episode story about a time traveler trying to prevent the end of the world. How original! (I am being sarcastic lol). But seriously, it actually got me pacing my kitchen while nervously chewing on a banana. It’s pretty good. I’m not into Sci-Fi at all. I’ve probably interacted with like, four different Sci-Fi media in my entire life but this one was an excellent listen. I’m interested in listening to more similar podcasts. I’ll remember to find more this month.

I also bought a new iPad Pro and the matching Magic Keyboard in August. I upgraded from an 11-inch to a 12.9-inch model and the difference is great, especially when I have the split screen setup going on. And the Magic Keyboard is definitely better than the Apple Keyboard Folio I had. It comes with a trackpad so it’s basically a MacBook with a touch screen. I was going to upgrade my MacBook too but they didn’t have the one I wanted and it isn’t urgent, so I just stuck with these two purchases. I’m very content. I put an autumn themed wallpaper on the new iPad (can you feel my intense yearning for autumn???) and I’ve just been setting it up little by little.

This entry’s music highlight is from a band called Half Moon Run from Canada (insert Louise Belcher “enough with Canada!!” GIF here lol) and I may or may not see them live soon. It depends on my schedule. This song is the first track from their newest album which is fucking incredible. Somehow when I listen to the album I feel like I’m back in 2013? Yet at the same time this album feels a lot more up to date than their older works. I don’t know how to explain it. I think it’s the vocalist’s voice. It’s very… 2010s emo/punk/indie sounding. When the chorus of this song rolls in I can’t help but bop my head and sing along especially when he goes “… that weight you carry with yaaaa!!” I love it.

Alright. That’s it for now. I leave you with my orange boy tickling the ivories and knocking all my sheet music off the music rack because, you know, orange cat behaviour. And of course my eldest boy is being the mellow gentleman that he is, just lounging in his “penthouse apartment” (because it’s at the top of their cat tree lol).

Smell you later!

[rabarbarzcukrem]

My thoughts on The Irregulars

Okay, I've just binge watched Netflix's The Irregulars. To be honest I didn't know pretty much anything about it before I started, I decided to check it out because I had heard Watson was canonically queer in this version. Glancing at the synopsis made me think that it would be a story of Sherlock Holmes's cases told through the perspective of the members of street gangs he hires to find information for him (which I thought was a cool idea with a lot of potential). So I was pretty disappointed when I started watching and found out that 1. it was fantasy and 2. it had nothing of the iconic cases from the original source material. I hate when shows take crime cases and add ✨ supernatural ✨ twists to them for no reason, because what's really fun about this particular genre is gradually figuring out how the crime was orchestrated. When you add the paranormal to that, it's harder to look for clues and draw conclusions yourself because magic makes anything possible and you need to wait for the show to explain it to you.

But I was really pleasantly surprised that the show didn't take the "crime but with a magic twist" route and committed to the idea, making everything revolve around the supernatural instead. So Holmes and Watson aren't regular detectives, they specifically deal with paranormal cases, Mycroft isn't just working for the government, he's a member of a magic cult.

I've seen many people complain that this version makes Holmes, and especially Watson completely unlikable, but this darker characterization is actually the thing I enjoyed the most. When it's done in the usual way, with Holmes as the brilliant detective and Watson as his companion, the narrator and a stand-in for the audience, he needs to be passive to some degree, because the structure of the story demands that of him. But by placing them in the background, you can stop treating them as narrative tools and actually focus on them being characters. And when you take this approach, and look at the things Watson actually does - choosing to associate himself with an eccentric drug addict and lead a particularly dangerous lifestyle - it starts to make sense that he's a little bit fucked up, actually. Also I'm a sucker for unrequited love and gay yearning, so he was bound to be my favorite.

Sherlock disappointed me a little bit to be honest. He's alright I guess, I just wish they'd do something more interesting with him. But they gave him a cunty earring, so that's a plus. (Also the actor reminded me of Taika Waititi for some reason...?)

A small part of me kind of wishes that instead of changing their characterization so drastically they'd simply make their own characters... But in that case I would have probably never watched this show, so I guess it works as a way to draw attention.

The main characters are... fine? A very typical YA fantasy team (*cough* Six of Crows *cough*). I liked how casually yet maturely they handled the sexual stuff between them, I liked Billy's struggle with his trauma. Most things about them was done well, although it was nothing revolutionary.

What really bugged me was the costume design. I won't be complaining about historical inaccuracies because it's clear the show wasn't going for realism, but why couldn't they have just chosen 1 time period (or a set of silhouettes at least) to take inspiration from and commit to it? The fashion is all over the place.

All in all it was okay? Definitely better than Warrior Nun, another cancelled show - very flawed and clumsily written but still close to my heart. It's a shame there won't be a continuation, but I don't think there needs to be.

[poore-choice-of-words]

so u also have several stories that take place in the same universe wanna tell me smore abt that 👀

Okay, so I've been building this universe since I was like 6 (adding lore to games played in the park). It really took shape around my discovery and immediate adoration of superheroes as a genre.

Roughly the main thing about the universe that sets it apart are two things.

There are 8 (formerly nine) worlds each distinct, especially with the racer that came from there.

Superhumans have existed on Earth since before history really started.

The main worlds I deal with are Earth (home to humans), and Magek (home to mages, but not originally)

Magek is a high fantasy world where almost everyone has supernatural abilities, and even those who don't can work with runes or enchanted items.

Notable highlights include a castle made of moving trees (and they don't move slow), a kingdom full of different types of mermaids (called Marin), and the ability to transition using rune tattoos (shapeshifter style).

Currently, the only story taking place in Magek is The Forged King, which takes place earliest on the timeline (thus far) of any stories on the site. It's sort of YA and heavily involves the politics of the seven kingdoms of Magek.

Earth has a lot of significant things going on, so instead I'm going to info dump about superhumans.

Mages: Not exactly superhumans, Mages are hybrids of more than one high or celestial (Angels & Demons) race. They're powers are essentially reality manipulation, but because doing this full on would probably kill them, they manifest through different elements which limits their abilities and gives a kick-back.

Mystics: Magical Girls (gender neutral)! They bond with talisman spirits and host them to access their power. If the spirit and the host aren't of one will though, the transformation starts to break. They're a little culty, and basically normal if they're never given a talisman to transform with. Also some spirits will do a total possession, thus denying the host's will completely.

Empowereds: Basically mutants, they mutate in response to stress and get superpowers. They're probably the most well-studied in-universe, as the subject of Xenology (study of the abnormal, typically meaning superhuman) was pioneered around them. There's a large variety, but there are some abilities prominent enough that they have their own subcultures.

Champions: Pactically immortal with the ability to heal super fast. They have the smallest population of the four types because they don't have kids very often. They tend to be warriors, and often pass themselves off as Empowereds or mages when discovered. Largest population is from the Mediterranean.

I'll cut myself off now, because I could talk about this forever.