#solitaire appreciation post

[chronicpessimisticsblog]

Reblog this if solitaire has destroyed your mental healt too.

[l3fts0litair3]

GAGAGAH I LITERALLY LOVE THEM SM

[chronic-pessimists]

Tori Spring

As I have repeatedly mentioned, I am obsessed with Tori Spring. So I thought I would take time to tell you why I like her so much.

Tori is the role model I wish I had in my life. That may sound strange as she is a very introverted and pessimistic person, but she is also an incredible older sister, doesn't mess around with unimportant things, and she does her own thing and doesn't care what anyone else thinks. That is truly admirable. She also doesn't believe in rumors and decides what she thinks about others for herself, she doesn't let others tell her who to like or how to act.

Tori is also a character that I have been searching for. A character I can finally relate to. She struggles to find people she truly fits in with and is quite guarded emotionally. She doesn't open up to many people and prefers her alone time. As someone who is very much so an introvert with friends that are all extremely extroverted, it is nice to see that I am not alone in having these feelings of being different or feeling like there is something wrong with me because I am not like the people around me. It is nice to see that someone that I can relate to does end up finding someone that makes her happy and who she can be herself around.

As I have also mentioned in the past, I am struggling to figure out my sexuality, questioning if I might be asexual. Asexual people are very, very rarely talked about in books or on TV so I never really knew that it existed, then after reading Solitaire and seeing that I relate to her so much then in Heartstopper figuring out she is asexual it was really important to me to finally discover this and to see that there isn't something wrong with me, that it is just the way I am and that is ok, was really special.

So really this is just an appreciation post for Tori Spring and especially appreciating Alice Oseman for representing so many different aspects of sexuality and discovering who you are.

[caitlynshexstrap]

<3 Appreciation Post @torisaysstuff

I literally cannot express how proud I am of my girlfriend, like legitimately, she gets a lot of recognition but not as much as she should.

My little list of why I think my girlfriend is cool :

She's really good at art

She does cool travel

She can write

She's really funny

She has really cool style

She has really cool bangs, which I love

She is gorgeous

She has beautiful eyes

She has good style in fiction

She is nice to people, even when she does not want to be

SHES JUST SO SO SO SO COOL!!

Ships that I think are very me and them!

Sprolden

Jeckole

Solangelo

Emunene

Asurei

Rarijack

Patrochilles

Sunflower

NanaHachi

The random ass paragraph :

I literally just feel so lucky for being in a relationship with someone so talented and intelligent, being able to watch them grow more than anything means everything to me. Seeing them around is my favorite thing, and seeing them happy is even better. I am so much prouder of them than I have the words for, and I know that they are definitely, without a doubt the love of my life. I have known he was my soulmate for almost 2 years now-- and the two year genuinely coming up just confirms that-- I mean, 14 days (which is insane). There is so much that I could say about him that I don't have to say, that I don't know how to put into words. She is my muse, my inspiration for poetry and art and everything beautiful. I love all the pictures in my phone of it, and staring at all of the pictures. I don't really know what else to say, this post is kind of random and just something I wanted to post. WAAHHHHHH I love her. @torisaysstuff

[your-friendly-neighbourh00d-fag]

ok but guys

i read heartstopper right

and i fucking loved it obviously and the show was amazing and THE REPRESENTATION

but

then i read solitaire and i was like ok ok ok alice oseman doesnt just write the most adorable bestest gay romance ever like her books are good not just her comics

AND THEN I READ RADIO SILENCE AND LET ME FKING TELL YOU

THIS BITCH IIS AMAZING

LIKE WHAT THE HELL WHY DO YOU HAVE NO MISSES ALL OF YOUR BOOKS ARE TOP TIER

[pessimisticgh0st]

IT'S SOLITAIRE DAY!

Criteria of the day:

Make sure your school isn't burning down, if it is you should probably call someone

If it's cold, wear lots of layers

If you watched any films last night, pretend you didn't

If you have printed out a blog's posts and stuck them in your room obsessively, take them down if you haven't done it last night

Leave your house at 5:24am exactly (unless you absolutely can't; if you can't, pretend you did)

Have a can of unopened diet lemonade with you all day at all times

Call that friend you haven't spoken to in a while

Hang up on said friend when they tell you to go home if you have left the house

DO NOT BREAK INTO YOUR SCHOOL, though if unavoidable, you do you.

If your school is burning down, GET THE FUCK OUT and don't stay in there

And most importantly, please DO NOT try and commit suicide. Talk to someone, and please get help. It may not make you feel immediately better or 'fix you' but know you are appreciated and loved and you belong in this world. (If you need to talk to anyone, feel free to message me)

[loppsided]

s. reid with bau reader

summary: spencer dating someone who works at the bau

pairing: spencer reid x reader

wc: 337

warnings: mentions kidnapping

a/n: omg!! im sooo sorry for not posting, these last few weeks have been so hectic for me, even though its fall break ive been swamped. im going to write a few fics to hold down for a few days but after i might go ia due to school starting up again ! also! i will try my hardest to get to requests. reblogs and likes appreciated.

him bringing you coffee every morning

if you don't have a car like him, you take the subway together, he reads to you on the train ride back home after work

you probably kept your relationship strictly professional the first few years you worked there but slowly warmed up to him

takes your casework so you can have less

waits for you by your desk to finish your casework so you can leave together

holding hands and subconsciously playing footsies at the round table

hearing him go on all those random rants and never stopping him because you love them

falling asleep on/next to each other on the plane

playing solitaire or uno on the plane rides back home and being loud as hell

checking your for cuts or bruises after cases that go wrong

if anything ever happened to you like being kidnapped or hurt he would be a mess

trying very hard to get you back, even trying to find the unsub by himself

or pacing back in forth in the hospital waiting room after you got hurt and are in surgery

taking care of you when your better and being scared of you going back into the field

spending the few breaks you get each year together

him letting you meet his mother after 8-12 months of dating

having lunch together everyday at your desks

spending the night at each others houses after hard cases

comforting each other after emilys passing and after she came back

him reading to you on the plane to calm your mind and get you to sleep

getting close faster than normal couples since your always together

because of that you said 'i love you' 2-4 months in

fiddling with his hands, tracing all the veins and his finger nails to distract yourself

sitting at his bedside holding his hand when he was in the hospital for either getting shot or the anthrax attack

being a constant support system for one another for this emotionally taxing job

[krea2re]

before i go back to playing solitaire let me post this.. MY COMMISSIONS ARE FINALLY OFFICIALLY OPEN FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS YEAR RAAAAAAAHHH IDC IF ITS THE END OF THE YEAR LET ME HAVE THISSS!!!! reblogs always appreciated as i need to buy art supplies for next semester

link to the form is right here

[osemanenjoyer]

solitaire appreciation post god i absolutely fucking love solitaire it is easily in my top 3 books/book series sweet jesus alive it is a good book okay gay little /pos rant over read solitaire

[chronicpessimisticsblog]

Reposting old solitaire drawings

[bigmack2go]

Yk the new broadway votes video/ newsies revival gives us a lot more canon, room for headcannons and confirmed theories. But yk what else it gives us? New faces. Room for new OC’s (and not just newsies ocs FINNALy) so logically i’m gonna name them A. L. L.

It’s gonna be a lot. But luckily i already have a bunch of OC’s even if i didnt work the out a lot. I have a huge list of names that are waiting for their faces and you bet your ass they’re gonna get them.

Now without further ado,

Clear the stage

for

BACKROUND’SIES!!!

(One single cheer is heard from the back of the room)

Okay so the first one that caught my eye was her (sorry for the very unforrunate Screenshot lol. I just couldnt get a beter frane of her face)

Now if you‘ve seen one of my newsies OC‘s posts before then you know about Piggy and how long ive been lookibg for someone who fits her. Lady and Gents This is her! SHE EVEN WEARS THE PIGGYTAILS I MEAN COME ON!

Then we have Brass. Who i absolutley didnt plan to even remotley look like that (in my head he was a boy so far) bit tjis just made a little too much sense to me.

Brass is fron brooklyn and lives in one of the biggest lodges (there)

(Also am i the only one who thinks she kinda looks like a Hamilton Ensamble💀)

Also lets fucking go with that Solitair/“Sully“ right here??? Shes perfect?? Could also be dots but i like her more as sully.

Sully is a Manhattan Newsie from the chatham lodge. Shes a gamler

Then theres Penny who i once spontaneously made up in four and a half seconds for a roleplay with @sprace-javey anyway this is her. Its perfect. SHES EVEN A SUFFRAGETTE I MEAN COME ON

Penny is the daughter of a bowery beauty who’s quite well off.

This is a penny appreciation post ok

Off topic but i dont think we appreciate these perfect Smalls face claims (one of the being for the trans smalls truthers) even remotely enough???

Now lets see if we can get a Bingo faceclaim here

Ok i have one. It took me unreasonably long to find him bc he’s literally one of the recurring faces??? Help?

Also lets get some Cazzone appreciation here! An irl Newsie who isnt nearly talked about enough!

I’m thinking…

(Get this guy some eyes wtf)

Then theres Warhorse, also an irl Newsie who i’ve been looking to get a faceclaim for for wayyyu too long

And friends.

I think i found him

Now since i can only add ten fotos, that would be it for part one but you bet your bitch ass i’m not even remotely close to done

Oh and dont worry! I’ll absolutely list the headcanons and new canons we now got!!

[thealexchen]

What’s your fav and least fav Oseman book? (My fav was Radio Silence and least was Loveless - just was underwhelmed idk)

This ask is so fun!

My favorite book by Alice is also Radio Silence. I think it really represents Alice coming into their own as a young writer. It's a passionately-written book inspired by the real disillusionment Alice had with her university experience and how the education system treats gifted kids. Compared to Solitaire, Radio Silence's characters were more diverse, and that diversity was integrated very seamlessly into the setting. I think Frances and Aled on their own are already very compelling characters, so their dynamic together is wonderful to read, fueled by mutual respect, appreciation, and artistic creativity. I also love both of their character designs and how much Alice emphasizes their distinct clothing choices and hairstyles, which makes them feel like real, expressive teenagers. I think the book also has the strongest narrative identity: it's not the amateur debut novel (Solitaire), it's not trying to teach the reader about aroaceness (Loveless), and it's not trying to impart lessons about fandom (IWBFT); it's a very character-driven novel fueled by human conflict, trauma, and complex relationships. It's also set over a long period of time, which adds depth to the story through strategically placed flashbacks and stretches out Frances and Aled's friendship and character arcs to a more realistic timespan. The podcast segments and certain scenes (like the entire few chapters where Frances is drunk at night and doesn't narrate reliably) also add a surreal, dreamy touch to the whole book that's so easy to get lost in, so I love it a lot.

My least favorite was actually I Was Born For This, mainly because it was hard for me to take a book about fandom and parasocial relationships as seriously as the story wanted me to. I really wanted to like this book for the Muslim representation especially, but Angel's character didn't make sense to me because I didn't believe that someone as smart and respectful as her to her idols would also be that invested in their lives; she'd have to be self-aware enough to realize sooner that her obsession wasn't healthy. I also felt like the themes fell flat compared to what Alice may have been trying to do with them. For example, the theme of religion where Angel is Muslim and Jimmy is Christian and the allegory of celebrities being "gods" that fans "worship," I felt like it didn't reach any satisfying conclusion. Angel's relationship with Islam wasn't explored as much as I would've liked; for example, in Radio Silence, Daniel and Frances have a conversation about feeling detached from their racial identities, but in IWBTF Angel never addresses how she reconciles queerness with her faith or acknowledges how she feels as a WOC in a very white, secular fandom space. I think RS and IWBTF showcase how Alice's writing changed pre and post-Heartstopper. It's more polished and mature, but because Heartstopper is so fluffy and optimistic, their later books lack the "bite" that their earlier works had that made them compelling.

Thank you so much for asking, seriously. I read all of Alice's books 1-2 years ago but haven't talked about them much on here yet, so thanks for giving me the opportunity to yap! 😄

[yellowocaballero]

Anyway.

How many works do you have on AO3? 54. Hm. I don't remember writing 54 fics. That's weird. But I've been posting since 2017 so when you THINK about it 54 fics over 7 years isn't weird at all.

What’s your total AO3 word count? 2.4 million. What's your point.

What fandoms do you write for? A fuckton. I write both things I'm hyperfixated on and for random shit that comes in my head. I was into TMA for like two years so I have the most TMA fic (16), but most of my fandoms are 3-5 fics maximum. There's also a lot of random-ass fics for random-ass fandoms that just jumped in my head. Artemis Fowl, Beetlejuice, Animorphs...demons that overtook me for two weeks or so and never bothered me again.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? The Great Gender Heist (Artemis Fowl, no surprise there.), stay out of trouble (Detroit: Become Human, I reliably forget that one exists and I'm still mystefied as to why so many people read it), meek shall inherit (I'm constantly attempting to forget the Be More Chill phase ever happened), someone will remember us (Batman, fic's not great, am still very fond of that au) and dead or alive (DBH, mediocre). Why the hell are the two Detroit: Become Human fics so popular? I hate DBH so much. I was so angry while writing those.

Do you respond to comments? I am absolutely terrible about responding to comments. I am sorry. I do read and appreciate all of them. It's because I always need to give a dialectical so comments take ages to write. If you do want to hear my thoughts on something, my inbox is your best bet for a way too lengthy response.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Hope, Etc for certain. I try really hard to write bittersweet at worst endings, and even the sad endings in my fics have hope in them. Hope, Etc definitely ends in a better place than where it began. But it's still very sad. I was thinking about a lot of lost loved ones while writing it. Fishhooks and reel to reel also have downer endings but that is because they are LITERALLY Star Wars.

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Uhhhh. The ending of Solitaire (and the MLM/WLW hostility series in general) is very sweet. It's meaningful because it demonstrates so much growth from everybody with very little cost. I almost said Go Straight At The Cul De Sac, because it showcases a happier world where horrible historical events were averted, but the ending will always be a little bittersweet because we understand how much Protag sacrificed to create that better world.

Do you get hate on fics? Sometimes people are kind of weird. The worst of it is usually just useless comments, though. I had somebody get pedantic about how briefly mentioning an SUV would be historically inaccurate, and how I should have mentioned a minivan instead - like, did you read that fic and think I was from the suburbs? Do I look like I know what a minivan is? Lol? If I've received any actual more severe stuff I have no idea, since I delete the comment and delete it from my memory. I've never gotten anything too bad. I've been called ablest like three times, which is objectively hilarious.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? If I could write smut I'd be making bank on Kindle Unlimited right now.

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Probably the FE3H/BNHA one I'm writing right now that will never see the light of day. Just kidding. I don't actually think I've posted any real crossovers - I DO write them, I just kind of feel like they're cringe so I never post them. I write a lot of cringe shit that never sees the light of day.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not nearly popular enough for that.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Several people have mentioned wanting to do that, but nope.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not technically. But I do want to give due honors to all of the friends who are SO instrumental in the building of the AUs, stories, characters, etc, that they've had a huge impact on the story itself. I try to recognize them by name in the fics themselves but my stories would look completely different if it wasn't for my friends. Definitely much worse.

What’s your all time favorite ship? I'll differentiate favorite ships and favorite fictional romances. For ships, it's much less about the ship and more about the role in the story. I tend not to pay a lot of attention to that while writing, but sometimes I get lost in my own sauce and I drive myself a bit nuts. I am very fond of Hanyookim, especially in my own ORV story. For romances? My top ten list of fictional romances is as follows: number one: naturally, Sasunaru -

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? If it's up on AO3, it's done (with one or two very small exceptions - The Ending of Han Sooyoung epilogue I'll get to you I PROMISE). There's plenty of unfinished docs on my drive that I'll never finish, but that's because I decided that they weren't worth finishing.

What are your writing strengths? Dialogue and characterization. That's always been the case. I'm also pretty funny.

What are your writing weaknesses? Plotting. Action. Having stories that are not entirely dialogue. Where things happen and it's more than just people walking around talking. You know. Real stories -

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Always valid. I remember reading one Hispanic author talking about how he doesn't like italicizing the Spanish in his stories because it's otherizing, and I agreed enough with him that I don't tend to italicize other languages either. Sometimes I do. I try to do it purposefully, and to convey something that can only be conveyed through the extra language. I'll also only do it if I can have a friend who speaks that language write it out for me, since gtranslate sucks and I want to ask the friend how such a thing would actually be said and colloquialize it. I like using ASL in fics, and I am just in general begging people to a) write it like any other language, and b) understand that it's different from other languages and can't be written exactly the same. If your Star Wars fanfiction has so much gratuitous Mando'a that I can't understand anything the clones or Mandos are saying I hate you.

First fandom you wrote for? Batman Beyond. Yes, I have a FFN account somewhere. Yes, I was eleven. Yes, it was Batman Beyond.

Favorite fic you’ve written? The best thing I've written is Twilight on Owl Creek Bridge. Favorite is New Wave. That sucker took two years to write (INSANELY long for me) and it is exactly the story I wanted to write. Stephanie's a character I've been writing since I was 15, and the feeling of writing Stephanie and NAILING her for the very first time was so satisfying.

Tagging @usaigi and uh any other writer mutuals you all know who you are.

[pickledsprite]

↓ updated introduction post! (2024)

↓ here are some basic info about me :)

My names Lili, I’m 15 and autistic. My native language is French (québécois) When interacting with me, please keep that In mind. Using tone indicators does help!! But not always necessary. :)

↓ art boundaries (IMPORTANT)

I do NOT allow reposting. (i don’t mean rebloging.) Meaning taking my art and posting it on other social medias like; Pinterest, TikTok, insta or even on tumblr. I don’t care if it has credit, I don’t allow it. If you do this, I will block you.

The only time my art can be used is if it’s used in an edit or as a pfp. In this case credit is necessary. If you encounter my art being reposted, reporting or telling me is appreciated.

↓ (special) interests :)

my interests vary a lot!!

Here are my spins; Art, Solitaire, Michael Jackson.

Interests in general: until dawn, X-men, heartstopper, radio silence, yuri on ice, Doukyuusei, miraculous ladybug, my little pony, littlest pet shop, saiki k, weird al, monster high, Taylor Swift, young Sheldon, HxH & makeup

↓ my other social medias

tiktoks: @pickledsprite (main), @solitairians & @michaelnotholden (dont rlly post on those anymore)

Insta: @ramennendou (main), @pickedsprite (art account, which I don’t post a lot on there)

Twitter: @soIitairians (the L is a capital i)

Email: @solitairianss

That’s pretty much it!

If theres any thing more you’d like to know me my ask inbox is always open and ready to take art requests or questions, ect…

Goodbye!!

[marsontherocks]

141 and Friends online Headcanons

Ghost has a secret account to monitor what everyone is doing. No one knows he even has any social media accounts until one day at breakfast he tells Soap to stop posting thirst traps on Instagram

Soap instead posts more thirst traps

Soap and Gaz bully each other online

Gaz has #CancelSoap in all of his bios

Alejandro has jumped on the #CancelSoap train

Gaz ends all his emails with "Please hesitate to reach out❤"

Price hates it

Laswell says she hates it but she loves it

Soap will click on any link he is sent

It's a huge issue

He has had to take Internet Safety classes too many times

Ghost will scold people for coming into his office unannounced because he's "incredibly busy"

He's playing Solitaire

Price forwards chain emails

Ghost makes chain emails and sends them to Price

König hates sending emails

Sometimes Rudy will post pictures of himself

A guy commented a heart emoji and immediately received a death threat from Alejandro

Valeria likes to slander Alejandro online

Alejandro once commented on one of the posts "The divorce was 7 years ago, move on"

Gaz sends Ghost a lot of memes because he thinks it annoys him

It doesn't, if anything Ghost appreciates it

Soap once took Rudy's phone and changed his insta bio to say "@/RudyLover's Discord Kitten"

Rudy didn't notice for a whole year

König likes watching those food cooking channels

Alex convinced Farah to get a TikTok

He regrets it because now Farah will ignore him to watch videos of cats

Gaz started a Price fan account

Soap and Farah are also apart of the account

It got weirdly popular but then someone reported it to Price and they had to take it down

Price was honestly flattered

Graves likes to watch watch repair videos

Graves has seen that one Pedro Pascal edit

Its his lock screen now

Gaz once sent Alejandro a very weird meme that was ment for Soap:

Alejandro is a little concerned about what those two talk about

Soap texts Ghost in weird fonts

Every new message is a new font

Ghost doesn't know how he hasn't ran out of fonts

Price watches fail complimations

Laswell and Price's conversations look like this:

Laswell: Lunch?

Price: Ok

Price: Lunch?

Laswell: K

Laswell: Seen news?

Price: No

They have never sent a text longer than 3 words

Soap also posts videos of him blowing things up

He has several account violations for saying shit like "BOMBS ARE AWESOME"

Ghost and Farah will video call just to watch Cat videos together, the call is always incredibly silent. Soap witnessed one. He didn't even know Ghost was on the phone till Farah sneezed.

Laswell never makes an account with her real name

Prices username is always JPrice and then some random numbers

Ghost doesn't ever want his account to be found by the others so he makes his username BestestHelloKittyLover420

Soap's username is BombLoverSoap

Gaz is BestKyleEverSixty9

Rudy's is AleLover, hes matching with Alejandro

Alex is FarahNumber1Fan

Farah is AlexNumber2Fan because AlexNumber1Fan was taken

Valeria is MamiESN

Graves is GravesNotFilled, hes aware of the double meaning here

König has a default username

Horangi makes matching profile pictures for him and König

Horangi's username is a keyboard smash

Roach posts pictures of bugs he finds in base and when he's deployed in another country

His username is RealRoachBlazeIt

BTW, if you want more of a certain headcanon, let me know, cuz I LOVE talking while at work lol. My inbox is open always👍

Masterlist

[bloody-wonder]

making progress on old series

let it not be said that i can only start new series🧐

new releases:

empire of the damned by jay kristoff (book two in: empire of the vampire). i might have mentioned this one once or twice already so let's keep it brief. i loved it! even more than book one, i think. love liathe joining the main cast, love jean françois' everything, love how everyone got queerer, love the reveals at the end. very excited for the last book in this series, altho i'm a bit disappointed that it's now three books instead of five - since there are five vampire houses i wanted them to keep taking on a house in each book, with blood chastain being the final boss. very rude of kristoff to betray my vision.

the sunshine court by nora sakavic (book four in: all for the game). i don't think this spin off continuation was necessary and i didn't particularly enjoy it but i'm glad jean stans now have their own sacred text. my biggest fear was that nora would retcon something about the og trilogy and that didn't happen so i can just keep living in peace while mostly ignoring tsc fan content. more thoughts on why i didn't vibe with tsc in these posts.

mislaid in parts half-known by seanan mcguire (book nine in: wayward children). so this series consists of books focused on individual wayward children as well as of ensemble books which are usually weaker and this particular novella unfortunately belongs to the latter category. i still liked it fine and it was a quick read but tbh i'm ready for this series to wrap up so i hope goodreads isn't lying about the next book being the final installment.

fence vol. 6: redemption by cs pacat & johanna the mad. i rated it five stars but ngl i have no memory of what happened in this volume altho i read it in february😅 i like this series overall but i feel like the first few volumes were more exciting. weirdly now that the slow burn is finally starting to pay off i suddenly lose interest😕

heartstopper: volume five by alice oseman. i'm not a big fan of heartstopper in general, i think it's overhyped, but i did like this volume more than the previous ones. maybe i'm biased bc it features tori coming out as ace which prompted me to pick up solitaire which i loved and so it retroactively cast a more favorable light on the graphic novel. looking forward to reading the last volume bc i like finishing things and then i might as well read the nick and charlie novellas - at which point i will have become a person who doesn't like oseman's books all that much and yet has somehow read all but one of them🫤

mammoths at the gates and the brides of high hill by nghi vo (books four and five in: the singing hills cycle). i have only really liked the second singing hills novella so at this point it would be smart to admit that this series is simply not for me and stop reading it but. these books are so short and perfect for when you want to get through something quickly even if you know you're not likely to enjoy it. and if indeed eight stories are planned then it means i have now read more than half so i might as well complete the series🤷‍♀️ *gets shot by sunk cost fallacy police*

series i completed:

regency faerie tales by olivia atwater (read books two and three: ten thousand stitches and longshadow). love love LOVE these books!! i read half a soul last october and ten thousand stitches this january - both times when i was sick in bed and i couldn't have wished for better books to help me recover from a cold. the first one is pride & prejudice meets jonathan strange & mr norrell, the second one is a cinderella retelling, both have lovely romances and can be read as standalones. i think half a soul is fairly popular (and constantly compared to the book that shall not be named😒) but ten thousand stitches is very underappreciated. i for one think it's at least as good, if not better, than half a soul - apparently people just can't appreciate a love interest who isn't angsty and brooding😒 longshadow is a companion novel too but imo it features too many characters and concepts from the previous books so it should definitely be read last. i didn't like it as much bc i think it relies too much on the stuff we already know and love instead of giving its protagonists enough time to shine but it is queer which made me realize we don't have nearly enough queer fae books. what a disgrace🧐

noumena by lindsay ellis (read book three: apostles of mercy). so this was unfortunately mind-bogglingly boring. this type of sci fi is usually not my cup of tea and so i stay away from it but i decided to give this series a try bc it was written by lindsay ellis. the first book was entertaining enough but both sequels bored me to tears. it seems i was under a misconception that the story was gonna be about a sad girl trying to navigate a third thing type of relationship with a freaky alien but it was instead about her navigating instalovey relationships with random humans and the alien was also there sometimes. big disappointment👎

series i'm slowly working my way through:

the memoirs of lady trent by marie brennan (read books two, three and four: the tropic of serpents, the voyage of the basilisk and in the labyrinth of drakes). i read book one last december and liked it just enough to continue the series but every next book after that turned out to be amazing. follow lady trent, a 19th century dragon naturalist and adventurer, legendary as she is scandalous, as she travels through fantasy africa, oceania and arabia in search of dragons living and extinct, starts various political upheavals, makes breathtaking discoveries and finds love - a life journey she recounts as an old woman in a delightfully snarky narrative voice.

book two is my favorite so far bc it found a perfect balance of fast-paced adventurous plot on the one hand and character and relationship development on the other. i'm a bit sad that natalie left the main cast after this book - one of the only two criticisms i have of this series is that the titular lady trent remains the only important woman character. i think it wouldn't be too far-fetched to have one more woman on the team and natalie was a perfect protegée who, might i add, is also canonically ace. hate to see her leave😒

book three introduces a love interest who i at first found kinda bland but he grew on me in book four. my favorite relationship in the series however remains the one between lady trent and her trusted colleague tom wilker with whom they used to butt heads when they first met but who is now her dearest friend and longtime companion on her journeys. there are many books about romance and friendship but not so many about the utter satisfaction of having a coworker you can absolutely rely on. my prediction/wish for the last book is for wilker to turn out to be gay and find love too🤞

the other criticism i have has to do with the worldbuilding and i'll elaborate on it when i complete the series later this year.

the witcher by andrzej sapkowski (read books two and three: the time of contempt and baptism of fire). i'm enjoying this series much more than i thought i would. the key to success here is to leave behind all expectations you have from reading western epic fantasy or indeed from the witcher adaptations. this saga started as short stories and sapkowski remains a short story author first and foremost which might irritate a reader expecting a novel with a neat three act structure but which i personally found fascinating. the opening chapter of book two told from the pov of a messenger who encounters all major characters on the road, gets a death prophecy from a girl he doesn't know to be ciri and indeed dies as the chapter ends - i think that was a very creative way to reintroduce the reader to the main cast and plot essentially through the format of a short story.

another thing sapkowski does a lot is conveying everything through dialogue which, as you might know, is like bookish catnip to me lol. some dialogues are there just for the sake of dialogue, only bc the author wanted some side characters he made up to have a funny conversation. to be fair, at worst this structure becomes too meandering but i gotta say i find that chapters that are focused on mundane scenes seemingly going nowhere are more fun than plot focused chapters about sorceresses and wizards fighting or whatever. the witch trial chapter in baptism of fire - that's where it's at for me.

the thing i'm still not so sure about is the way women and women's issues are represented. very mixed feelings on what happens to milva in book three, tho i think i wouldn't be so skeptical had she not been the only woman on the main cast in that book. (cahir and regis are such fun characters with interesting motivations and stuff so ig i'm pissed that the only female character's deal has to be about that). ciri on the other hand is written very well imo and i totally did not expect her to be in a sapphic relationship. sure hope nothing bad happens to her gf🥲

vorkosigan saga by lois mcmaster bujold (read books one, two and four (??): shards of honor, barrayar and the vor game). so after reading the warrior's apprentice and the mountains of mourning last year i took a step back and read cordelia's books which i unfortunately didn't like. cordelia is a type of female character i don't vibe with and the gender themes in her books, while likely very progressive for their time, often made me roll my eyes, grind my teeth etc. in my goodreads reviews i explain my issues in more detail. the ethical implications of uterine replicators haunt me still😕

returning to miles in the vor game was both welcome and disappointing bc i keep expecting more from this man and he keeps falling short of my grand lymondesque expectations. in this book in particular i was immediately hooked on the arctic base plot only for it to be cut short bc this is a space opera and miles needs to go do pew pew pew in space, just like in book one. boo. now that i know weatherman was formerly a short story bujold later incorporated into the vor game i think it's curious that i seem to like miles a lot in short stories and novellas (the mountains of mourning remains my favorite) but am underwhelmed by the full length novel miles.

i will say however that now i have sufficiently adjusted my expectations and am very motivated to find out if there is a vorkosigan book out there that i will absolutely love. so i'll keep reading a few books per year - there's something soothing about slowly working one's way through a very long series😌

the realm of the elderlings by robin hobb (read books two and three: royal assassin and assassin's quest). the farseer books are the longest and (for the most part) the most boring books i have read this year. normally i don't torture myself like this but i wanted to do it for the fool and see how his relationship with fitz develops. was it worth it? i would say yes but only bc i let myself curate my own perfect reading experience and skimmed aggressively, sometimes skipping entire chapters. and i will do it again!👿 bc i will keep reading the elderlings books to see how the one million page yaoi plays out.

the only part of the farseer trilogy i really enjoyed was the second half of assassin's quest - not just bc fitz and the fool were cute and heart-wrenching together but bc of the entire unlikely fellowship on this quest. nighteyes is my favorite which is a feat on hobb's part bc normally i don't care about animal companions or am annoyed by them. kettle is iconic, always remember to take an auld woman on a quest (or she will chase you down and join despite your protests and prevarications). i hated starling but in a series where most characters provoke zero emotions that was a welcome change. kettricken was also there. their group dynamic was delightful and i wish the entirety of this series (or at least of this last book) was this slow burn psychological character study in close proximity group dynamics. but you can't always have what you want ig🤷‍♀️

what's next:

finishing the memoirs of lady trent - only one book in the main series is left and then there's also a spin off about her granddaughter, i think

rereading swordspoint which i first read back in 2020 and found underwhelming but it may just have been bc captive prince was such a hard act to follow for many gay books i tried back then. i hope i will like it more now that i can meet it halfway and if it goes well i want to complete the riverside trilogy right away

sometime this fall i'm gonna read pandora and vittorio the vampire. finishing the vampire chronicles is on my bookish bucket list and now, two whole years after i reread three of them to refresh my memory, i finally feel sane and brave enough to keep working towards that goal. so wish me luck🥲

finishing joanne harris' st oswald's series which started with one of my favorite dark academia novels gentlemen and players. i read the sequel last year and liked it a lot so now i want to read the final book a narrow door which also seems like a perfect autumnal read

the new evander mills mystery comes out in october and i'd like to read it before the year ends

2024 reading updates | goodreads