#the Netflix and tv series adaption is so good

[handfulofmuses]

I wish to ramble about Vervain again.

[killerfrostisme]

My morning routine includes scouring through the internet desperately searching for a Lockwood and Co season 2 update.

[asclexe]

*me blinking at the last page* woabh…

[mementomoriwithacherryontop]

Thoughtful and heartfelt article written by Lacy Baugher about the cancellation of Dead Boy Detectives, and why the decision just doesn’t make sense for Netflix.

I could literally quote the whole thing. Instead, I’ll leave you with these three (lengthy) quotes and encourage you to read the article in its entirety. And you totally should. It’s worth the read.

Quotes Below:

“On paper, the Dead Boy Detectives has all the ingredients to succeed. Its cast is charming; its vibes are fun and accessible. It features a genuine connection to an established and successful genre property, but not one so deep that new viewers would find themselves overwhelmed by lore. Perhaps most importantly, it has so, so much heart.”

“The pieces were in place for the series to run multiple seasons with rich character dynamics between the core quartet and a template that allowed for all sorts of adventures for the living and the dead. If this had been a show introduced during the heyday of The CW, it probably would have run for the better part of a decade. Alas, that's almost never a possibility in today's streaming landscape. Even the most successful series tend to come with a built-in expiration date. (Five years, max.)

Netflix has something of a history when it comes to cutting promising genre shows off at the knees. In recent years it has unceremoniously dumped all sorts of series, from fantasy (Shadow and Bone, Warrior Nun), and supernatural (Lockwood and Co., First Kill, The Midnight Club) to sci-fi (The OA, 1899). Dead Boy Detectives is certainly joining a good company. But the fact that its main characters were part of the same universe as The Sandman makes the show's cancellation even more galling. What streamer doesn't want a franchise to call its own? The Sandman is still one of the most popular comic series ever, and Netflix is currently gearing up to drop the second season of its successful TV adaptation.”

“That Dead Boy Detectives wasn't given more time to build an audience �� or a bigger promotional budget to let viewers know of its existence — feels particularly criminal because Sandman's second season would have almost certainly given the drama a needed awareness boost.”

[vargamornight]

i don’t read or watch reviews of anything until after i've finished it so i may be repeating what others have said but here is my impression of dragon age: the veilguard

overall i like it. it's a fun game with a good story, likable characters who feel interwoven with the narrative in a pleasant way, really good character customization, and a nice style that rides the fence between realistic and cartoonish that i actually really enjoy.

i do feel like they made this game with the intent for it to be picked up and turned into a tv show, a la arcane, if arcane wasn't allowed to have nuance.

every edge has been sanded down. there is almost no mention of the anti-elf racism, anti-mage bigotry, slavery, etc that were HEAVILY important in the first three games. the mage stuff makes a bit more sense since it takes place in tevinter, where mages "rule," but still. (they also only mention slavery when your character has a background in freeing slaves, as though the fact that the nation you currently inhabit has slaves is irrelevant unless the player character decides to care.)

in the first three games, the bad guys were guys. just some dudes. every villain, with the exception of the archdemon, was a person. it was an elf selling elves into slavery, a human turning his back on the grey wardens, a man insisting the mages be slaughtered just in case one of them was an abomination. in da2, it's your friend's brother who tries to kill you, the fantasy sheriff who tries to kill everyone, your friend and/or lover who blows up a building. in inquisition, it's your friend's old mentor who tries to erase you from time, your friend and/or lover who was lying the entire time, and a DIFFERENT friend and/or lover who was ALSO lying the entire time. who the villains even were is occasionally debatable, but every villain was familiar. you knew them, you cared about them and their story, so it added weight to your decisions about how to deal with them. this is present in all three games.

in veilguard, the bad guys are grotesque, ancient mages akin to gods, so far removed from anything familiar that you cannot possibly mistake them for anything other than the villains. they are completely foreign to you. you don’t give a shit about them, because there's nothing more to them than "they're evil and need to be stopped." all nuance is gone. the biggest decision in the entire first third of the game just hardens one character. compared to any big decision you could make in origins or inquisition, where your choices literally shaped the future of multiple nations, it seems very... meh. and the decisions you made in the previous three games have no bearing whatsoever on the world in veilguard! i knew i wouldn't like that when they announced there would only be three decisions included, and i was fucking right.

basically veilguard feels like it was written for people who have never played a dragon age game, with the express purpose of netflix adapting it to a pg13 original series, so it has absolutely no teeth.

comparing veilguard to origins feels like going from the shawshank redemption to toy story. toy story is still an amazing movie, but how the hell did we end up here?

[rick-riordan-official]

Hello! I was wondering if you were going to go in further with the characters of Magnus Chase and Sadie and Carter Kane? They’re all super interesting and loaded and genuinely cool so I was wondering if there would ever be any more published material of them? Maybe even a TV series?

The rights to The Kane Chronicles have been returned to me after the Netflix adaptation fell through, the same has happened with Daughter of the Deep and Disney. I would love to see all my works come to life but I think it’s best to focus on Percy for now considering we’re in the early stages of filming for season 2. As for Magnus Chase I’m holding out for the right deal. I’m not done exploring his world for good, just for now.

[anonymous-dentist]

My ORIGINAL plan for today was an au that was like

So Roier is an internet-famous cosplayer who went viral for his Spider-Man cosplays. He’s at a convention in cosplay, this time as Spider-Man

In the Artist Alley, he runs into someone cosplaying Cell, a villain from an old Brazilian internet show that’s just gotten picked up for a full Netflix tv adaptation years later with different actors than the original

Roier is lowkey a fan of the og YouTube show, but he’s a bigger fan of this dude’s cosplay, because it looks really good, like it’s right off the set of the new tv show

That’s because it is right off the set of the new tv show, and this is the og Cell actor from almost a decade ago. He and the other og actors are all doing promo for the new series by doing a panel with the new actors all dressed up as their respective characters, but Cellbit snuck away after the panel to get away from the cameras

“I’m a writer now,” he explains. “And I don’t exactly have a, uh. Camera face.”

“Same,” Roier says, pointing at his Spider-Man mask. “I have this for a reason.”

“Shut up, you literally just showed me your Instagram!”

“And you haven’t followed me back, mother-fucker!”

Eventually, Cellbit gets dragged off by his security detail to go and do a signing session with the new Cell actor, but he and Roier promise to meet up again outside of the con

And then they get married and write comics together because I said so

[neonscandal]

9 Anime to Watch to Feel Like This 👇🏾

The alternative title/concept for this list was "Anime Featuring The Zaddiests of Daddies" but, you know. Consistency or whatever. When I saw the gif, however, I cackled so loud that I figured it still captured The Vibe ✨ (that being #fatherless) Considering this context, some recommendations are slightly longer than the usual bite size serving of 12-24 episodes but you won't regret indulging. Each show is recommended for the plot which is very evident with the teaser gifs. Happy Fathers' Day, you degenerates. And remember, you don't have to have kids to be a Daddy. 😈❤️

Spy x Family (series) - There is something so wholesome about the fate of the world as he knows it relying on how convincingly he can portray a Good Father despite his own origin story. Loid Forger, in a mission to maintain peace, creates the perfect family through any means necessary. Doubt he realized, in doing so, he'd create a home for himself and the oddballs helping to keep up the ruze.

Sub/Dub | Crunchyroll, Hulu

Buddy Daddies (series) - The life of hitmen Rei Suwa and Kazuki Kurusu get a bit more messy when one of their hits leaves them with a pretty sizable loose end. Regardless of their occupation, their lives change around a little girl and trying to provide as good a home as two, single twenty-something men can. The rest, they'll figure out.

Sub/Dub | Crunchyroll

My Senpai is Annoying (series) - Very capable working woman finds herself kohai to an older, overly chummy colleague who DEFINITELY does not know how to PDF documents unsupervised. This is a show about their day to day interactions. If you're wondering if Takeda is the only contender in this series, hold out for Futaba's grandfather. Just trust me.

Sub/Dub | Crunchyroll

Jujutsu Kaisen (series + movie) - *Gestures vaguely to my blog* This show has plenty of compelling reasons to become obsessed. Trying to train strong child soldiers to protect the balance of humans vs curses so they don’t see a grisly demise is just one of them. Not your average shonen, not your average found families.

Sub/Dub | Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu

My Hero Academia (series + movies) - Something about kids needing guidance so as not to die while in the pursuit of some great civic duty really creates an environment for some skrunkly father figures. 😘👌🏾 Never mind that the climax of this story is one that tangles generations of families as society adapts to the advent of super powers.

Sub/Dub | Crunchyroll, Hulu, Netflix

Fire Force (series) - in a world where humans can spontaneously combust, Shinra, who is blamed for the fire that killed his mother and younger brother, seeks to overcome the stigma of his power and joins Fire Force Company 8. In training to fight Infernals, he learns to control his pyrokineses under the guidance of many talented fighters while trying to understand the world around him and the invisible hand that manipulates everything.

Sub/Dub | Crunchyroll, Hulu

Attack on Titan (series) - Unpredictable violence at the vicious jaws of larger than life monsters, the last remaining humans seek refuse behind hallowed walls. Until one day, the day the first wall fell, which made what once provided security feel more like a holding pen ahead of the slaughter. As resources dwindle and the indomitable curiosity of humans persist, the brave minority pushes the boundaries of the walls that house them and seek to uncover the shroud of mystery as of how they found themselves prisoners to titans in the first place.

Sub/Dub | Crunchyroll, Hulu, Sling TV

Chainsaw Man (series) - Human fears strengthen devils which threaten to overrun the world. Enter the Public Safety Devil Hunters responsible for exterminating devils before they become bigger problems and keeping a bead on larger threats, namely, the Gun Devil. The titular character eventually falls under the supervision of Aki Hayakawa (and later Kishibe *swoon*) who has a strong single-dad-who-works-two-jobs-who-loves-his-kids-and-never-stops type vibe.

Sub/Dub | Crunchyroll, Hulu

Blue Exorcist (series + movie) - When your dad is Satan, the bar is literally in hell for the man who steps up to raise you. Even so, LOOK AT THE DRIP. There's a narrow line to walk when trying to overcome your own parentage and twin brothers, Rin and Yukio, seek to do so by following in their adoptive father, Shiro Fujimoto's, footsteps despite obvious adversity. Just remember to skip to Season 2 after episode 17 or Google the proper order to watch.

Sub/Dub | Crunchyroll, Hulu

[orionsangel86]

Seeing the latest trailer for Dead Boy Detectives I am starting to feel really hyped for this show. It just looks like such good fun and I wanna highlight some things about it which I feel I am quite perfectly placed as a blogger who is mostly followed by A. Sandman fans, B. Good Omens fans, and C. Supernatural fans.

So here is why ALL of these fandoms should be joining forces and watching Dead Boy Detectives:

It's based on works by Neil Gaiman (Sandman and Good Omens creator - as if you didn't already know lol) and Neil has been involved in its TV adaptation.

It's set in the Sandman universe and will likely have Sandman characters guest starring - Death of the Endless is a confirmed guest star now and features briefly in the latest trailer!

It's gonna be very queer. Look I know this isn't 100% confirmed but there is definitely a big tumblr ship to be made out of Edwin and Charles who have been appropriately aged up from the comics (no shipping of 12 year olds here thank goodness). Y'all are gonna go feral for this ship I just know it.

It's a supernatural mystery series that includes two boys investigating supernatural crimes - sound familiar SPN fans?

It's showrunner is our very own beloved ghost of Steve Yockey (no I'm never letting that joke die) and since Steve Yockey was hands down one of the best SPN writers since Ben Edlund you KNOW its gonna be good.

Ruthie Connell - Need I say more?

Alex Calvert - You'll get to see our beloved child of Destiel again in a new form lmao

Basically this is looking to be like someone asked the question "what would Supernatural have looked like if it came from the mind of Neil Gaiman, had a big budget, and was openly queer?" and THAT my friends, is a question I desperately want to know the answer to.

So watch Dead Boy Detectives! It premiers on Netflix on April 25th.

Then come back to tumblr afterwards and scream about it with me!

:D

[detectivejay]

Detective/Mystery Media List

Open to more recommendations if I’m missing any favorites I should check out, let me know! Particularly any other good Sherlock adaptations, but also interested in finding more female, PoC and/or queer-led detective media.

Watched/read/played/etc:

Sherlock Holmes (ACD canon)

Sherlock - Basil Rathbone adaptation film series

Sherlock - Granada, Jeremy Brett adaptation TV series (some episodes, need to rewatch) - shoutout to @thegreatandlovablespacedorito for reminding me to revisit this one

BBC Sherlock TV series

Sherlock - Robert Downey Jr movies

Enola Holmes (movies)

Moriarty the Patriot/Yuumori (manga and anime)

Ron Kamanohashi: Deranged Detective/Forbidden Deductions aka RKDD (anime, need to read the manga)

Hercule Poirot novels (not all but a large portion) - need to watch more of the TV show Spenser novels by Robert B Parker (not all but a large portion)

Auguste C Dupin - The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe (short story)

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (book)

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (book)

Case Closed / Detective Conan (anime, some episodes/seasons)

Knives Out movies

Psych TV series

Only Murders in the Building TV series

The Dresden Files books

Brookyln 99 TV series

House MD TV series

Monk TV series (watched some episodes)

Murder She Wrote (a few scattered episodes)

The Clue movie

Anita Blake book series (up to book 10)

Some Nancy Drew books

Ace Attorney video games (AA1-AA6 plus Investigations 1)

Professor Layton video games (not all but I believe at least the first 3)

Sherlock Hound

The Great Mouse Detective

Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century

Inspector Gadget cartoon

Scooby Doo cartoons

The Boxcar Children

Detective Pikachu movie

The Case Study of Vanitas (anime/manga)

The Millionaire Detective - Balance: Unlimited (anime) - @prapo237 got me into this one x3 so silly

Currently watching/reading/playing/etc:

Sherlock - Elementary TV series (on 2nd season)

Only Murders in the Building season 4 (TV series)

The Invisible Library novel series by Genevieve Cogman recommended by a friend IRL - up to book 6 currently, The Secret Chapter

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (video game duology, includes Herlock Sholmes)

Ace Attorney Investigations 2 (video game)

Persona 5 (video game) recommended by friends on the JR Discord

Sherlock Holmes and Co - podcast (seen a lot of posts about this, but I’m terrible at following podcasts so TBD, going to try some suggestions from @wasabitheweirdo to help with this)

To watch/read/play/etc:

My Dear Detective: Mitsuko’s Case Files manga suggested on the JR Discord

Detective L - Chinese Sherlock-inspired TV series on Youtube recommended by @meg-pond

Miss Sherlock - Japanese series also suggested by @meg-pond

Bodkin TV series on Netflix - Irish, female-led, recommended by @rubycountess

Columbo tv series

Murder on the Orient Express movie

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes film

Bonnie MacBird Sherlock Holmes books recommended by @romanathree

Soviet made Sherlock Holmes film recommended by @imlostatau on Youtube

Baskerville play by Ken Ludwig suggested by @wolfyraged

Without a Clue suggested by @helloliriels

Young Sherlock suggested by @helloliriels

Charlotte Holmes books by Sherry Thomas suggested by @lej418

Sherlock Holmes stories by Anthony Horowitz ("House Of Silk" and "Moriarty") recommended by @bringerofworlds

Miss Marple novels by Agatha Christie

Any other Agatha Christie novels I haven’t read (Sad Cypress recommended by @romanathree )

AJ Raffles books by William Hornung recommended by @romanathree

Dead Boy Detectives on Netflix

Elemental Masters by Mercedes Lackey

Holmes, Marple and Poe by James Patterson - curious to see how this book treats these original characters inspired by the greats, the new characters are Brendan Holmes, Margaret Marple (maybe related to Jane Marple?) and Auguste Poe (takes his first name from Poe’s detective, Auguste Dupin)

The rest of the Dupin stories

The rest of the Raymond Chandler books

More Arsene Lupin stories (including ones vs Herlock Sholmes)

Nero Wolfe novels by Rex Stout

Pet Shop of Horrors anime/manga recommended by @eden-falls

Otherside Picnic recommended by @eden-falls

Lonely Castle in the Mirror recommended by @eden-falls

Phryne Fisher's murder mysteries books and TV show recommended by @milenathebrave

The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison, saw this one posted recently by @seeingteacupsindragons and I'm curious so added it to the list

Magnus Archives horror/thriller mystery podcast recommended by @writingandwritten

[manic-intent]

Hi there! About five years ago, you provided reading recommendations for me in the “weird western” genre. It took me on a journey that exposed me to many incredible, diverse authors and reignited my love of reading. Would you be willing to share some more book recommendations? Doesn’t have to be weird western - I like your taste and am always happy to expand my horizons.

Thank you so much for your time and I hope you’re doing well!

Hello!

I haven't been reading that many English novels lately... I fell into the hole of reading Chinese danmei novels and with all its popcorn bloody drama it's been hard to turn back. If you're willing to try danmei, I rec:

Qiang Jin Jiu (officially licensed, or you can look up the English fan translation). Probably my fave danmei of all time and my fave book of the year from a couple of years back. Incredible read. Alt history novel.

Scum Villain's Self Saving System (same as above)

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (same as above). Has been adapted into an animation and a tv show that is on Netflix (The Untamed).

Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know (x)

The Demon Venerable's Wistful Desire (x)

Peerless (x)

Books by priest (Guardian, Mo Du, etc). For priest if you're unfamiliar with her work I rec starting with the tv adaptation of Tian Ya Ke (Word of Honour) that is on Netflix

For English/English Translated novels, I've always loved:

Jin Yong (The Legend of the Condor Heroes is deservedly one of the most-read books in the world. I grew up with this, as did many people across the Chinese diaspora. On the official translation it's billed as the "Chinese Lord of the Rings", but it's nothing like Lord of the Rings--it's wuxia. Hell, it's probably more read than Lord of the Rings by sheer reader volume. tbh the official English translation annoys me because of the random name translations, so I rec the fan translation here)

NK Jemisin (Fifth Season series etc, incredible books, fantasy)

Liu Cixin (Three Body Problem etc: now adapted into several tv shows, including one on Netflix. I haven't watched any of them yet but you can try those first if you don't want to commit to the books)

Claire G Coleman (Terra Nullius, The Old Lie)

Saad Z Hossain (The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday etc)

Nnedi Okorafor (Akata Witch etc)

Yoon Ha Lee (Ninefox Gambit etc)

Nahoko Uehashi (Moribito, Beast Player etc)

SA Chakraborty (City of Brass etc)

Stephen Graham Jones (The Only Good Indians etc)

... and more :) Hope that helps as a starting point!

[benkyoutobentou]

What I've Been Enjoying Lately - Japanese Media

This is way overdue! I've been consuming so much great media in Japanese, it's time to share the love and recommend some things for all of you lovely language learners

📚 Books:

旅猫リポート - 有川浩: This is a super adorable novel about a stray cat who is taken in by a young man. Five years later, the owner is suddenly unable to take care of this cat and the two embark on a road trip across Japan to find the perfect new owner. This one is definitely a tear jerker to any animal lover and will absolutely make you want to cuddle your own fluffy friends into oblivion.

キノの旅 - 時雨沢恵一: This is a light novel series that's extremely close to my heart! The 2003 anime adaption of this series also isn't just my favorite anime, but my favorite TV show ever. Because of the relatively simple vocabulary, I often see it recommended as a first read for Japanese learners just dipping their toes into novel reading, and I find myself agreeing. This series follows a teenager named Kino who travel from country to country with a motorrad named Hermes. There's not much of a continuous plot and very few recurring characters, making it even easier to follow if something confuses you. Despite the fluffy sounding description, this series has a good amount of content warnings accompanying it and can get pretty gory at times as well.

僕らの地球の歩き方 - ソライモネ: An adorable manga series in which two men travel the world together under the agreement that, upon returning to Japan, they'll get married. I feel like if someone looked into my brain to find what I like in a series in order to create a manga series perfectly suited to my tastes, it would be 僕らの地球の歩き方. It's gay, it's adorable, it's about traveling the world, it's about loving the people around you and human culture and delicious food, I'm already crying. Definitely one of my all time favorites.

薔薇王の葬列 - 菅野文: I went back and forth about putting this on my list, but it's not titled "What I've Been Enjoying Lately" for nothing and boy oh boy have I been enjoying this lately. Perhaps I've been enjoying it a bit too much. A while back, I actually banned myself from reading this series because I didn't have the full set and would instantly be put in an awful mood if I caught up with the volumes I had. This manga series follows Richard Plantagenet III, yes, that one, and his ascendance to the British throne. This series is chock full of treachery, murder, violence, and everything else nice. Due to the... everything about this series.... there's a lot of unusual vocabulary, but it has furigana on everything, which helps a lot for speedy look ups.

気になってる人が男じゃなかった - 新井すみこ: Bonus manga! Because this one is worth it, and also because everyone needs a little more GL on their shelves. This manga is so good that I've even been seeing people who don't speak Japanese buy this to have on their shelves. It follows a slightly awkward girl and a gyaru from her class as the two bond of their shared love of western rock music. Yeah, this is the manga that's doing a collab with Nirvana.

📺 Shows and Movies:

Old Fashion Cupcake - This is a BL office romance drama about a middle aged man and his subordinate who begin acting like teenage girls in an attempt to regain some of their youth. Through eating sweets together, taking selfies and food pictures, and talking "girls' talk," the two deepen their bond. I don't think I can say this enough, I love food romances. If their is food involved in a romance, I'm there, no need to tell me twice. This series is super sweet and a really enjoyable watch.

カルテット - Four musicians meet by chance and decide to form a quartet together. However, each one has secrets that they're hiding. Bonus points to Netflix for actually having a J-drama I like for once. This series has a warm and cozy found family vibe, while still managing to have some of the most wildest shenanigans imaginable. I also really appreciated that this series seems to take some stances that I've never seen before, especially regarding family and what you owe to your parents.

映像研には手を出すな！ - This anime follows three girls and their attempts to make anime. As an anime that is about the creation of anime, it's really no surprise that the art and animation is stand out in this series. I loved the ways that we as the viewer were able to see the imaginations of the characters. I also really enjoyed the characters, and the voice acting was phenomenal as well. This show is also home to one of the best intros ever.

赤髪の白雪姫 - This fantasy anime follows the titular character Shirayuki as she escapes from her home kingdom after being chosen as a royal concubine due to her unusual red hair. On her travels, she meets a prince from a neighboring kingdom and becomes a palace herbalist. It's not often that I watch or care about straight romances in media, but this romance is so adorable, and even beyond it, I truly love all the characters and their relationships in this series. Also, I think this is the only show I've watched where I found the soundtrack to actually be distracting- and not because I didn't like it, but because it was just that good.

🎤 Music:

オーガストの風 - THE BLACKBAND

夢伝説 - Stardust Revue

lemonade - Chili Beans.

Show - Ado

[gottiewrites]

Amazon MGM Studios is developing the YA novel “The Loneliest Girl in the Universe” as a feature film.

Variety released the news today:

Amazon MGM Studios is developing the YA novel “The Loneliest Girl in the Universe” as a feature film.

Joe Roth and Jeffrey Kirschenbaum (“Anyone but You,” “Fast X,” the upcoming “Jackpot”) will produce the film alongside Katherine Langford, best known for starring in Netflix’s hit YA series “13 Reasons Why”; Seldy Gray will oversee development for Roth Kirschenbaum Films.

The project is in early development at the studio with Sarah Conradt-Kroehler writing the script, from a treatment by Gary Dauberman.

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe was first published in 2017. It was nominated for the 2019 Carnegie medal, named one of Barnes & Noble’s Top 15 YA Books of 2018, and shortlisted for the STEAM Children’s Book Prize 2019.

Romy Silvers is the only surviving crew-member of a spaceship travelling to a new planet, on a mission to establish a second home for humanity. Alone in space, she is the loneliest girl in the universe until she hears about a new ship which has launched from Earth with a single passenger on board. A boy called J.

Their only communication is via email and due to the distance between them, their messages take months to transmit. And yet Romy finds herself falling in love.

But what does Romy really know about J? And what do the mysterious messages which have started arriving from Earth really mean?

Sometimes, there’s something worse than being alone…

I’ve been holding onto this secret for four long years, so I’m beyond thrilled to finally be able to share it.

The production company, Roth/Kirschenbaum, made Damsel (Milly Bobby Brown/Netflix), Anyone but You (Sydney Sweeney/Glen Powell), The School for Good and Evil (Paul Feig/Netflix), Fast X (Vin Diesel) and The Gray Man (Ryan Gosling), so Romy is in very, very good hands indeed.

A movie deal is, obviously, a dream come true. It’s not something I ever thought would happen to me. I feel lucky enough to get to keep writing new books, let alone for someone to make an adaptation of something that came out of my brain.

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe is a very special story to me. I wrote it when I was 22, fresh out of a physics degree. On the surface, it was inspired by some of the physics I’d learnt about deep space travel at university, but mainly it was propelled by the complicated feelings I had about technically being an ‘adult’ while really just feeling like a naiive kid. It was about internet dating, and fandom as a form of self expression, and my complicated relationship with girlhood (as someone who no longer really identifies as a ‘girl’).

Romy is one of the most precious character I’ve ever created. I poured so much of myself into her personality; her insecurities; her flaws and strengths. So many readers respond to her vulnerability (and mine) with deep love. People have told me that they would die for Romy. That she’s their favourite fictional character of all time. That she’s helped them process so much of their own anxiety, trauma and imposter syndrome. That she’s a role model for girls who are deciding to study science at university. As a writer, it’s the biggest honour to have created someone who feels so real and important to so many people.

I can’t wait for Romy to reach a whole new audience on screen through Amazon MGM Studios. The team at R/K have a very clear vision for Romy’s story, and so much respect for her journey as a character. I’m very excited to see what they create.

I have some experience of the TV industry in UK through my work in the Heartstopper writer’s room as story consultant, but movies and Hollywood are obviously a whole new ballgame. I’m excited and nervous to learn more!

For everyone who’s been with me and Romy since 2017, I hope the The Loneliest Girl in the Universe movie lives up to all your expectations, when it launches (which might be a while off!). Thank you for sticking with me.

And for new readers, you can read the book now. It’s published in the UK, Australia, USA, and in translation in Indonesia, Brazil, Poland and Turkey.

Goodreads

Amazon UK

Waterstones

Foyles

Audible

Amazon US

“A strange, witty, compulsively unpredictable read which blows most of its new YA-suspense brethren out of the water.” – Entertainment Weekly

“Black Mirror-esque. A fantastic slow-build drama. Lauren James is a genius.” – SFX

“Gripping romantic sci-fi thriller.” – Wall Street Journal

“This slow-burning psychological thriller has a killer twist that will make you gasp.” – Bustle

And while you’re all here, a reminder that my next novel Last Seen Online is being published on August 1st. A scandal occurs within the cast of the TV show that Romy writes fanfiction about in The Loneliest Girl in the Universe.

Goodreads

Amazon UK

Waterstones

Audible

Foyles

Fill out this form to receive a signed postcard of character art for Last Seen Online - open to anyone in the UK who preorders the book before 1st August 2024.

A contemporary YA murder mystery set in sun-drenched LA, for fans of Malibu Rising, We Were Liars and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. When Delilah meets Sawyer Saffitz (son of Anya Saffitz, aka Hollywood royalty), she becomes hooked on a decade-old scandal. In her quest for the truth, Delilah uncovers blogposts written by the mysterious “gottiewrites” and is soon caught up in a world of greed, fandom conspiracy theories … and murder. And the deeper Delilah digs, the more dangerous it becomes – because someone is willing to kill to hide the truth.

- Wren x

[dvlwablu]

onmyoji related media you can watch (that has english subs)

Behold, my Onmyoji film/TV collection for curious people who've already seen the anime!

The Yin-Yang Master (2001) and it's 2003 sequel The real OGs, the one most people know from Yuzuru Hanyu's SEIMEI free skate routine. Featuring Nomura Mansai as Seimei and Hideaki Itou as Hiromasa, these movies were my introduction to the Onmyoji series as a whole. The soundtrack is a banger, the practical effects are great and you get to see Hiroyuki Sanada ham it up in the first movie! I would say that the first movie is a lot stronger, but the second movie makes up for it by being A Lot Gayer. It even has an English dub! It's easily found on Certain streaming websites or on DVD.

晴雅集 - Qing Ya Ji, aka The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity A Chinese adaptation that REALLY puts its own spin on things; Qingming and Boya are Seimei and Hiromasa respectively, but it's not easy to tell if you aren't already aware of the source material! It's a different take that I love regardless, with beautiful visuals, incredible costuming and impressive sets. It also made me cry like a baby at one point, which is always a plus. It's on Netflix and it also has an English dub.

Onmyoji - Takiyashahime (2020) A TV Asahi drama special that adapts the two-part Takiyashahime novels. It's not 1-1 of course, but it does follow the main plot points well enough (it also adapts Tsuyuko's story as a bonus!) It's got that "yeah this was done on a TV drama budget and not a movie one" look when it comes to the effects, but that doesn't stop it from being enjoyable. You really get a glimpse at novel Seimei and Hiromasa's dynamic in this (they include one of my favourite hirosei exchanges in this and it's SO GOOD) as well as proper Nasty Old Man Ashiya Doman!!! You can watch it on Certain streaming sites.

There also exists a 2015 TV Asahi drama series, but I haven't been able to find it. An earlier 2001 NHK drama series exists as well, but it isn't subbed in English. It is, at the very least, entirely on YouTube! 10 episodes, 45 minutes each. It's a little...weird, I won't lie (they try to make Hiromasa and Mitsumushi a thing which is. Why) but some of the stories are genuinely heartwrenching, which was a surprise to me when I watched it!

[theratpy]

Ratticus is so ******* *** ** ***** **** *** ****

Ratticus is so f*cking bad at being good ref Zuko

EXCITED for Feb 22nd to see the Netflix adaptation of Avatar the Last Airbender, and hoping and holding my breath that it will be half as good as the animated series!! The story writing, character development, pacing, and practically every individual frame of ATLA absolutely CAPTURED my heart when watching it on cable TV as a kid, especially the version with the animator/director notes on it. It was a core reason I wanted to become an animator, and now here I am, a decade later, doing that actively and loving every second of it.

Oh uh your asterisks probably had nothing to do with this and I'm just blabbing at you now but! either way hope you have a good day and thanks for the ask !

♡ Melby, creator of Theratpy

[blush-and-books]

QUESTION how does darvey compare to ur other ships?? i feel like their shared body language and the way they convey HISTORY is so unique ahaha

this is actually a great question and i would absolutely love to know your own other ships vs darvey, bc darvey is so different from so many of my ships!!!

i will say that joyce x hopper from stranger things is probably the only ship i have that even comes close to having any similarities to donna and harvey because of that sense of shared history, partnership, and platonic support leading into romantic support. but for the rest of my ships, it's like so opposite.

one of my main ships that is one of my most tagged ships on my blog is Julie and Luke from the netflix series Julie and the Phantoms!!! this series devastatingly only got ONE SEASON but had a huge following on tumblr. compared to donna and harvey's nine seasons and canonical 13 years of buildup, that inherently makes the ships very different, because Julie and Luke do not become "canon" (although mutual romantic feelings are made pretty darn clear). Julie and Luke have history together in an offhanded way - Luke is a ghost, and when he was 17, he actually met a young Julie's mom before she had Julie, and then he died, got trapped in purgatory(?) for 25 yrs, and then was brought back into the world as a ghost where he met Julie (after her own mom had passed away). This has resulted in a LOT of theories regarding them being soulmates - their characters mirror each other so well to the point that the colors of their costuming is often matching or inverted to each others clothing. They both have an undying love for music, mommy issues, and they fit together like two peas in a pod. Literally there's only one season of buildup, and there are over 3,000 works of fanfiction for them on ao3. Julie and Luke truly couldn't be more different lmao, because a lot of the magic that comes from them is a sense of destiny, inevitability, and their instant ability to be vulnerable with each other. With Donna and Harvey, the romance comes from the steadfast partnership and daily choice they make every day to choose each other.

Another big ship of mine is Anne and Gilbert from Anne with an E (or the whole Anne of Green Gables book series lol, but them in the AWAE tv adaptation is so good)!! They have a good amount of buildup and a sense of choosing each other, but the stakes are nowhere near as high as they are in Suits. Gilbert is so down bad for Anne the whole time. He's so the perfect man that I have a framed photo of him in my home. The TV show introduces us to their plotlines and character arcs as parallel tracks as they are finding their way through life and eventually meeting at the same place, whereas Donna and Harvey are definitely just on their own crazy journeys until they crash into each other and are finally in a place to be together. However, a very silly parallel that Anne/Gilbert has with Donna/Harvey is there is a sequence of Person B running to Person A when they realize that they're meant to be together. And Person A is a redhead.

Other ships I have are like Nina and Fabian from House of Anubis, or Zuko and Katara from ATLA. Also Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett from P&P. I think a lot of my ships involve the man blatantly worshipping the ground that the woman walks on and constantly being complimentary and admiring of her; where we get only crumbs of that kind of dynamic with Donna and Harvey. Harvey definitely thinks, and has stated as such, that Donna is the most amazing woman he's ever met, but because Donna and Harvey are not thee main plotline of the show or even arguably the main relationship (when compared to Mike and Rachel), there's a lot less room for there to be blatant moments where Harvey is like "wow she's amazing!!!" because he's just not that guy.

please also let me know your thoughts on this and what ships you have!!! do we share any?

also, my response to your domestic!Darvey ask is still unfortunately in the works. i just want you to know i did not forget about it!!! <3333