#reread things i DEFINITELY know i'd enjoy rereading

[juney-blues]

i need to get injected with whatever fucking chemicals my broken brain isn't producing on it's own because i am so sick and tired of being crushed under the weight of a couple managable tasks, each going undone, until they all add up and i have literally thousands weighing on me each day

there was stuff i wanted to do last week that i didn't do, so now i want to do it this week, in addition to whatever comes up this week that i wanna do

the stuff i wanted to do last week? why of course that includes the stuff i wasn't able to do the week BEFORE last week

oh and naturally the stuff i wasn't able to do the week before last week, includes the stuff i couldn't do the week before that

and the stuff from the week before that? well i'm sure you get the picture.

"surely the solution is to just do the things as they come up", a particularly naive member of the audience might suggest

and YEAH.

you'd THINK it'd just be that simple, huh?

you'd fuckin THINK.

[bunny-1111]

Okay like I legit reread your headcanons every few days because it’s feeding my delusions!

Could you please maybe do an extended bit about protective Theo and the “it’s okay I can fight” and him holding your drinks in particular, like at a party or something?

Thank you for your incredible writing, we are truly blessed xoxoxo

omg my baby, you make my heart whole <3

Of course, I can. Protective Theo is crazy. I love him.

Thought I'd break the request up into two parts, the first the 'i can fight' and then the second part (coming quickly) for the holding your drinks. I hope you enjoy <3

theonott x femreader

...

When it came to Slytherin, there was only one group, the house as a whole, trusted to run a party and that was Mattheo, Lorenzo, Draco, Pansy, Blaise, Theodore and you.

So much work had gone into planning the first party of the school year, and it was the first time you'd felt grown up.

Such a jump from the year prior. Yes, you're the same you, but your mind and body have changed.

You were becoming into a women, and it was a sight to see.

There was one person who loved the new, adulting, you, more than anyone, your boyfriend, Theodore. He made an exhausting effort to show everybody that you were his.

As you and your friends sat upon the cold leather of the common room couches, ideas dripped off your tongues: how much alcohol you could provide, how to keep teachers out, and how to make sure the Gryffindors kept their little lion paws out of your way.

With a plan in hand and a definitive decision to get fucked up, the party was just two sleep away.

Adrenaline ready to shoot out of your veins, how could you even get through classes knowing you were one day closer to a party.

Now, it was the afternoon of, and yet everything still depended on one thing: Slytherin winning the first Quittich game of the season. If they lost, the snakes would crawl back into their dorms silent, but if they won, they wouldn't forget it, celebrating until dawn.

Finding your place on the table of the great hall, you watched your friends faces closely. Draco, a snitch in hand, practising his reflexes. Blaise, eating for his strength, Mattheo and Theodore, reworking the team's format, and Lorenzo stretching his arms. So much was riding on them getting this game right, they had so much to lose.

"How about, if we win, I get to take your girlfriend out to Hogsmeade, Nott?" laughed Fred, breaking Theos eyes off the paper in front of him

"How about you shut the fuck up and go home to your haystack, Weasley", hissed Theodore,

"Just suggesting" Fred continued walking away

"Watch your ass on the field today. The only sea of red your Gryffindors will be seeing is gonna be your fucking blood on my bludger," Theo called out calmly

"Leave it Teddy" you muttered, hands linking beneath the table

"Let it go. He's just trying to get in all your heads, alright, seriously Theodore, your face is so red with anger its almost the same shade as Weasleys hair" Pansy laugh

"Shove off Pans" said Theo as he threw his head back, letting out a small huff, the games just an hour away, the party, hopefully hours away also.

Sitting in the stands next to Pansy, surrounded by your whole house, didn't help your nerves. The teams flew out with such speed that it almost made you smile.

The game presented as they usually do, intense, when Draco finally caught the snitch, you shit up and the crowd sang with victory.

Thank merlin, you sighed.

You waited patiently outside the boys change rooms, when they all strut out, smiles beaming, you run to Theo

"You did so good!" you exclaim as he picks you up, kissing your cheek

"Cause I had my lucky charm in the crowd" he says

"Lets fucking go!" you hear Enzo yell running down the hallway

"Parties on?" you ask "Parties so on baby" he confirmed as he draped a heavy arm around you

"I invited all the houses" he confesses

"Even Gryiffindor?" you ask suprised

"Oh yeah, let them eat the loss" he grins

"You're evil, even Weasley, after what he said before?" you laugh

"You have no idea. I invited him personally" he chuckles before stopping you, his hand creeping behind your neck

"Now, you wear whatever you want tonight; I can fight," he says, his dead eyes staring right into yours. Then he presses a kiss to your forehead and sends you off.

You knew what that meant, he would be looking for trouble, one person slipped up, and Theo would show everyone he means what he says.

It was exhilarating, and he was possessively intoxicating.

Author note: not reread or edited.

As usual reblogs, like and comments really help me <3

LOVE Y'ALLLLL

[izzydaninja]

Sonic Boom - Guardian of a Hero (To Be?)

Written by DemonSpawn22 on AO3.

Summary:

"A few hours after Sonic's resignation in Just a Guy, things took a different turn than what we witnessed. Here, a not-so-mysterious attack leaves Sonic transformed into a four-year-old with no memories. Shadow, ever the lone wolf, is forced to step into the unexpected role of caretaker. As he navigates the challenges of caring for the child version of his rival, Shadow embarks on a journey that unravels the truth behind Sonic's carefully crafted persona—and perhaps, his own"

I'd asked about posting this, because I'd just read this story and immediately began sketching. Lol Finished it within the same day: today. They gave me permission to post it, so here it is!

I really enjoyed the story. The concept is something that (to those who've followed me know) I really enjoy and have made a similar 'baby-ified character babysat by rival.' But this being in the Boom world and right after the most irritating, yet memorable episode of the Boom series? Yes! A fun read! Will definitely go back to reread and am excited for future updates! ;D

*No Stealing!* Thank you!

[burningfudge]

Black Widow, Winter Soldier, and WinterWidow reading list

I made this list for another post, but I thought I'd put it here too.

Black Widow (1999) by Devin Grayson - Natasha's first solo. It's only three issues, and it's the start of modern Black Widow. It introduces important aspects of her character, like the Red Room. Yelena is introduced for the first time.

Black Widow (2001) by Devin Grayson - Another three-issue comic, which I thought was a fun read. It's a Natasha, Yelena, and Matt team-up comic. It's a part of Marvel Knights, which told more mature and darker stories so I have a soft spot for the 1999 and 2001 runs for this reason.

Black Widow: Pale Little Spider (2002) by Greg Rucka - Another three-issue comic. While not focused on Natasha, it's a Yelena solo. It's part of the Max comics line, which was an attempt to tell adult-only stories, and it definitely shows because Yelena visits a bondage sex club. A very important comic for Yelena.

Black Widow: Homecoming (2004) by Richard K. Morgan - I think this comic was extremely influential for modern Black Widow. A lot of her mythos originated from this comic. The movie took a lot of inspiration from this comic as well, like the pheremones thing.

Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her (2005) by Richard K. Morgan - This one is decent. It's not entirely important, but I think it's worth a read. A classic Black Widow story where Natasha is on the run and doesn't know who to trust. While it's overdone at this point, I think this was the first comic to portray it. Yelena and Matt show up in this one too.

Captain America (2005) by Ed Brubaker - VERY IMPORTANT. Bucky is reintroduced as the Winter Soldier and shows up in #1. While it's long, every issue is worth it. Natasha doesn't show up until #27, but #27-#50 is peak buckynat. This run is one of my fav comics of all time.

New Avengers #48-64, Annual #3, Finale (2005) by Brian Michael Bendis - Natasha isn't super important in this, and she barely shows up, but Bucky shows up frequently. I wouldn't say it's entirely important, but it's during Bucky's time as Captain America, and when he interacts with the Avengers, so I recommend it just for that. Also, I'm a little biased because New Avengers (2005) is probably my favorite comic ever.

Black Widow (2010) by Marjorie Liu - The best Black Widow story ever written. I don't think anyone has disliked it. 10/10, I always love to reread it.

Black Widow: Deadly Origin (2010) by Paul Cornell - A miniseries about Natasha's origin. Not entirely important, but it's a solid Black Widow story. Appearances from Bucky and Wolverine.

Captain America #600-619 by Ed Brubaker - Again, it's very important for both Bucky and Natasha. It's a continuation of Captain America (2005).

Captain America & Bucky #620-624 (2011) by Ed Brubaker - Pretty important. It's a retelling of Bucky's life. #624 is all about buckynat and how they met. A lot of iconic buckynat content that the fandom gushes over is in it.

Widowmaker (2011) - Not super important and Bucky isn't in it. A fun team-up story about Clint and Natasha with Bobbi. I enjoyed reading it.

Winter Soldier (2012) by Ed Brubaker - I cannot tell you how much I love this comic. It's the best Bucky's ever been written and I don't think anyone will disagree when I say that no one has ever understood Bucky like Ed Brubaker. Extremely important for buckynat.

Winter Soldier: The Bitter March (2014) by Rick Remender - I'm not going to lie; I don't really remember much from this comic, but I know people like it.

Black Widow (2014) by Phil Noto & Nathan Edmondson - Another popular comic for Natasha. It's probably my second favorite Black Widow comic after Liu's. Another Black Widow is on the run story, but Liho is introduced in this! Bucky is in #8, 15, 17-18. A must read.

Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier (2014) by Ales Kot - This isn't my favorite, but the art is absolutely beautiful. I don't think it's essential. Natasha is not in this.

Black Widow (2016) by Mark Waid - I enjoyed reading this comic. I'd rank it third after Liu and Noto. Bucky is in #9-10. Essential Black Widow comic.

Tales of Suspense #100-104 by Matthew Rosenberg - A Winter Soldier and Hawkeye team-up where they look for Natasha after she was killed by Hydra Cap in Secret Empire (no need to read it; SE is trash). A fandom favorite, and I absolutely love it. Winterhawk exploded in popularity after this run.

Winter Soldier (2018) by Kyle Higgins - Natasha does not show up in this, but it's very important for Bucky. It's a short five-issue miniseries, and it's probably the best Bucky has been written since Brubaker.

Black Widow (2019) by Jen and Sylvia Soska - It's a miniseries, and it's a fairly dark one. Natasha is back from the dead, and she's PISSED. Bucky doesn't show up in this one, but Steve does, and it's after her murder at Hydra Cap's hands.

Web of Black Widow (2019) by Jody Houser - Another Natasha miniseries where she's on the run and her friends are worried about her. Bucky shows up in #2 and #5.

Falcon and Winter Soldier (2020) by Derek Landy - A fun team-up comic with Sam and Bucky. Natasha doesn't show up. Not essential.

Black Widow (2020) by Kelly Thompson - It's...not great. Many people have already talked about what they didn't like, so I won't go over it, but it has some fantastic buckynat moments. However, I will say that I really love Natasha, Yelena, Clint, and Bucky teaming up in this comic. That group together is highly entertaining. It doesn't seem like anything from this comic will be paid attention to in the future, but I would still read it.

Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty (2022) by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly - Really trash. I didn’t like this at all. Bucky isn't written well, and I think Natasha shows up like twice. Skip.

Captain America: Cold War (2023) by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly - Another trash event. Skip.

Thunderbolts (2023) by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly - Buckynat FINALLY get back together after they broke up in Winter Soldier (2012). A boring comic otherwise.

[daltonsnightmare]

Maple's MacGyver Fic Recs

Now I know I'm very late to the party, but I'd like to think of it as fashionably *cough*5 years*cough* late :) This has been a work in progress for awhile, but the Cairo Day Q&A about favorite fanworks inspired me to finally post this- Hope you're all excited for a list of fics everybody and their dog has already read and loved LOL

If you enjoy angsty stories featuring whump and hurt/comfort as much as I do, you're probably gonna love these too. (As a reminder, always double-check the tags before reading! Take care of yourselves💕)

Palmful of Sunlight and Promise by OrionLady

Mac knows he won’t make it out of this latest abduction alive. Not with experimental chemicals being pumped into him in horrific doses. The hallucination wearing Jack’s face—who claims he never died—has other ideas about that. (Touch separated by inches is the greatest torture of all.)

Starting this list off right with what quickly became one of my favorite fics of all time- across every fandom I've ever been a part of. The perfect balance of angst and comfort, this is a beautiful story with a lot of care and heart that brings Jack Dalton back, and for Mac, just in the nick of time. I think I've reread this one more times than I could count- it really is that good. If you decide to read it though, I'd definitely recommend having some tissues handy.

[add'l warnings: non-consensual drugging, suicidal thoughts and actions]

Hello To The Night by gaelicspirit

Around S4 episodes 9 and 10. Turns out emotional trauma + concussions + experimental drugs don’t mix quite as easily as one might think. Mac’s dark side does more than toss him a creepy grin from the other side of a window when getting “lost in his head” is taken up a notch. And the only thing that is going to save him is the team coming together as a family-the whole team.

It was quite hard to pick only a single fic to recommend from this brilliant author (their whole Ambassador series comes to mind, which is definitely worth a read) but this one has everything I wished would have happened after 4x10. If you're looking for heartbreaking moments of Mac nearing the end of his rope, the team realizing how they failed Mac during s4, and a surprise fix-it to tie it all together, this one's for you.

Mac + Desert + Jack by @impossiblepluto

Turns out, escaping from the fallout shelter was just the beginning. Now they have to survive the aftermath, dehydration and the desert. Continuation from where episode 3x11 Mac + Fallout + Jack left off

Now I know we all already know how amazing ImpossiblePluto is, and I can't help but give this one in particular a spotlight. This is a fantastic follow-up to an episode I'm sure we all can agree ended way too quickly, and without much resolution. If that bothered you as much as it did me, this is genuinely a gift from the heavens; Mac has to grapple with the fact he shot his best friend, and after surviving the whole ordeal, the combination of exhaustion, sleep deprivation, and scorching desert heat makes those demons all too real. Time is running out for the both of them, but Jack is right there by Mac's side, even if his partner no longer knows it.

The Art of Showing Up (And Staying) by @lupinescribbler

“Hey! This is Jack the Dalton speaking. Probably couldn’t catch your call due to doing cool… bathroom tile salesman… stuff. Leave a message and I’ll hit you back up. Ciao!” “I don’t know where I am right now.” Mac mumbled. He was aware he was slurring, slightly. He felt like he weighed a million pounds, or maybe like he’d been welded in place into his car. Immovable. Lethargic. His skin felt damp, he didn’t know if he was sweating or bleeding. He felt too cold to be sweating. “But I need help. Can you…” Mac closed his eyes. Can you what? Find me? Not leave me? Just talk to me? The voicemail beeped, marking an end to the message. Mac redialed.

I've already recommended Reichenbach on here (and I still definitely do) but if you're not a fan of AUs, this one is well worth the read. Delicious whump, snapshots of Mac and Jack's time downrange, and insightful commentary on how their relationship has evolved over time, this one is very sweet! (and also features amazing art from both LupineScribbler and Lilituism! Ooooh you wanna check it out so bad. I know you do. And while you're at it, Lupine's got a bunch of other wonderful fics for you to read, too.)

[add'l warnings: car accidents]

Veisalgia by @lilituism

The Phoenix Foundation was invited to a charity gala and Matty sent Mac and Jack to attend. No one had invited Murdoc, but he showed up anyway.

I was originally going to recommend The Darkest Hour (and still do, if you're down for something a bit darker) but if you're not in the mood for something that heavy, then this one is a real treat. Featuring Murdoc and our boys at a gala, things take a turn for the worse when Mac is slipped a fast-acting poison. If reading about Mac being in pain gives you butterflies, you'll love this one (as well as all their other fics!)

Broken Trust by @bloodfromthethorn

Even now, hours later, he couldn’t shake the memory of Jack’s shoulder driving into his sternum, a too-tight grip on his bicep forcing him sideways as the man he trusted more than anyone else in the world physically moved through him rather than listen to what he had to say. Tag to 2x02. Mac didn't walk away from his encounter with Jack as unscathed as he might wish to appear.

Another quite difficult one to pick, as every MacGyver fic from BloodFromTheThorn is excellent (go check out Part of the Job if you're in the mood for some whump with intriguing plotlines & scenarios) but Broken Trust is definitely one I go back to read often- I feel that this one is the aftermath of 2x02 that was so sorely needed. We all know Mac gets lost in his head, but what happens when his partner is the one causing his heartache? (This is also one I have personally needed tissues for on certain nights, just fyi)

Some Truths Are Hard To Define by @altschmerzes

There are a number of conflicting theories, among various and sundry members of the Dalton family tree, on how exactly the young blonde man they have concluded has to be Jack’s kid came to be. Seeing as he can’t have just sprung forth unto the earth fully formed, there has to be an explanation, and since nobody met him until he was out of high school, the explanation has to be something good. (or, the one where jack finds out after five years of bringing mac to family reunions that his family thinks he has a son)

Incredibly heartwarming story about Mac being "mistaken" for Jack's son. Spot-on characterization, and adorable moments of Mac being the greatest cousin ever to the kiddos, nieces, and nephews of the Dalton family. Also, I think I'm just going to add a caveat to each of these that every story by these authors is worth checking out (you won't regret it, especially with Gav's fics, here!)

Gaslighting + Blame Game + Optical Illusions by @m0ns00n53

Tammy doesn’t understand why such a quiet, intelligent man keeps getting stood up on his Friday lunch dates. She’s understandably a little terse when his neglectful son finally shows up one day, after weeks of disappointment. Luckily, Jack is there to clear things up.

This was another hard one to pick (Sergeant + Specialist is a must-read in my book, but due to it's subject matter being on the heavier side, here's something a little different) I'm such a sucker for Jack being there for his boy, as well as any older person within a 50-mile radius falling for Mac's charm and wanting to adopt him as their own. A lovely little follow-up to 3x04 that's a whole hell of a lot better written than that episode was, I assure you. With fantastic characterization, attention to detail, and fun fleshing out of background characters, I hope you all like this one as much as I did!

Flour + SAK + Landline by Sapless_Tree

Whumptober No. 4 + ALT 1 Prompt: hostage + losing control Somehow, things were blurry again, looping and swirling and doubling. Mac furrowed his eyebrows and blinked hard. “Now, isn't that better, Angus?"

In the mood for some Mac torture at the hands of Murdoc? Me too. This one's a fantastic fic that kept me on the edge of my seat and holding my breath the whole time. Really delightful despite maybe because of? the subject matter, and adds a healthy does of Protective!Mac, as well as his fear of heights. I certainly enjoyed reading this, and I'm sure you will too. (P.S. check out Nightcall for some incredible sickfic whumperflies)

[add'l warnings: non-consensual drugging, torture with a swiss army knife]

Lost Cause + Voicemail by @ariwritessometimes

Jack is dead. Jack is dead, but Mac still calls his phone. Leaves an occasional message, as if it’s just any ordinary day and Jack just happened to leave his phone off. When a field op turns fatal, Mac makes a phone call to Jack’s voicemail just to hear him one last time. Little does he know, there's someone listening on the other end.

I adore this one (and not only because Jack lives and gets reunited with his kids) but also because I feel like it could be (and should have been, if you ask me) an episode in of itself. Each part of Ari's Phone Calls series is phenomenal, and if you want to read a devastating take on how Mac deals with Jack's absence, you'll love it.

Truth Serum + Failed Rescue + GSW by @rosieblogstuff

There had always been the possibility that Jack just wouldn’t get caught, or that he’d shoot his way out if he did. Otherwise they would have both gone in. Mac would have insisted on that, because he hates it, absolutely hates it, when the entire plan is for Jack to put himself between Mac and danger. That’s not how partnership should work. Mac, with his blue eyes and blond hair, can’t really pass as a local, but Jack can pull it off just fine. The right jacket, some artfully placed smudges on his face, a cap from a very non-tourist part of the local market, combined with just the right swagger, and there’s a decent chance that nobody will give him a second glance. So maybe he can get in, grab the intel, and get back out without even being spotted. But of course it couldn't just be that easy.

A twist on 1x12 Screwdriver's cold open, with Jack drugged up before being rescued by Mac. Both of the boys get whumped in this one, and struggle to make exfil. I love how Jack's uninhibited inner thoughts are written, and how much he worries about Mac. (A runner up in a similar vein would be Lake + Stick + Fever, another gem that deserves to be recognized)

A Legend In One's Own Time by @appalachianapologies

A look at 1x08 and the lasting effects that would end up shaping Mac's choices in 5x14. Mostly, Loretta being the best mom there is.

A wonderful (and heartbreaking) story detailing Mac's feelings after the events of Corkscrew, as well as Mac and Loretta Bozer's relationship. I consider everything in this fic to be canon, honestly- It's quite good. Also, if you were hoping that in 5x14 she would have talked to Mac as well after figuring out what Bozer does for a living, you'll love this as much as I did. (Side note, I HIGHLY recommend Vi's Schrödinger's Sandbox series. It's another one I love to revisit time and time again)

If you've got troubles, I've got 'em too by @nativestarwrites

The first manhunt Bozer ever helped with was when he was twelve and Mac had run away after getting into trouble for blowing up the chemistry lab. This is the story of how he was found.

A lovely little fic with a dash of fluff and angst about little Bozer being the best brother in the world to his troubled friend. Short and sweet, with nailed characterization. (Check out Nativestar's Sleepy Softness series for some more wonderful fluff)

Rogue + Family + Home by @erinsworld

She knows how bad it looks, but this is Mac... He needs help, not to be hunted and she isn't about to turn her back on him and risk losing him forever.

A wonderful missing scene that we all so desperately needed in late season 4, and I'd say this is the canon we deserved. Incredibly touching and beautifully written (much more in-character than the writers were at the time, I might add) it also features a lovely little moment that I've added to my own personal headcanons. (If you aren't looking for a fix-it for the mess of later seasons, This Ain't Cairo takes an already great episode, Chisel, and adds some very good whump)

Petrichor by @paperxcrowns

He’s sinking back in, the mud refusing to relinquish its hold on him. A shudder runs up Mac’s spine as he drags himself out of the mud. Slowly, painfully, clawing at the earth trying to find a hold to use to free himself. Small roots and grass are ripped loose in his destructive wake of panic. Finally, finally, Mac’s legs pull free from the mud and scrambles back from the unmarked grave. The unmarked grave that almost became his.

I know some of my friends/followers are big fans of the buried alive trope (as am I) and this one delivers it in a BIG way. Incredibly suspenseful and emotional, this is another fic I come back to read time and time again. If you enjoy seeing Mac suffer, you're gonna LOVE this one like I did. Enjoy your time in the cemetery, buddy :) (Additionally, each one of paperxcrown's MacGyver fics is definitely worth checking out)

This Trophy Isn't Real Love by MaritimeSailorsCatherdral

AU end of Season 2: They find Mac's dad, and it goes differently. Tentatively, hoping for the best, Mac agrees to work on repairing and building the relationship with his father that he always wanted. Jack, though he doesn't trust James for a moment, keeps his reservations to himself. But as Mac grows distant and starts acting oddly, it becomes clear that it was more than overprotectiveness or insecurity that led to Jack's concerns. Something bad is happening to Mac, and Jack has a terrible feeling that whatever it is, James MacGyver is to blame. The truth is nothing he'd seen coming.

Ever read something where it feels like a warm fuzzy blanket while simultaneously stabbing you in the gut? This one is like that for me. Tears were shed while reading this one, and the character dynamics here are very special to me. This fic does contain abuse, but also a fair amount of comfort in the aftermath. I'd truly call this one a work of art, and I hope you all appreciate it too. While the author hasn't posted any other stories to this account, this one deserves so much love and more.

[add'l warnings: physical and emotional abuse from a parent]

- - -

Now I know there are many more that are near and dear to my heart that I haven't even mentioned yet, but this post is already getting quite long, so consider this a part one haha. Happy Cairo week everyone, and thank you to all of these very talented people who have shared their works with us to read! Go give them some love <3

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

hi! sorry if you've answered this already, i tried to search your blog and didn't find much, but we all know the tumblr search function is...uh...but i'd be deeply curious to hear your thoughts about Stephenie Meyer's "The Host," specifically re: treatment of the issue of souls' colonization and possession of other species...and obviously, since i'm asking you, an animorphs blog, this, my curiosity is definitely coming from a place of comparison to animorphs, but that doesn't have to be your focus!

from the posts tumblr's search algorithm did grant me, i gather you see it as wanda unlearning the colonizer's propaganda stance she takes at the start of the story, which i agree with!

but i guess every time i read it, i really can't help but feel...unsatisfied? with the way it actually engages with the horrors and colonization of it all?

sort of like, okay, The Host is this one very individual YA romance story in a sci-fi setting, which is obviously different from a heavily-Star-Trek-inspired middle-grade series about guerrilla warfare and is going to grapple with these issues differently...but still! i don't leave feeling satisfied with how it engages with consent of "host" bodies the souls are in, and i don't feel satisfied with how it engages with the souls' systemic behavior!!! but i can't really put my finger on why, and i just...was curious, i guess, whether this was something you had thoughts about.

(full disclosure: i'm asking you specifically because one of my HUGE points of existential dread on my first adulthood reread of The Host was how Jodi never wakes up, and her boyfriend just starts implied-dating the soul who's in her body? or how kids who are infested from birth are just...gone, and they were like "well sweet we can just put Wanda in there, this is a perfect solution!" and that I think hit me so hard in comparison with having read Eleutherophobia--which is, by the way, a masterwork of fanfiction that wrecked me, overwrote canon a little bit in my brain, and I think fundamentally changed how I see the possibilities of writing and narration, so, you know. thank you for that!)

(also like, i know there's different worldbuilding where it's implied most hosts just...go away...but do they actually? because Mel and the Seeker's host are still there, which kind of implies to me that it's more of a problem than the souls want to admit?! and even outside humans, all the memories, and compulsions toward certain behaviors are still there! what makes a person in this universe of Meyer's?! it's kind of fundamentally horrifying?!)

apologies for this extremely long ask, haha, and i hope you're doing well, love your blog, your writing, and all your thoughts!

Oh my god, ALL OF THIS. I thoroughly enjoy the first 98% of The Host. It's a romance novel about consent! Where the characters have to struggle to resolve the plot in a way that gets the permission of everyone in the love quadrangle to boink everyone else, and spends over 500 pages doing exactly that! It's anti-imperialist as fuck! It's got an amazing supporting cast, like every Stephenie Meyer novel! The imagery is unparalleled in its richness and coolness, because Stephenie Meyer! I've written fan fiction about it! I have an extremely normal relationship with Kyle O'Shea!

And then Sunny. And then Wanda's unnamed second human host.

I think that Meyer, either because of romance genre conventions or pressure from publishers, felt she had to write a happy ending. But the book does such a good job of setting up an unresolvable moral dilemma — either Wanda gets to be with Ian, or she does the right thing by giving Melanie's body back — that there is no path to a happy ending. If Ian did as Wanda asked and sent her in a jar to some other planet, romance fans would feel cheated. If Doc did as Melanie asked and let Wanda stay in her body, then the book's anticolonial message would be for nothing.

But resolving it through PARASITING A KID IN A VEGETATIVE STATE? What if Doc makes Wanda a nice robot body? What if Wanda stays in a jar, but Ian finds a way to join her in the jar? What if she and Melanie set up a time share? Uuuuuugggggghhhhh. The Host was THIS CLOSE to being the best anticolonial novel ever written, and then falls on its face inches from the finish line.

Which, aside, is the reason I don't think Animorphs would ever work with a happy ending. "Happy" for the protagonists would never be morally okay in the bigger story.

[ofliterarynature]

MARCH 2025 WRAP UP

[ loved liked okay nope dnf (reread) book club* ]

The Blue Castle • (The Witness for the Dead) • Sorcery and Small Magics • (The Grief of Stones) • Heartless • Masquerade in Lodi • Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender* • The Tomb of Dragons • The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics • The Island of Dr. Moreau • The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher • Service Model • Penric's Mission • The Tea Dragon Society • Nabokov's Favorite Word is Mauve

* * * * *

The Blue Castle - I haven't read any of Montgomery's work since Anne in high school so I was definitely curious how this would go. I did enjoy reading it? Conceptually it's great, I absolutely loved this browbeaten young spinster get a (seemingly) fatal diagnosis and say, "To hell with it! What has behaving ever gotten me anyway!" and then proceed to have the time of her life. Extremely lucky for her that everything worked out well in the end. Certainly had a pleasant time reading it, but I don't think it hit me much deeper than that.

The Witness for the Dead - reread for the third or fourth time I think? Honestly I think this might still be my favorite in the series, probably because the fanfic writers really took it and ran with it in some incredible directions, which in many ways has definitely blunted any disappointments I may have had with the other books. Surprisingly this was only my second time reading The Grief of Stones, which I really had meant to reread before this. Tonally this is a much darker and tense book for me - not that murder isn't dark, but the plot revolving around pornography and the exploitation of women and girls, and Thara's not-quite helplessness when it's technically out of his jurisdiction - this really isn't an easy read and even this time left my stomach in knots. (side note: much kudos to the producer or whoever on the audiobooks, I couldn't tell you the last time I had an audiobook so perfectly paced that I didn't need to speed up past 1x)

Sorcery and Small Magics: honestly, pretty meh for me for most of the book, but the relationship drama did finally hook me a bit in the end? If the next book had already been out I probably would have read it, but idk about waiting. I wish the boys the best on figuring their shit out.

Heartless - I was only so-so on this series to begin with and was mostly reading it as something silly to lighten the mood, but this one was absolutely meh. It felt very repetitive and I don't plan on finishing the series.

Masquerade in Lodi - maybe not my favorite Penric book, but still fun and a nicely self-contained mystery!

Before We Were Trans - god!!! This is unfortunately the type of nonfiction that falls out of my head as soon as I've read it, but it was so fascinating! Basically, real world examples of things I like reading about most in queer fiction. Definitely hope to read again and retain a bit more.

The Tomb of Dragons - very much enjoyed reading this! Tonally it reminded me more of the first book rather than the second, which made me very happy. Not to mention Maia!!! I'm not pleased with every decision Addison made (and if you've looked at reviews you probably know which parts), but overall I'm fairly content (and also because there's fanfiction). The main thing that bugs me IS the end, because I'm very unhappy that Thara didn't get to leave Amalo under his own volition. Boo. I can't decide if I'd want another book or not.

The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics - finally got around to finishing this, I'd read about a third of it a few years ago as an ebook. I remember really liking it then, but as an audiobook in its entirely it was just ok. The romance didn't really suck me in and I think I was most interested in the embroidery and astronomy; and even there the plot was pretty thin.

The Island of Dr Moreau - I've been meaning to read this for a while, since it was the only major literary reference in The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter that I hadn't read. Hated it! I only finished it because it was so short.

The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher - another one that I'd partially read before on ebook, now finished on audio, and liked it a lot more the first time 🥲 For one, the audiobook was definitely not professional quality, it was very amateur, but got the job done. Otherwise, idk, it's definitely in the vein of "cozy fantasy," but doing a bit more in a way that I did find more readable than usual, but it still didn't quite work for me. Trying to decide if I want to read the author's new book or not.

Service Model - I really liked the beginning of this, and if I could rate it solely on the author's ability to write robots working themselves in circles until they get stuck I would give it 10/5, I really wanted to go bang my head against a wall in like, delight? Lol. The rest of the book was good, in a satire and allegory way, but not exactly what I was looking for. It felt smarter than me for sure.

Penric's Mission - the start to a new multi-book story arc that I'm currently in the middle of and liking very much! (And which introduces a reoccurring female character who gets to be a narrator, which Bujold really doesn't allow enough of in this series.)

The Tea Dragon Society - super cute and touching, but so short that I didn't really have time to get invested in it. Donated my copy to my friend's kids, who I hope will like it.

DNF

Nabokov's Favorite Word is Mauve - this one got a lot of positive interest in the TBR Takedown so I will just say - bad choice for audiobook! It references a lot of charts and graphs, and while it did its best to describe them, it just wasn't working. I don't think I'm invested enough to pick this up in print.

[spaceorphan18]

How an animated series saved Remy LeBeau (again)

It's a bit of a hyperbolic title, but catchy, non?

I was looking over my comic collection as I've decided to reread X-Men's 60 year history over the course of the summer. And it got me thinking about a dead period of 616 canon that I've never actually read. Around the time Rogue hooked up with Magneto and scooted off to the Avengers, I decided I'd be done with comics for a while. And didn't start again until Rogue (and Gambit) came back to the X-books in 2017's Astonishing X-Men. But it made me wonder -- What happened to Gambit in that time??

Well, after his solo ended, he flitted around to X-Factor and hung out with X-23 and then kind of went 'poof' for a good long while.

Why? I can only guess the same reason this is a running motif with Gambit. There's something about him that drives the X-Office crazy. I'm not here to speculate what or how or who of it all. I don't know enough about the back end of Marvel to give concrete answers. But I think what has surprised me (recently) is that he's definitely a fan favorite character.

[Yes, I know he can be a divisive character. Yes, I know elements of his character from the 90s have not aged well. Yes, I know there are those of you who can't stand him. Don't really care - you can get off my lawn, thank you.]

Which got me thinking -- Gambit's original popularity, I believe, stemmed from the original X-Men Animated Series. He had just started showing up in the comics at the time, and had barely any kind of page time. And the X-Men TAS swung and was a hit. And so was Gambit.

I don't really know that Gambit would be around today if TAS hadn't done its thing. Would the X-Office have kept him around? I really have no idea.

But they did try to get rid of him. That was the point of leaving him in Antarctica. And things were just never the same after that. Claremont tried his best in the early 2000s. And then Deathbit happened. Carey's run wasn't bad. But Carey clearly had an agenda for other things... And then, Gambit just kind of faded into the background. (I hear his run as a side character for Laura (X-23) was good - but I haven't read that.)

Bless Kelly Thompson (always) for sparking life back into him with (and his relationship with Rogue). And bless the fact that she actually married him to Rogue. Yes, I understand comics -- my god look what they did to Peter and MJ, no one really gets to be happily married except Sue and Reed. He and Rogue are now really tied together in a way that I don't think is going to be undone any time soon.

Even if the X-Office still isn't thrilled with the guy. Krakoa era has been less than ideal. (I can't comment on it fully - I haven't read much of it, as I'm behind on my comic reading.) But I've heard rumors that one reason Thompson was let go was that she didn't want Gambit killed off. And she didn't like the direction they wanted to take the character.

Which leads me to X-Men 97. Killing him off sucked. Really. As a fan, it really sucked. But - my god, the reaction to it. Gambit was amazing. And all I've heard lately is good things about the character. There's been a Gambit resurgence in the best way. He may have went out -- but he went out with a bang. X-Men 97 made an emotional impact with people. And that changes things.

Gambit is cool again.

And I love it.

What's even more exciting is the fact that the X-Office has changed hands again and Gail Simone on Uncanny who (if her Twitter/X feed is to be believed) is really enjoying writing the character. Which means (hopefully) at least another year or two in the comics of some (hopefully) great Gambit stuff.

And maybe there will be some changing of hearts and minds in the X-Office.

It's actually very exciting.

And, guys, I really (really, really) doubt he'll be completely gone from X-Men 97, too.

Because Remy LeBeau never stays down for long.

But as a fan, it's nice to see him be on top again. And I don't think he's going anywhere anytime soon.

[rekino2114]

do you have any female Suguru Geto dating headcanons?

Fem.geto relationship headcanons

A/n:credit to avela emma on pinterest for the art. I can't think of a good name for fem geto (I thought about Sakura, but I'm not 100% sure let me know what you think)

Just a note, when you request stuff for fem. Geto, I'd like it if you could specify if it's before or after the toji fight since he acts very different, and so I know if I include nanako and mimiko. I'll do before the toji fight for this since I like that better

Geto is genuinely really glad to have you, in the thankless and horrible world of jujutsu sorcerery (plus having to deal with gojo) its really nice to have someone she can rely on and that she knows will stick by her trough everything.

She loves studying and training with you, whether it be rereading something for a test or summoning curses to fight you she just enjoys these moments, especially because you're there with her (she likes training with you more than gojo because you're not as strong as him and don't rub your victory in her face)

Relaxing dates are definitely her thing, walking in the park picking flowers or just drinking tea at a quiet cafe with you she loves just existing with you in comfortable silence.

She'd love it if you could help her do her morning routine. Her hair especially takes a lot of time to do so she'd be really grateful if you want to help her, she'll help you with whatever you need to do to get prepared too of course.

Her curses are always there to protect you whenever she's not there. She knows you can defend yourself, but she just feels safer if her curses are near you not only to protect you but also just for fun stuff for example she lets you ride on rainbow dragon If you ask (I'm just imagining the spirited away scene that I have in my pinned post with chihiro riding on haku's dragon form.......I really love studio ghibli movies ok?)

Gojo is your third wheel in everything. He constantly shows up uninvited to your dates (shoko sometimes hangs around too) and always pesters geto to tell him how the date went whenever he wasn't there, which is in contrast to how he acted at the start of your relationship cause he was very suspicious of you and threatened to kill you if you broke her heart.

"Hey y/n,geto, where are you going?"

"We were about to go on a date around the city, why?"

"Really? Can I come?"

"No,It's a date, not a hangout"

"Come on, please? It's so boring around here without you"

"Just ask shoko to hang out or something"

"Pffft. Fiiiiine, you better tell me what you did later though"

".....I'm so sorry for him dear"

"It's alright"

[orchideous-nox]

wolfstar, rosekiller, jegulus kink thoughts??

I need to refresh my Wolfstar memory so this is a perfect excuse to yap about them a bit to get my brain working!! This turned out to be a mix of kinks and general sex takes so enjoy!

Wolfstar

I want to say they are a bit vanilla. Some people go down the puppy play route but I just can't envision that for Remus especially, that being said I did write a fic called bark like you want it, baby to test how I felt about it and it sent me into a Wolfstar writing slump. I think Sirius definitely has a praise kink, maybe it starts off that he thinks he wants degradation but then Remus tells him how good he feels or like after a particularly long session of fucking he tells Sirius that he did good and Sirius is like ✨oh✨ and it becomes a thing.

Remus likes pulling Sirius's hair and giving him hickeys in places only they can see until he leaves one on his neck, and it sets something off inside him because everyone can see it and with the way Sirius drapes himself over Remus, there's no questioning who gave it to him.

As someone who cannot ever get behind a daddy kink, it's something I'd never write into a fic but in my cowboy wolfstar fic where there's an age gap, there's a "sir" thing going on that after rereading I was lowkey loving for them. Sirius loves giving up the power to Remus but sometimes Remus loves being taken care of so aftercare is really important to them.

Jegulus

So aside from the obvious James having an oral fixation and getting off untouched sometimes from eating Reg out, maybe a touch of degradation, I think there's definitely some soft dom energy coming from Regulus. He's bossy, he knows what he likes and he is okay with using James to get off. And James loves that, he is there to be a dildo with a body attached, he will do whatever Regulus needs him to do. He's definitely said to James "you have the honour of fucking me, do it properly" if he's not listening when Regulus wants it harder or faster or rougher.

There's definitely some biting, Regulus is so pale and James loves seeing the marks on his skin when he gives him hickeys because they show up so nice, and Regulus shows them off to him wherever possible. James gave him hickeys on his thighs? Reg is wearing no pants around their house, letting James see them. I guess it's maybe a possessive thing?

Regulus can definitely be a brat when James is more dominant, he'll resist instructions for as long as possible to cling onto control even if he knows that he'll enjoy whatever James wants to do to him. I think Regulus doesn't have a gag reflex, or like he does but barely, and he loves showing that off to James and lets him just fuck his throat. He also loves being tossed about when he's not in control, he's like a bop it, bend it pull it twist it bop it.

Rosekiller

Yes. My friend Alex ( @futurequibblerjournalist ) mentioned in an ask that they're like that scene from Brooklyn Nine-Nine where Pimento is like "Okay, here are the ground rules: you can punch me, kick me, pull my hair. I am A-okay being stabbed. Biting and scratching are on the table." Like that's just Rosekiller's version of vanilla. No blood, no orgasm.

As someone who writes Rosekiller smut extensively, I have definitely returned to biting, spitting, hair pulling, choking and a mix of praise/degradation. Barty will pretty much let Evan do anything, like he literally let Evan stab him in my demon barty fic multiple times and played around with necro which was an interesting one but for Rosekiller I will try writing anything. To them, death is a challenge and they are tiptoeing around that line of how far they can push it and they find that so hot.

There's so much I can say about Rosekiller and kinks, about how Barty will only bottom for Evan because he trusts him to give up control and for him to not use that against him, he likes Evan using him in any way possible, including somnophilia. Evan and his morbid interests loves getting clinical with sex and experimenting with how far he can push Barty's body before it's too much. They can also very much get lost in each other, they are the definition of two halves of a whole and trust each other entirely so will try anything and everything and often find they enjoy it.

I think if you look at my ao3 you'll get a pretty good idea how I picture Rosekiller and their kinks but I'll never stop adding to the list of fucked up scenarios they take advantage of.

[bellaxgiornata]

hey bella!! i’m so sorry if this has send so many times my tumblr is actually tweaking out so idk if it send but i was wondering if you will be updating any of the matt fics soon?? no rush at all i know you have been sick!!! but i am re reading fftd while i wait :)

Hey, friend! That's okay, it definitely did send a handful of times, but I already assumed it was tumblr being tumblr 😆 Though I figured I'd answer you quick so you know that I saw it! And yes, I have been sick AGAIN somehow 😭 So between that, my 4 year old on spring break, a handful of appointments, and a sick and teething almost 10 month old...I am exhausted this week 😅

I'm trying to outline another part for TDAYW because I've been feeling that Matt fic lately, though I've had FFTD on the brain, also (and AFFTD). But I'm not feeling the fluff necessary for where things were left at in FFTD so I've been holding off so we don't just abruptly nose dive into Second Angst Arc and y'all end up with pitchforks at my doorstep at the timing 🤣 Because those two need to get some fluff after that proposal, not pain and arguments. And I am seriously trying to edit the first part of Jealousy (the MattxReader and FrankxReader fic I've teased for a year) to post.

Though, I will say, I've been feeling angst all week and have tried to take it out on Jax, but I do have an angsty DDBA Matt one shot (or two part?) rolling around in my head that I might work on. The premise being Matt and Reader had a thing kind of going on before "That Night" (which I won't elaborate on to avoid spoilers for others reading this ask), which then upended things between them. I won't say more, it will probably be an open-ended/not necessarily happy ending unless I give it a second part later, but that is what has currently been running through my mind lately for Matt fics. I was debating on taking a stab at that when I had time to write tomorrow.

I'm glad you're enjoying rereading FFTD in the meantime, though! 🥹❤️ My angsty brain needs to not touch that one at the moment 🤣 In the meantime, I'm currently really feeling this sad, tormented Matt...

[girlfailuregawain]

The Tomb of Dragons, thoughts! Spoilers under the break:

I'm so glad I decided to read this in the comfort of my own home, where I can lose my mind in peace

Idk what I expected, but I didn't expect the special assignment to be so thoroughly bureaucratic. And there's religious politics mixed up in it. The worst kind

If I highlighted every conversation so far that has made me want to put this book down and cry, I'd have an alarming amount of passages highlighted already.

How many times is this poor guy gonna get kidnapped to deal with undead monsters?? He could have 2 nickels by now. And lord knows he needs the nickels

A REAL LIFE DRAGON?? Well I mean not alive but a DRAGON?!?! HELLO?!?!

A HUG! YES. HELL YEAH YES FINALLY

TWO HUGS GOD BLESS

"Would the Emperor rule in favor of dead dragons" are you kidding me this is Maia we're talking about of course he would. He's the kindest bestest boy in the whole world.

So far the plot of this book is not going in any direction I expected and I'm still not sure how I feel about that, but I am definitely having fun.

CSEVET

and Beshelar and Cala and MAIA

It's him it's my boy. I'm so proud of him. Augh look at him go. I'm crying. That's my son 🥲❤️

I think my favorite thing about this series is how detailed Miss Katherine is when it comes to religious world building. It's my favorite kind of world building, and she does it extremely well.

I was wondering how long it would be before an assassination attempt. I'm actually surprised it didn't happen sooner.

WAIT HEY WAIT. IÄNA IS AROSPEC MAYBE!? I'm not waiting for an answer, he is now. He is to me. Words don't express how overjoyed about this I am. Biggest hell yeah ever

Would love to see this part of the book from Captain Olgarezh's perspective, I just know it would have parallels with Costis in KoA. "How is this little guy getting into so much trouble all the time what the hell" y’know what I mean

I've said it before and I'll say it again, in fact I'll say it a thousand times- I love Maia so much. SO much.

Ah well. I really wish Thara could stay in Amalo, but I understand the idea that it isn't home, and that it's the people that matter, not the place. Still, it is sad.

That said I'm super duper pleased that it's a hopeful ending, if not outright happy, and that's all I really wanted from the series conclusion. Also I have to imagine the future contains a lot less getting randomly kidnapped now that captain Olgarezh is around, so that's a big win lol

So so so. What a lovely series. It's probably going to take me time and a few rereads to process the fact that it's over. I can say confidently right now, I enjoyed every installment and Katherine Addison is a wonderful, talented writer. I'm excited to read anything and everything she might choose to write next :3

[silenzahra]

Muahahaha, you know I'd LOVE to ask you some questions about your writing! Even though I already know the answer to some of the questions in the ask game, there are also quite a few I don't, and really want to change that😉 For now let me ask you these: 4, 11, 17, 18 and 23.

I hope you know that it's okay if you take some time to answer!😊

Based on this fanfic ask game ✨

My dear Mugi! Hehe, I'm so glad that you're so curious about my writing 🤭 You certainly know a lot about it already, but I'm so happy you wanna know more 🥰

Thank you so much for sending these questions! Let's-a go! 😄

4. What are some words or phrases you feel like you overuse?

... Oh wow, we start with the hard ones, huh? 😬 Mugi, I swear, just with this answer I'd have enough mateial for a whole post, and a VERY long one 😂 But I'm gonna try not to do that and say... Well, for the words, precisely the word "say" and its many synonyms (such as "ask," "respond," "exclaim"...), as well as the word "look" and its many synonyms ("gaze," "glance," "stare"...), definitely win the prize. I struggle SO MUCH when editing my translations so they won't sound too repetitive because of these words. As for phrases... I feel that I always describe the characters' emotions and reactions the same way. For instance, they're always "short on breath," or their heart "skips a beat," or they're always putting "a hand to their chest," or things like that... And they're ALWAYS smiling, and the way I describe their smiles, again, feels the same every single time 🙃 I'm well aware I'm probably the only one who notices, but being a perfectionist writer as I am, it's one of the things I definitely need to improve.

11. What makes a fic 'successful' in your opinion?

Hmm this one is quite interesting 🤔 You know, the first thought usually has to do with the numbers, like, it'd be the most obvious thing to think that a story that has success is the one with the highest number of notes/kudos/comments/whatever. And maybe in the past I would've agreed, but not anymore.

To me, a fic that is successful is a fic that can make people happy no matter when it's been posted. It's a fic that can make whoever reads it feel things, so much so that some people even feel like rereading it at times. It means that the story stuck with them when they first read it, and I've learned that this can happen even a year after said fic was published. All in all, that's what matters to me the most: that what I write can make people happy. Even if it's just one person that enjoys the fic, then I'll consider it to be successful. It fulfilled its mission.

17. What is something you recently felt proud of in your writing?

👀👀 I can clearly *see* what you're doing with this question, my friend... I'm afraid you're not as sneaky as you may think 🤭😌

Still, here's my answer: I'm proud that, even if I'm mostly a VERY slow writer and usually spend months working on a story before I feel ready to finally post it, at times I can actually do the opposite and write a short story in just a few hours, AND feel happy and proud with the outcome. Oddly enough, this has happened to me with the two most recent Mareach fics I've posted, Bubbles of love and Clear morning, as well as with Bliss, the short story I wrote inspired by @bberetd's most recent comic.

And now that I think about it, I also didn't take too long writing Where is my brother? 🤔 I guess that, when the words start coming, I simply obey, sit down, and don't get up until I've written them all 😌📝

18. How many WIPs do you have and how many do you expect to finish?

Oof, this one's a bit tricky 😅 There are a few WIPs that I haven't talked about publicly yet, and as for now I'd rather keep it that way (I prefer to wait till I've worked a bit more on them or even till they're finished). And adding them to the ones that I have mentioned at times... lemme do the math... 23. Okay, that's honestly more than I expected 😅 I need TIME to bring them all to life oh my God.

As for the ones that I expect to finish... I mean, hopefully all of them 😅 But speaking in terms of a near future, let's say three. If everything goes according to plan, the first one will be ready next month! 🤞🤞🤞

23. What's a story you'd love to write but haven't even started yet?

Oh I have this one VERY clear: it's the story that narrates my girl Violet's birth and everything that happened before that. A GREAT part of it is inspired by Luigi's Mansion, which is among my most favorite series in the Mario franchise, and so many things happen that I get excited just by thinking about it 🤭 And I swear I do it on a daily basis at this point 😂 So I know when the time finally comes to start writing this fic, I will have a BLAST 😁

So this is it, dear Mugi! I deeply appreciate you sending this ask as I've really enjoyed answering these questions 😄 (And also that you said that it was okay if I took some time 🫂). I hope they satiated your curiosity and you could get to know me a bit better as a writer 🥰

Still, I do see that "for now" right there, so if there's still something else you'd like to know, feel free to ask!

Thank you sooo much 💖

[chershare]

Comments

So I've been seeing stuff about commenting lately going around. Reading them and having readers assume that they "bothering" authors or "being weird" about it is blows my mind.

Please bother me??? Be weird??? I am also very weird so please be weird with me about my weird little fanfic???

Where did this "don't interact with the author" thing come from? Where did the "don't talk to other people in comment threads" thing come from?

I routinely go through and reread comments on my fanfic. It reminds me that other people also enjoy the fact that I share my labors of love and occasional silliness. Sometimes it's people yelling at me - or each other - about something I did, but they still interact.

I love repeat commenters! I love seeing the progression of the story through their eyes and words! It's so fun to know that little thing was noticed by at least one person even if it's been years since the original posting or update!

Sometimes I see the Hit counter on Ao3 and notice it jump by a lot, but that I don't get any comments. It's usually on a completed fic that I notice traffic with no interactions. Why don't people comment on completed fic anymore? Why don't people comment at all anymore? I don't care how old it is if you liked it I still wanna know what you thought! I want to know if you liked it! Kudos are great but sometimes people just hit that button automatically and i wanna knoooooow.

Just because it's from years ago doesn't mean I don't remember how much I loved writing it. It doesn't mean I don't still love it. I wrote it for a reason, because I wanted to, the same reason I shared it with you. There's no time limit on love or appreciation, and no one will be mad if you show and communicate your own thoughts.

I would love those thoughts as well. Like, okay, if you thought it was shit just say nothing - and don't put it in your bookmark notes please jesus christ we can read those - and hit the X button. Life is hard enough please don't shit on my labors of love.

Anyway.

Did you like a certain line? Were you angry about a cliffhanger even if you could read the next chapter immediately? Did something confuse you before it was answered later? Was it not answered?

Hell, people don't even seem to Kudos very often anymore. It used to be I'd get a laundry list of Kudos in my email every day. Now I really only get more of them when I update, and only for a few days. (which might be a me problem yikes maybe I'm just not cool in the fandoms anymore (＞﹏＜) ).

Anyway, I love comments and definitely go through and reread them often. Reminding myself of things people liked or found or just felt something about. I reread the incoherent rambling and the quoting of my own sentences back at me. I reread the essays and the screaming. Everything, I reread it.

Sure, I'm really bad at answering comments, but I still read them. I still want to know what you thought, how you feel.

I write for me but I share for you readers. It's just nice to know I'm sharing for a reason.

[magpiefngrl]

2024 Book Review

In 2024 I read 80 books (including my current read); sort of average for me. My challenge this year was to 1. read the Vorkosigan saga, and 2. To read no (or very few) US authors besides Bujold, and I succeeded in both. The word I'd use to describe many of the books mentioned below is unusual. It wasn't intentional but a lot of these reads were weird (complimentary). I also reread a lot of books, such as CaPri (again!), Dark Rise/Heir, the first two novels of Lymond Chronicles and a great deal of KJ Charles romances.

The Vorkosigan Saga

A sci-fi space opera series of 16 novels plus several novellas, published from the 90s onwards. I read all of them, except one novella. Go me! It's a fantastic series and its reputation is well deserved. Some books were more exciting or to my taste than others, naturally, but they were all easy to read, well paced and well characterised. The stretch of books from Brothers in Arms to Civil Campaign was my fave. I tore through those novels in a few weeks. Mirror Dance, Memory and A Civil Campaign are some of my fave reads of the year.

9 other books that stood out

Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko. JFC. What a novel. What a mindfuck. I didn't know what was happening most of the time but it sure was compelling. The story was weird as fuck, incomprehensible at times, with trippy magic, full of body horror and a menacing mood and dark academia vibes, and it was unlike anything I've read. It's a fantasy but not a typical one; it resists defining and needs to be experienced.

The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera. The second most exciting book of the year. An unusual, mesmerising fantasy with incredible worldbuilding and lush prose.

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. Finally read this celebrated novel and it was nothing like I'd expected. Though, idk what I expected. Definitely a book that stays with you. I'm sure a lot of the references to the time period flew over my head. One to reread.

Faithful Place and The Secret Place by Tana French. Grouping these together as they feature the same characters. Tana French is a huge favourite of mine and I can't imagine reading a novel of hers that doesn't end on my fave-books-of-the-year list. Gorgeous prose and a deep dive into characters make her books less than typical murder mysteries.

Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski. An atmospheric, mesmerising read about young queer love, with beautiful, lyrical prose and a hefty dose of history. I loved the portrait of Poland in the 70s-80s.

The Will of the Many by James Islington. A fantasy novel I devoured within days. Some of its elements are very traditional fantasy (secret identity of main character, tough academy to attend, end of graduation big event to complete, Roman inspired architecture and names) but the worldbuilding with the Will as a measure of power and the Pyramids is unique and fascinating. This is a hefty 600+ page novel, but easy to read and briskly paced. I'm looking forward to the next installment.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang. A Kafkaesque novel, layered and deep, with an ambiguous ending. The kind of work that leaves one unsure, full of questions and barely-glimpsed thoughts like silent things swimming in dark water. I'm keen to read more from this author.

Dark Heir by CS Pacat. Last but not least is the sequel to Dark Rise. I enjoyed it a lot more than the first novel; and in fact, I immediately went back and reread Dark Rise and enjoyed that one more the second time round--and then I read Dark Heir again, just days after my first read. To say I'm gagging for the third novel is an understatement. This one got under my skin, guys.

KJC Sad War Boys reread

On a discord I used to belong to, some fans took all the characters KJC has created that used to be soldiers and ranked from least sad to most sad. I thought that was a perfect idea for a reread, and so I started with the Henchmen of Zenda (what a fun novel! And Jasper isn't much cut up about his army service) and moved on accordingly towards the one with the saddest war boy, which is also, as it happens, possibly my fave KJC romance.

Other Notable Reading Accomplishments

Finished The Witcher series! Hooray!

Finally read Aliette de Bodard's Dominion of the Fallen series, which I'd bought many years before. I can't say I loved the 3 main novels (though the worldbuilding was interesting) but I did enjoy the two novellas featuring a fab new ship: Stab Husband and Dragon Husband. I love these two so much. (The novellas are: Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders, and Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances)

Read THREE new KJ Charles novels. We've been blessed this year.

I read 6 novels by Keigo Higashino, who writes murder mysteries unlike any I've read. Superbly plotted and always unusually structured.

Finally got around to reading my pal's (and former drarry author) YA novel, Tim Te Maro and the Subterranean Heartsick Blues, which was as delightful as I'd expected.

Some stats

I might have read 80 novels but not by 80 authors. I went over my spreadsheet and saw a lot of the same names popping up. I thought I'd make a count, so here goes: I read 19 books (novels and novellas) by Lois McMaster Bujold, 15 books by KJ Charles (mostly rereads), 6 by Keigo Higashino, 5 by Aliette de Bodard (plus a short story), and 5 by CS Pacat.

Onwards to 2025!

Previous years:

2015 2016 2019

first half of 2020 top 5 books of 2020

2021 2022 2023

[ofliterarynature]

DECEMBER 2024 WRAP UP

[ loved liked okay nope dnf (reread) ]

(The Warrior of the Third Veil) • Labyrinth's Heart • Graveyard Shift • Haunt Sweet Home • Dear Bartleby • The Weaver of the Middle Desert • (Jackaby) • Jamaica Inn • The Hallowed Hunt • The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All, Vol 1 • (Beastly Bones) • These Old Shades • (Ghostly Echoes) • Balancing Stone • (The Dire King) • Bestiary • The Agony House • The Bone Maker • Siddartha • The Morningside • Why We Sleep

* * * * *

It's the final month with this picture format because Goodreads has decided to f*ck their page format entirely! Only managed to do this month through some miracle and a bookmarked page on my phone.

The Warrior of the Third Veil & The Weaver of the Middle Desert - wonderful! I'm so glad that Victoria was finally able to finish Weaver, what with it being almost 6 years since it's original mentioned release date. It was really nice getting to see more of Arzu, since she's not one of the Red Company and we don't know much about her. Jack and the beanstalk is not the fairy tale I'd have expected to be incorporated here, but it was neat! I feel like I should have thoughts about how this series is the 'Sisters' Avramapul but still always end up being about Sardeet at the heart of the story, but I still kind of wish we could fit in a fourth book about her third husband? She has such terrible taste in husbands, I want to see how the last one screws up.

Labyrinth's Heart - mixed feelings! In reality I read this series in quick enough succession that I didn't have much time to build up expectations, and I did like and enjoy this and think it was a good ending to the series. I was a little meh on the beginning, mostly - the whole favor/marriage tournament felt a little weird, and it was over so quickly (comparatively - it's a long book!) and went out with a whimper. This was the book where Ren's house of cards was going to start falling, and bringing back mother dearest (whose name I've forgotten again) was a genius move that was well supported - she just ended up feeling very underutilized because Ren was being pulled in ten directions and she played her trump card so early in the story, which left her feeling more of a petty villain rather than anything more significant. It also felt like after the authors killed off a major character at the end of book one, they weren't willing to take such a swing again? Which really dropped the tension for me, unfortunately. I think book 2 will live on as my favorite in the series, but I still had a great time with this one. Would highly recommend the series!

Graveyard Shift - the author may have abandoned tumblr years ago, but some part of me still feels compelled to support her books lol. This was interesting! Another one for the mycological horror section. I don't really have much more to say - I saw people saying it should have been longer, but I don't know that I would have stayed interested for much longer, and thought the structure of telling the story of this one 8 hr period was clever. I wonder if a series of single-shift novellas would be something feasible?

Haunt Sweet Home - meh. I think I was hoping for something a little funnier? But this really didn't leave me feeling much. A pass from me. Maybe try the Haunted Home Renovation series by Juliet Blackwell.

Dear Bartleby - 4th book in the series, and in this one we are back to epistolary, romance, and a full novel length! My speculations were correct that I'd find epistolary + romance more enjoyable, and contrary to my usual tastes I do think the author writes better in 1st person. It unfortunately doesn't hide the fact that the author can't create any kind of personality for the secondary characters. Everyone can be boiled down to "X personality trait and interested in Y thing." As the novel got further into romance territory it definitely started to annoy me more - the romantic interest was nice, but I couldn't really tell you why they were in love. idk! Hoopla doesn't have the next book on audiobook so I've been forced to stop with the series, which is probably for the best.

Jackaby - look, I didn't *mean* to reread this entire series, but here we are. I picked up the first one because my print copies were on the potential chopping block, and I had positive memories of reading them (and the covers are so lovely). They were okay! I had a pleasant enough time, but I think that was in part because I'd read them before, and I kept picking them up because I was struggling to find other books to read (see: my dnf list for the month). I don't know if I'd have liked them if this was my first time through, but they're also in an odd spot where they were published as YA, but Abigail is treated as an (young) adult, and there are no other teenage characters. Who knows! The fourth book was a bit meh, not on its own necessarily, but as part of the series a lot of it came out of nowhere - I think this really could have used a book 3.5 to help in the transition to the endgame. Interesting, but leave this one to the teens, I think.

Jamaica Inn - I had mixed results reading du Maurier's Rebecca a few years ago, but found this at the library sale and decided to give her another shot. "Liked" is perhaps too strong of a word, but it kept my interest and I didn't speed the audiobook up to 2x, so I'd call it a success!

The Hallowed Hunt - so sad to be done with the Chalion novels! I still have the Penric & Desdemona novellas to work through at least, which I hope to do in 2025. I feel like I saw reviews saying this wasn't as good as the other two, and while I do think Paladin reigns supreme, this one didn't quite yuck me in some of the ways Curse did (and also was less confusing for not being the first book, lol), so I think I enjoyed the reading experience more. Did the weird, forbidden animal magic remind me fondly of the Farseer trilogy? Maybe. My only real wish is that Bujould would have let Lady Ijada say her own part.

The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All, Vol 1 - this was so cute!!! I've never read a manga before, so I can't compare it to other books. I struggled a bit to follow the text because there were multiple speech bubbles following different conversation threads, but! The characters were SO expressive, it was pretty easy to muddle along. The art is so great, and I loved the side characters of the overly-invested uncle and the classmate who totally ships it. Also maybe very obsessed with the gender of it all :D So glad my library had at least one copy of this for me to try, I think I'll probably end up buying my own copy and Vol 2 when it comes out in 2025.

These Old Shades - I've been wanting to try Georgette Heyer's work ever since I saw KJ Charles describe some of her own books as being "Heyer but gayer." This one I found at the thrift store and just happened to be one of the half-dozen my library has as an unabridged audiobook (library, why are so many abridged???), so here we are. I wish I'd liked it. It's no fault of the writing, and I certainly enjoyed the dramatic twists and reveals. My dislike largely lies with the main pairing of Leonie and the Duke, which starts out as servant & master, then guardian & ward and seems somewhat paternal, but inexplicably shifts to romantic, with much support from the other characters. I suppose it may have been considered within norms for the time period? But it really hit some of my squick points and yucked me out. I don't think you'll find me recommending this one, but I'm still willing to give Heyer another chance or two.

Balancing Stone - a brand new short story in the Greenwing & Dart series, starring Hope! Victoria still doesn't have many stories with female protagonists, so it's always nice to get a new one, and Hope is such a lovely person. Not much in the way of plot, but definitely provoking some thoughts about the old Alinorel religions (an ongoing theme) as well as a new outsider perspective on Jemis, which is always entertaining.

DNF

Bestiary (4%) - Picked this up entirely on a whim at the library book sale. I was intrigued by the magical realism of the description and the lgbtq tag, but the opening was very odd and I wasn't into it.

The Agony House (15%) - one of my four unread Cherie Priest books! This one was YA, which was already a point against it; the mc was a senior in high school but the tone of the writing was almost more middle-grade, which is not bad in itself; and the way the family was going about renovating their house annoyed me lol. I decided it probably wasn't going to be one I really liked and wasn't invested enough to keep going.

The Bone Maker (55%) - Very sad about this one! I read a number of Sarah Beth Durst's YA titles as a teen and was excited to see her put out her first adult title. It took me a while to get to this because I was waiting for my library to get the audiobook, and unfortunately I think I got around to it too late. I wanted to like this but the characters and story just never quite gripped me, and by the halfway point it was starting to feel like a slog. Since I also dnf'd Durst's more recent adult title The Spellshop the other month, I think it might be time for me to say goodbye to her work.

Siddartha (4%) - a paperback copy of this was gifted to me by a friend in college, and while unfortunately her track record has not been good so far, this is the first one I had to dnf! The audiobook version I picked had a nice introduction about the author, which I did like, but unfortunately the actual book just went in one ear and out the other and wasn't working. Me being tired, the language being poetic, and my unfamiliarity with the place and culture were a bad combination. Maybe I'll keep the print version on my shelf for another attempt.

The Morningside (35%) - I started this at work on a Friday and got along well enough, but come Monday I'd forgotten what I'd been reading and felt kind of meh about starting it back up. Story-wise it reminded me somewhat of 2 AM at the Cat's Pajamas (which I didn't like) and some worldbuilding/vibes of The Saint of Bright Doors (which I did). Not something I'd be opposed to trying again someday, but maybe I'll start with one of the author's other books first.

Why We Sleep (31%) - I wanted to read this, really! I think the subject is interesting and I also know that my sleep schedule is very, very bad, so personally it felt very relevant. Unfortunately listening to this on audio was putting me to sleep - the author actually took time to note, if this puts you to sleep, let it, he'd be pleased! Unfortunately I was listening at work, and that's a no-go lol. Maybe one I'll purchase in print and keep on my shelf to try again "someday".