#the chrysalis trilogy

[ashleyfableblack]

Happy "This Is The May" to all y'all as we return to The Eternal Courtship for the final scenes of Princess Flurry Heart at the battle of Hoth...

The blaster bolts find their mark and the downed lead imperial walker erupts in a fiery blast, sending a shockwave through the arctic air.

Princess Flurry Heart and her Gunner, Muffin-top soar overhead to the resounding cheering of their comrades. For the Changeling grubs of the rebellion the fireball is a bombastic eruption of renewed hope. For the princess, this moment will last forever as the time they were heroes.

For Queen Chrysalis Sparkle, however, the exited squeals of her tiny royal niece and her own offspring is just further proof of what she has already known. She bares her fangs in a ear-to-ear grin. Without a doubt, she is the greatest aunt of all time. Here's to all y'all nerds out there, hoping you've a few memories of your own. With the trilogy complete, I hope y'all enjoy your "This is The May", Pony Princess, Big Mama Bughorse, Tiny l'il grub rebel, or whatever ya got.

[mt07131]

book recommendation tag game!!

rules: recommend as many books as you like. please include genre and some basic information on it (either your words or a copy+paste synopsis). feel free to include cover art, a personal review, trigger warnings, and anything else! just don’t spoil the book!

tagged by @dekarios and hmmmm if anyone sees this and wants to do it, consider yourself tagged by me <3

Gideon The Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (Sci-Fi)

The Emperor of the Nine Houses has invited the necromantic heirs of each house to participate in a test to join him in immortality. Every necromancer needs a cavalier, however, and the only way Gideon Nav will earn her freedom from the Ninth House is to pick up a sword.

I want to say more about GtN SO BAD but I can’t because spoilers. This book quite literally fundamentally changed me, I think about it at least once a week. This was the book that got me back into reading more consistently so take that as you will.

A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson (True Crime)

Five years ago, Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend Sal Singh, and everyone knows it. At least, everyone thinks they know it. When Pippa Fitz-Amobi decides to investigate the case as part of her senior project, she begins to unravel dark secrets that will change the case- and her life- forever.

Another one of of my absolute favorite books and favorite series that I will always recommend. I really love how AGGGTM dives into the collective obsession with true crime and how it actually affects people who are involved.

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (Sci-Fi)

Being a Chrysalis pilot in Huaxia is a boy’s dream and a girl’s death sentence. But when Wu Zetian kills the pilot responsible for her sister’s death through the Chrysalis’ mental link, she is labeled an Iron Widow and paired up with the strongest yet most controversial male pilot to tame her. She will not give up her power so easily though.

I was excited for this book and it more than exceeded my expectations. I love Zetian as a character, and the worldbuilding is excellent. I won’t lie when I say I’m foaming at the mouth for Heavenly Tyrant.

Six Of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (Fantasy)

Kaz Brekker has the chance to pull off the heist of a lifetime that will make him rich beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, but he can’t do it alone. He must gather a crew of Ketterdam’s most talented to succeed- as long as they don’t kill each other first.

The crows!!!! I love them!!!! I liked the grisha trilogy set in the same world, but I loved the crows duology SO much more. All of the characters are fantastic but Kaz and Inej will always have my heart.

We Are Watching Eliza Bright by A.E. Osworth (Thriller)

Eliza Bright is living her dream as a coder at Fancy Dog Games. When a workplace harassment incident goes unresolved, Eliza takes her story to a journalist to bring light to her situation. Unfortunately, this also makes Eliza a target for the violent collective of male video game players, who threaten her life not only online, but in real life.

I am not normally one to read straight up thrillers, but this one was disturbing yet fascinating enough that I read it all in one day. While it is a fictionalized dramatization of Gamergate, what Eliza faces can feel all too real to someone who knows how game fans can be.

Warcross by Marie Lu (Sci-Fi)

Teenage hacker Emika Chen, desperate for cash, takes a chance and hacks into the international Warcross Championships, accidentally glitching herself into the action and becoming a sensation. When Warcross’ creator offers her an official place in this year’s championship to uncover a security issue, she uncovers a sinister plot that could bring Warcross as the world knows it to its knees.

I’ve read quite a few of Marie Lu’s books, but the Warcross duology was SO GOOD. Another book with stunning worldbuilding that also doesn’t feel so far off from our current technology, I’d highly recommend to anyone who loves sci-fi.

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

I was tagged by @emilykaldwen! Thank you for this!

How many works do you have on AO3?

19 Works!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

426,366

3. What fandoms do you write for?

asoiaf/fire & blood/HotD & Realm of the Elderlings (a book series by Robin Hobb)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

All Kings Are Beautiful (HotD) (the winner by a huge margin); Inside a Chrysalis, Writhing (HotD); Sunlight and Air (ROTE); Unbound and Infinite (ROTE); Drown the Stage with Tears (ROTE)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, I do! Interaction is one of the main reasons I take time out of my original projects to write fic and you only get as well as you give!

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably My Lady Deserves Better, especially if you know what happens in Fool's Assassin (the first book in the final Realm of the Elderlings trilogy by Robin Hobb).

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

As of now? Sunlight and Air

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Only once, recently. Some people apparently can read a fic full of more conventional smut but draw the line when a dude gets pegged by women!

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I can and have (see above), but usually the smut is not the main course.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Nope

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I'm aware of!

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Our Fathers Clad in Red is written with @aifsaath and I also share custody of an AU with @alloysius-g

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Regal Farseer x Gary Golden, Aegon II x Baela Targaryen,

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

A sequel to Sunlight and Air. I think my ROTE fics will be one-shots mostly from now on unless I'm working on the modern AU.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been told that I'm good at creating engaging characters and that my stories have a strong sense of interiority. My prose flows pretty well and I can turn a nice phrase. I also think that I'm pretty good at writing absurd and slightly satirical humor.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Some of my favorite writers have very lush descriptive language, and I've been trying to improve on that end because sometimes I feel like my characters are a bit too much in their own heads. In my original fiction my weakness is definitely meandering too much in my plotting.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I generally don't, instead I indicate in the narrative when characters are speaking another langauge.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Realm of the Elderlings

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

Lay off that whiskey (and let that cocaine be), a ROTE modern AU crack fic. Look, this fic is incredibly niche and extremely ridiculous but if you like Robin Hobb's books you really should read it (and @alloysius-g's contributions to the verse) because it's hilarious and I'm quite proud of it. I also think that the fic I am co-writing with @aifsaath , Our Fathers Clad in Red, is quite good. Tagging: @whatevsbla, @tragediegh, @lairn, @theothermaidoftarth, @mellowthorn, @aifsaath

[irritable-bowel-showdown]

The Irritable Bowel Showdown competitors have been decided!!!

Thank you for your patience, everyone! The participants have been chosen, the bracket has been tentatively created, and preparations for Round One are underway!!!

Thank you for the feedback on my poll about the number of participants. Although the option for accepting further submissions had the most support, after narrowing down the eligible participants to 102, I decided it would be best to continue with the current number so the tournament could begin! As a result, some characters with a higher seeding will automatically move to the second round to accommodate the awkward number of competitors.

The full roster is as follows:

Alphys from Undertale Amu Hinamori from Shugo Chara anon who shit on couch from real life Asahi Azumane from Haikyuu!! Bambi from Dave & Bambi Barry Bluejeans from The Adventure Zone: Balance Belphegor from SMT/Persona series Benrey from Half-Life VR but the AI Is Self-Aware [AKA HLVR: AI] Bor'dor Dog'son from Critical Role (Campaign 3: Bells Hells) Bubbie from The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack c!Tommyinnit from Dream SMP Carlton Ulysses Wheezer from Jimmy Neutron Chidi Anagonye from The Good Place Clark Kent from Superman Craig Boone from Fallout: New Vegas Dabi from My Hero Academia Dareth from LEGO Ninjago Dave Strider from Homestuck David Rose from Schitt's Creek Dean Winchester from Supernatural Deandra The New Girl from The Most Popular Girls In School Declan Lynch from The Dreamer Trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater Dimitri 1 from 101 Dalmatian Street DJ from Beast Wars II Doctor Sung from TWRP Dr Crygor from Warioware Elmo Monster from Sesame Street/Elmo's Potty Time Enid Mettle from OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes Filbo Fiddlepie from Bugsnax Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher God of Indigestion from The Discworld series: Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett Griffin McElroy from real life Hailey from Hatchetfield Nightmare Time Harrowhark Nonagesimus from The Lockes Tomb Hatsune Miku from Vocaloid Henry the Green Engine from Thomas and Friends Hinata Shouyou from Haikyuu Hiroshi Yuuki from Full Dive: This Ultimate Next-Gen Full Dive RPG Is Even Shittier than Real Life! Isaac Moriah from The Binding of Isaac James Tiberius Kirk from Star Trek: The Original Series Jane Doe AKA Soldier from Team Fortress 2 Jean Pierre Polnareff from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Johnny Sasaki from Metal Gear Josuke Higashikata from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Jotaro Kujo from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Juniper Sloan from Camp Here And There Kakashi Hatake from Naruto Kanata from Gokurakugai Kuruto Ryuki from AI: The Sominum Files - Nirvana Initiative Kuwabara Kazuma from Yu Yu Hakusho Lan Zhan (Lan Wangji) from The Untamed Larry Appleton from Perfect Strangers Loki the cat from real life Magellan from One Piece Mari from Yellowjackets Marinette Dupain-Cheng from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir Marvin Grossberg from Ace Attorney Megatron from Transformers Mr. Tang from Lego Monkie Kid Napstablook from Undertale Naruto Uzumaki from Naruto Nekomaru Nidai from Danganronpa Niki Shiina from Ensemble Stars Nyack of the Rana’for from Not Another D&D Podcast Ochako Uraraka from My Hero Academia Okuyasu Nijimura from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Onceler from The Lorax Owen from Total Drama Panty Anarchy from Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt PaRappa from PaRappa the Rapper Porky Pig from Looney Tunes Primis "Tank" Dempsey from Call of Duty Zombies Queen Chrysalis from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Raji Shenazard from Snow White with the Red Hair Reigen Arataka from Mob Psycho 100 Rock Lee from Naruto Roy Kent from Ted Lasso Rung from Transformers Saint from Rain World Sakaeguchi Yuuto from Ookiku Furikabutte Senri from Koisuru Bokura wa Ichou ga Yowai Shauna Shipman from Yellowjackets Shit in Pants Guy from Johnny The Homicidal Maniac Shoichi Irie from Katekyo Hitman Reborn Spamton from Deltarune Spock from Star Trek: The Original Series Steven Universe from Steven Universe Tagora Gorjek from Hiveswap Tenzil Kem (aka Matter Eater Lad) from DC The cat from Lyle Lyle the Crocodile (movie) The test subject who shat in the elevator from Portal 2 Tomura Shigaraki from My Hero Academia Toshinori Yagi/All Might from My Hero Academia Triss Merigold from The Witcher Books Vetinari from Discworld Walter Tattersall from Yellowjackets William Afton from Five Nights at Freddys Yamaguchi Tadashi from Haikyuu!! Yami Sukehiro from Black Clover you the voter from real life Yuuga Aoyama from My Hero Academia Zhao Yunlan from Guardian

[max-imumbooks]

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

SPOILERS AHEAD

I found this one exclusively through TikTok, and it was marketed heavily as a love triangle that resolves into polyamory. Which it kind of was, but imo doesn't really count. More on that later. It was also marketed as Pacific Rim meets Chinese mythology, which it was.

We start with a world where young men and women with high chi levels are recruited to pilot giant mech suits called Chrysalises, except in this world the patriarchy is hella strong, so the women recruited pretty much serve as a chi batteries for the men who actually do the piloting, until the women inevitable run dry and die in battle.

Our main character Zetian volunteers as a pilot specifically to murder the pilot who drained her older sister. Except when the time comes for their first time to pilot together, instead of being a battery for her "pilot", Zetian fights for dominance in the chi world and ends up killing her male partner. There's actually a great moment after he dies where Zetian shoulders her way out of the mech suit and dumps the guy's body on the hull as the news helicopters circle around and broadcast everything in real time.

Of course, this gets her in trouble, because Patriarchy, and what follows is a speedrun of the hunger games complete with makeovers and navigating high society and public interest in order to survive. She's paired with a legendary pilot, but who has a reputation of killing girls because his chi levels are just so great. He feels bad about it though. Oh, and he's also a convicted murderer (from his pre-chrysalis days). Which is okay because he killed his rapist brothers.

The love triangle comes in the form of Zetian's mutual childhood crush, who finagles his way onto her publicity team to stay close. He develops a crush on Zetian's copilot, and the copilot likes the childhood crush too, so, voila, polyamory. Right? Well....

The thing that gets me is that I never got the sense that Zetian fell in love with her copilot. She definitely softens towards him over the course of the novel, but it still felt like the eventual threesome was because the guys liked each other, and not that Zetian loves them both. It's not the end of the world. I just went in with certain expectations due to Zhao's own TikTok vids, so I was left wanting more.

[And we'll just ignore the fact that one of their little throuple is presumed dead by the end of the book. It's not burying your gays if the author is queer, right? Right?]

One thing this novel actually surprised me with was the fact that Zetian isn't exactly.... likeable. She is so full of rage and resentment and distrust that she ends up being really fucking mean to almost everyone around her. But you still end up rooting for her! The world around her deserves to burn, so she's well justified. It's just an unusual angle most authors don't take in regards to their female main characters, that it's a refreshing moment of "I don't relate to this character at all, but I still root for her."

I like the Chrysalises a lot, I just wish we got a bit more lore around them. They're all tied to different elements, just like chi itself is, and it's a relatively unknown area for me so I would have liked to see more world building in the story of it. In fact, that would be my biggest complaint for this book-- it felt like two parts of a trilogy in one, and as a result feels rushed and the world around the characters is kind of glossed over except for the Patriarchy of it all.

I really enjoyed the book overall. Perhaps not as much as I was hoping or expecting to, but I'm definitely in for the sequel, whenever it ends up being released. I know there's some background issues between Zhao and their publisher, but I'm hopefully we'll still see it soon.

Rating: 3.5 stars

[sailoryooons]

shut UP I fucking LOVED Eragon as a teenager!!! I got an early kindle for a birthday and my first book on it was Inheritance when it was newly out. I re read them within the past couple years and was fully crying at the end of it because I will never be over it

YES everything about the chrysalis, yin-yang seats, different qi types is so great to explore. The no bullshit, raw perspective of the book had me hooked. I honestly stayed up way too late finishing it, I want the next book on my shelf already (also from the beginning I was like 😭😭 for the hunduns)

I really think you'll love She Who Became The Sun, I'm so intrigued for the sequel but im not gonna spoil anything for you so ill leave it at that. It is next on my to read pile (I decided to give Iron Widow a whirl first before continuing with that world and I'm so glad I did)

If you have any recs within the realms of Chinese theology let me know bc I'm having a great time within this genre space.

I'm using an app called Storygraph to log my reading this year and I reckon you'll love it, you get the coolest breakdowns and stats. I was drawn in by their 2023 wrapped stuff as they did a 'mood map' graph that showed when the reader read lighter/darker works throughout the year.

And I will be taking you up on that first dibs 🫡

(sorry if many words and not much tense, I am Tired™)

I cannot explain how many times I have re-read The Inheritance Cycle. It's up there with books like Lord of the Rings for me in terms of fully-done, well rounded and crafted fantasy. I saw Murtagh came out recently and I really need to go get it!

Adding a read more cause this is lengthy!

Some books I think are within that space:

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan - It's a romantic fantasy inspired by the legend of the Chinese moon goddess. I thought it was super fun and a very easy read.

A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin - This is SOOOOOO cool - the world building is fascinating and is full of legends about tea magic

The Poppy Wars by R.F. Kuang - Literally in my top five favorite series of all time. This series is beautiful and devastating and has amazing themes of like colonialism etc.

Babel by R.F. Kuang - An amazingly cool magic system and VERY loud themes of colonialism and racism and it's effects on the world - this was SO good.

Books that are not Chinese theology drive but have Asian theologies:

Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang - THE BEST BOOK I READ IN 2023 HANDS DOWN. It is inspired by Japanese theology, legends and samurai culture and it is BEAUTIFUL. An excellent read.

The Greenbone Trilogy - This is sort of an amalgamation of different Asian cultures but is SO GOOD. It's an Urban Fantasy criminal fantasy family story and the politics and especially the geopolitics of like cultured vs. white countries in the second book are REALLY good.

I have a few others on my list that are on my shelf on my to be read list like Spin the Dawn, Jasmine Throne, A Hero Born, Shadow of the Fox and The Red Palace!

[thehyperrequiem]

Madagascar Trilogy (Thehypercutter Style) Cast

Madagascar 1: "A group of cartoon creatures who have spent all their life in a New York Zoo end up in the jungles of Madagascar and must adjust to living in the wild."

Madagascar 2; Escape 2 Africa: "The Madagascar cartoon creatures fly back to New York City, but crash-land on an African nature reserve in Kenya, where they meet others of their own kind, and Om-Nom especially discovers his royal heritage as prince of a grumpus pride."

Madagascar 3; Europe's Most Wanted: "The Madagascar cartoon creatures join a struggling European circus to get back to New York but find themselves being pursued by a psychotic cartoon creature-control officer."

Om Nom (Cut the Rope) as Alex the Lion

Boo (Cut the Rope) as Wild/Savage Alex

Gingerbrave (Cookie Run) as Marty the Zebra

Blast Hornet (Megaman X3) as Melman the Giraffe

Spike Rosered (Megaman X5) as Gloria the Hippo

Anasui (JJBA Part 6) as Mason

Weather Report (JJBA Part 6) as Phil

Bruno Bucciarati (JJBA Part 5) as Skipper

Giorno Giovanna (JJBA Part 5) as Kowalski

Pannacotta Fugo (JJBA Part 5) as Rico

Narachia Ghirga (JJBA Part 5) as Private

Guido Mista and Leone Abbacchio (JJBA Part 5) as themselves/5th and 6th Penguins

Befana (Miraculous Ladybug) as Nana

Magna Centipede (Megaman X2) as King Julien

Gravity Antonion (Megaman X8) as Maurice

Strabby (Bugsnax) as Mort

The Bugsnax (Bugsnax) as The Lemurs

The Pigs (Angry Birds) as The Foosa

Wambus Troubleham (Bugsnax) as Zuba

Triffany Lottablog (Bugsnax) as Florrie

King Dedede (Kirby) as Makunga

Nibble Nom (Cut the Rope) as Young Alex

Custard Cookie III (Cookie Run) as Young Marty

Beedrill (Pokemon) as Young Melman

Carmine Rose (Cookie Run) as Young Gloria

Hooverton (Balan Wonderworld) as Teetsi

Filbo Fiddlepie (Bugsnax) as Himself/Lion Pride's Mayor

Plantman (Megaman 6) as Moto Moto

Pyrogen (Mighty No.9) as Vitaly

Fireman (Megaman 1) as Himself/Vitaly's Cousin

Om-Nelle (Cut the Rope) as Gia

Johnny Joestar (JJBA Part 7) as Stefano

Gyro Zeppeli (JJBA Part 7) as Himself/Stefano's Partner

Queen Chrysalis (My Little Pony) as Chantel DuBois

Morph Moth (Megaman X2) as Sonya the Bear

[ladynightshade30]

Updates

So, Roman + Isolda is coming along rather nicely. I have about five or six more chapters I think before it's ready for the editing process to begin. My goal for this month is to finish two chapters. Hopefully, I can meet my goal again like I did last month. And if I keep up finishing two chapters a month I should be done by August or September. So hopefully it will be ready for publishing next year. After I finish writing Roman + Isolda I am going to turn my attention to Chrysalis and Whips, which may be a duology or a trilogy. Or it may be a standalone because I kinda forgot what all I had planned to happen in books two and three. As well as notes for my gender-flipped Little Mermaid retelling, Lemon Seas, featuring mersharks and Merorcas instead of your typical mermaid and meroctopus. I have the names for the main characters now I just have to work on the others.  My editor is still working on Prelude to a Rapunzel Tale.

[hero-adjacent]

I saw on the Buffyverse Wiki that Greg Cox (author of many media-tie-in novels) wrote a Star Trek trilogy called The Eugenics Wars. Apparently one of the scientists in vol 1 The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh is named Maggie Erickson and she's engaged to Everett Walsh. Get it. Maggie Walsh. Her doctoral dissertation was in child psychology.

In 1974, she's in India working on Project Chrysalis, genetically engineering superhumans. She was director for the base's daycare facility for Augment (short for augmentation) children.

Anthony Stewart Head (Giles) narrated vol 1. 😮

Please, someone send me the audio & PDF (yay, found the PDF)

[alchemist767676]

Ten Fanfics Game

Based on @olderthannetfic‘s recent post game suggestion.

--

You have no idea what just happened.

Remedial Survival: A Scholomance Quest (Scholomance Trilogy)

Taylor felt... conflicted about how the last few months had gone.

CHRYSALIS (Worm/Magical Girl Raising Project)

Edelgard breathed in through her nose, held it for five seconds, and then slowly let it out.

As of yet untitled Fire Emblem: Three Houses/Persona 5 crossover

Mira Nova was not built for a desk job.

Reality Setting In (DoofQuest Omake)

Technically, I could list a few other omakes that I’ve done for both DoofQuest and a few other quests, but I feel like only doing the most recent one somehow fits the spirit better.

[anonymous-ivplay]

Last Line Tag

I was tagged by @prettylittlelyres, thank you because I've been writing a lot lately and haven't shared anything in awhile! (Although I should probably get a separate blog for my writeblr shit but oh well)

Moissette closed her eyes and groaned as the uproarious bickering returned full force. After a moment she glanced at Pantxiku, who shrugged and shook their head, their pen long since unable to keep up with everything at once. Discreetly, unnoticed amongst the bickering adults, Moissette slipped out of her seat and made her way over to them. Pantxiku had been working as the royal secretary since before anyone in the room had been born, and had recorded countless administrative imperial meetings in their long lifetime; it was highly likely they had witnessed an event like this over a similar problem before. “You don’t happen to have any ideas, do you?” Moissette said loudly, so that Pantxiku could hear her over the roaring din.

They pursed their lips. “I might have some, yes.”

“Good. When they all get tired of shouting, tell them I gave you full authority to decide what our response will be.” Without waiting for a response, she turned around and marched right out the door.

As it clicked softly shut behind her, muffling the chaos to a dull roar, Moissette collapsed against the wall and sank to the floor. Even with tensions running high, she never could have imagined her advisors would let the stress of work get to them like this. It was unheard of! They all knew better than that. 

Or was this supposed to be the new normal in her court as the Ketterpüller uprising grew stronger?

Moissette sighed. She needed a break from all this. She needed some time to herself to clear her mind and start again fresh. Surely the empire could do without her for a weekend?

What she needed was a vacation.

No, what she really needed...was Emilet.

Tagging any of my followers who want to do this!

[anonymous-ivplay]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

interracial muslim wlw

[irritable-bowel-showdown]

Irritable Bowel Showdown: ROUND 2

Matchups and start times below:

Part 1 - (August 16 at 4pm UTC)

Barry Bluejeans (The Adventure Zone) vs Johnny Sasaki (Metal Gear)

Steven Universe (Steven Universe) vs God of Indigestion (Discworld)

Sakaeguchi Yuuto (Ookiku Furikabutte/Big Windup!) vs Isaac Moriah (The Binding of Isaac)

Reigen Arataka (Mob Psycho 100) vs Magellan (One Piece)

Triss Merigold (The Witcher) vs Primis "Tank" Dempsey (Call of Duty: Zombies)

Panty Anarchy (Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt) vs Carl Wheezer (Jimmy Neutron)

Toshinori Yagi/All Might (My Hero Academia) vs Henry the Green Engine (Thomas and Friends)

Marvin Grossberg (Ace Attorney) vs Belphegor (SMT/Persona series)

Part 2 - (August 17 at 4pm UTC)

Bor'dor Dog'son (Critical Role) vs Chidi Anagonye (The Good Place)

DJ (Beast Wars II) vs Filbo Fiddlepie (Bugsnax)

Harrowhark Nonagesimus (The Locked Tomb) vs Dr. Crygor (WarioWare)

The Onceler (The Lorax) vs Owen (Total Drama)

Alphys (Undertale) vs Deandra the New Girl (The Most Popular Girls in School)

Declan Lynch (The Dreamer Trilogy) vs Rock Lee (Naruto)

Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher) vs anon who shit on couch (real life)

Nyack of the Rana'for (Not Another D&D Podcast) vs Shit in Pants Guy (Johnny the Homicidal Maniac)

Part 3 - (August 18 at 4pm UTC)

Loki the cat (real life) vs you, the voter (real life)

Tomura Shigaraki (My Hero Academia) vs Hailey (Hatchetfield Nightmare Time)

James Tiberius Kirk (Star Trek) vs Griffin McElroy (real life)

Porky Pig (Looney Tunes) vs Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto)

Havelock Vetinari (Discworld) vs Kakashi Hatake (Naruto)

Queen Chrysalis (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic) vs Doctor Sung (TWRP)

The test subject who shat in the elevator (Portal 2) vs Jean Pierre Polnareff (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)

Napstablook (Undertale) vs Yuga Aoyama (My Hero Academia)

Part 4 - (August 19 at 4pm UTC)

Benrey (HLVR: AI) vs Nekomaru Nidai (Danganronpa)

Dabi (My Hero Academia) vs Rung (Transformers)

Spamton G. Spamton (Deltarune) vs Elmo Monster (Sesame Street)

PaRappa Rappa (PaRappa the Rapper) vs Okuyasu Nijimura (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)

Zhao Yunlan (Guardian) vs Hinata Shouyou (Haikyuu!!)

Dean Winchester (Supernatural) vs Raji Shenazard (Snow White with the Red Hair)

Tenzil Kem/Matter Eater Lad (DC) vs Shoichi Irie (Katekyo Hitman Reborn)

Yami Sukehiro (Black Clover) vs Megatron (Transformers)

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Pursuit

Alice, age 13: So, I can't sleep. What should I do?

Nora, age 13: You know, I used to wake up before sunrise, too. Let's read.

Alice: You wake up before sunrise!

Nora: We were the first thing you thought to do.

Alice: Oh. I didn't think of it.

Nora: We should probably look it up.

---

Nora, age 13: Ah! You've found it! "Pursuit of the Nocturnalists," by William Gibson. The first book of the Neuromancer series -- and the first installment of the Distress trilogy. These are some of the most influential books ever written --

Alice: The book about what?

Nora: Nocturnalists. The people who were trying to go to sleep, but didn't sleep, and kept on working. They could stay up forever, so they started building a library of information that would keep them up forever too. If you know that stuff, it's like knowing how to make a perpetual motion machine.

Alice: Nora, what's the library of the Neuromancer?

Nora: The library of the Neuromancer.

---

Nora, age 14: Hey, remember when we were the first people up for the same thing, in the same book?

Alice: We can't read ahead. It's a series now.

---

Nora, age 16: I can do it! I can read ahead to the library of the Neuromancer!

Alice: Good. Who wants the Neuromancer?

---

Nora, age 18: I'm a sophomore, and I can stay up and read forever!

Alice: How?

---

Nora, age 18: Because the books are free online, and they're written in a sort of code that's designed to make sense out of context, and also it makes sense out of the code.

Alice: But what's it make sense of?

Nora: Everything!

Alice: I mean, you'll never figure out what it's making sense of!

Nora: That's true.

---

Alice, age 19: Did you know there are people who want to stop sleep forever, just to keep working?

Nora: I -- yeah.

Alice: Why do they want to stop sleep forever, though?

Nora, pensively: I don't really know. I think they're worried about sleep getting in the way of work. It's like, this chrysalis they have to get through, and there's no reason for them to do it as long as they don't have to, and it makes sense that they'd be worried about the consequences, so they could use this sleep-stopping thing, to get the benefits without the costs.

Alice: Ah.

---

Nora, age 22: You remember the library of the Neuromancer, right?

Alice: Yeah, I've read it.

Nora: I've decided to read that in its entirety, in three days.

Alice: What's it about?

Nora: No clue, and that's part of the charm.

---

Nora, age 24: Yeah. I'm reading it. It's great. This is one of the best things I've ever read.

---

Alice: What are you reading?

Nora: The entirety of "Pursuit of the Nocturnalists," William Gibson's most famous book. I'm at page 30.

Alice: Who are you reading it with?

Nora: I don't know. I'm pretty sure I'd be better off on my own, I think?

---

Nora, age 27: You know, I've been thinking, if you can read ahead, that means there's a way to stop sleep forever, just stop sleeping, and to go work in the library forever.

Alice:...and then there's a way to become one of them and keep reading forever --

Nora: I'd say I've heard it called an "apocalyptic horror," but...

---

Nora, age 27: What's the book about, Alice?

Alice: Oh. The Neuromancer, you said.

Nora: Yeah, that.

Alice: So you're reading it right now. You have a Kindle, or a laptop. What are you going to do?

Nora: The Library of the Neuromancer.

Alice: It sounds like a book club.

---

Nora, age 28: I was kind of wondering if you'd found "The Library of the Neuromancer."

Nora:

Alice: Didn't think so.

Nora: The Library of the Neuromancer. The Library of the Neuromancer. My hands! I was trying not to drop it! I dropped it on the ground!

Alice, cheerfully: Well, it was going to the library anyway.

[matt0044]

I just finished watching “My Little Pony: A New Generation.”

I find that it executes the “Next Generation Sequel” concept pretty darn well. It essentially confirms that it’s the same universe as G4 but far flung into the future to the point that the events of “Friendship Is Magic” are considered “Ancient Times.”

We get direct references by way of the Mane Six appearing in a fantasy sequence of Sunny, Sprout and Hitch, complete with their voice actors. Shortly after, Sunny’s father tells off Twilight’s journey. However, what could’ve been cheap fanservice is actually utilized brilliantly for both types of viewers.

G4 fans will fawn over the iconography from FiM, the characters opening the movie and even subtle story references. However, they’re often in service to the current generation that has developed tech like smartphones, television screens and Megazords. No context on that last one.

Newer fans might recognize the previous cast of characters but won’t need to have seen their adventures for context of “A New Generation.” The Mane Six’s exploits have become myths, ancient lore. With The Legend of Korra and (yes) the Star Wars New Trilogy, they take place either one or two generations after the previous. One that can lead to pitfalls both for writers and fans alike.

A smaller time gap would warrant appearances from the original cast of characters and all the narrative baggage that comes with it. For fans, this can be contentious since how they changed as people will often be... very divisive.

Again, “A New Generation” taking place in what can be assumed is a new millennium after Twilight’s passing (so being an Alicorn doesn’t mean you get automatic immortality, huh). Fans and writers alike are focused on this radical new yet familiar Equestria. It’s Sunny’s story first and foremost with her new Mane Five.

There’s also the way the new conflict semi-undermines G4′s finale with ponies divided now more than ever. However, there’s still friendship amongst their own kind and its implied that this only became a problem after Twilight’s time. Generation after generation learned to fear others with old prejudices taking root.

I feel like this is sort of realistic with building off of Cozy, Chrysalis and Tirek’s efforts to reignite racist sentiments amongst each pony kind. That sort of this clings like a bad stain to an otherwise good rug with just enough ponies having... reservations.

[xserpx]

☕️ A Little Hatred?

Sweet summer child: the book. The thing that stuck out to me when I first read ALH was how so much hinges on a love square (or maybe love cross?) which isn't something I ever expected of an Abercrombie trilogy. I've described it before as feeling like a YA novel at times, and honestly I stand by that, especially because I love how the trilogy ends up much darker than the original trilogy, that shift from the innocence and romance at the start to Abercrombian moral conflict, war crimes and back stabbings by the end is brilliantly done. The interpersonal relationships of the main cast are what really sets the series apart from TFL, and it's the part of AoM I enjoy the most - much more than the background politics & revolution.

I have read the introductory chapters way too many times. I love them all, aside from maybe Clover's, which is the weakest for introducing him as a POV IMO, but is still fun because the introduction of Stour is hilarious.

I wish I enjoyed Valbeck more than I do, but if I have a complaint about AoM it's that the revolutionary elements leave a lot of nuance to be desired, and I think that's true of Savine's Valbeck riot chapters and of the Little People. Broad & Vick's POVs are much more interesting because they spend more time actually getting to know the Burners & Breakers as people, whereas when it's a nameless mob I think it loses its power a fair bit.

Absolutely love Orso in this book, for real. He kinda carries it, tbh. There isn't a single Orso chapter that's boring, he does a lot of heavy lifting of the plot, and I found him so likeable right out of the gate - I genuinely can't believe there are people who don't like Orso from the first chapter! Ok, the girl gets hanged, but come on! He's a different take on the privileged prince, he's not full of self-importance but instead he's full of self-doubt, very Prince Hal and very relateable, but the way that intersects with what we know of Jezal and Bayaz works brilliantly, and I love how later on the revolution forces Orso to make decisions, and how his neutrality and desire to compromise and maintain the status quo only adds to the growing social unrest. Seriously good.

And, y'know, there's Leo. Light of my life. Apple of my eye. Idiot lion child and life ruiner. He's a bit of a chrysalis in ALH, not doing much but hanging with the bros and getting in fights, and I love that for him.