#the real lunar chronicles

[cyborg-martyr-wolf-monarch]

just wanted to say how much i love your ikos photoalbum/the real tlc series!!!

Thank you, I'm glad you like them! I want to make some more if I ever find the time/motivation to search for pictures. For a while I wasn't finding any new ones on Pinterest...Maybe it'll be easier now that it's been a while.

[annoyedbreadstick]

Rant under the cut. Mostly aimed at people who've read the Lunar Chronicles. If you haven't, I'd suggest it, it's really good.

Was thinking about how the Lunar Chronicles wasn't biologically accurate to wolves with the Lunar Special Operatives, but yeah it actually was.

The alpha beta omega shit doesn't exist in real life, scientists put random wolves in a cave and assumed that was how they acted in real life. And that botched science is why there's self-proclaimed 'alpha men' and omegaverse, and why werewolf books are so inaccurate. But why is this relevant to LC? Isn't it just another depiction of werewolves untrue to how wolves actually act? No.

In LC, the boys are taken from their homes at a young age, and undergo surgery that gives them wolf characteristics. They're put in 'packs' that have an order stereotypical of bad werewolf books. They fight a lot, and the strongest, who wins the most fights, is the alpha. The one who wins the least is the omega, and is treated the worst.

'But Breadstick,' you may say. 'Isn't all this just showing how inaccurate it is?' No, it's not, and I'm getting to that, so be patient imaginary readers.

These boys don't know each other. Most had never seen each other before being taken by the Lunar government. They were forced into packs that weren't the normal family groups of wolves, and forced to train and compete to be the strongest. All this matches up to the botched science. A bunch of wolves in an enclosed space, who don't know each other, and tensions are high.

There's a reason the packs in LC are portrayed like this. I don't know if it was the intent of the author, but this is true to how wolves would act if forced to coexist with others they don't know, whom they have to compete with.

In conclusion, LC on first glance just has stereotypical biologically inaccurate wolf packs, but upon closer inspection, there's a reason. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[iamasalmon]

Just finished Scarlet for the first time.

I will never look at tomatoes the same way ever again.

[wednesdayisverygay]

Chapters: 1/2 Fandom: Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Kai/Linh Cinder, Minor or Background Relationship(s) Characters: Linh Cinder, Kai (Lunar Chronicles), Iko (Lunar Chronicles), Konn Torin, Mentioned Scarlet Benoit, Mentioned Wolf | Ze'ev Kesley Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Long-Distance Relationship, cockblocking in a way, sorry - Freeform, not writing all that, maybe one day - Freeform, Royalty, Torin is Fed Up Summary:

Kai and Cinder have been in an interesting relationship ever since Cinder's coronation. They aren't quite dating, but they aren't not dating either. With 238,900 miles between Earth and Luna, it's hard for the two of them to be committed.

When Cinder returns to Earth for the annual ball, they finally get to discuss what they are. Although, they get a little sidetracked on the journey to that conversation.

[therealkaidertrash21]

you know who's good teen representation? Prince Kai from the Eastern Commonwealth, not Noah Centineo.

[m00nbuggies]

i read cinder.. it's very good... anyways PEONY!!

[ikosburneraccount]

Okay, I'm posting this because @boardthatsinkingship teased me about how my Ao3 links to my writing blog with NO WRITING. So I'm posting a snippet of this fanfic that I'm NEVER going to write but I liked it anyways.

Premise: Modern!College!DrugDealing!AU where Thorne entices Cinder to start selling cocaine. Yes, you read that correctly. Rated M for the adult themes, of course.

The scene starts where they're mopping the cafeteria floor as part of their punishment (intended to be a college suspension that Thorne's father was able to knock down to community service):

--

“You know, if you think about it…an orgasm is kind of like a body sneeze.”

She scrunches her nose. “Ew, Thorne. Gross.”

He scratches the stubble he insists is a beard. “Yeah, I knew that wouldn’t land.” 

When she glances over at him, he’s still looking down, hand to jaw, pinky finger curled against his mouth. 

“Thorne?” 

“You know, I’ve been thinking. What if we start a business?”

“A business.” 

“Yeah, like a real business. Tax returns, CFOs, LLC’s, all the acronyms. Commercial advertisements, Cinder. We’ll be big.”

“Okay…sure. What kind of business though?”

“Cocaine. Boom.��� His hands mimic fireworks exploding.

“Are you fucking stupid?” Her head could not whorl around fast enough — what the fuck is he thinking? 

“What the fuck, Thorne? You can’t just go around saying that shit. Please tell me this is a joke. Dining cannot be that bad for you  — the heir to a prime military oligarch — to consider selling drugs. And cocaine out of all of them, too! You couldn’t just—“

Something hits her square in the face. A gentle something because it just falls down to the floor without any impact.

A tiny, tiny little bag full of white sits between her worn, yellowed Reeboks. She’s been needing a new pair, and for a while now, because the soles are starting to hollow and her heels cramp like a motherfucker when she stays too late in the lab. 

And the answer lays between her legs. 

For some reason, every moment in Cinder’s life flashes before her: the blankness of her foster care experience, memories of screams in black and smoke and so much coughing, like there was no more air; Garan adopting her, no elation but only a lingering sense of sorrow; Adri’s rejection; Garan’s death; Adri again, screaming, yelling, hitting and blaming her, you useless thing, you monster, you did this, you are the reason this family doesn’t exist. A ghost. A nothing. 

She bends down — more like squats down, sitting back on her heels, and gingerly picks up the baggie. Cups it in her hands, turning it over between her palms, watching the way the powder shifts and shutters downwards. 

“You’re considering it. I fucking knew it, I knew you would.” He runs a hand through his hair, smiling and his eyes are wild and shiny and incredulous. “Well, well, well, what do you say? Let’s start a business?”

His hand hovers in the air between them, palm open and fingers outstretched. The gold of his gold bracelet is beginning to rust into a nauseous green, rotten. Moldy pennies.  

She slips her palm into his and tucks her thumb next to his.

“Deal.” 

And they shake on it.  

---

That's it. LMFAO! I hope you enjoyed because there will never be a full version of this.

Also, everyone say thank you to @boardthatsinkingship for teasing me into posting this snippet.

[chemicalarospec]

I never was into Monster High and the younger-demographic reboot appeals to me even less tbh, but honestly I have half a mind to seek it out in the faint, vain hope that it might encourage Mattel to reboot Ever After High. But on the other hand Ever After High's original design was so charming because of the elements which are now becoming charmingly dated to the early 2010s, so I just know an official redesign would just always be disappointing even though fan redesigns are always super cool. And the whole fairy-tale fad is over, I guess -- I bet there are still little kids who love it like I did, but the market is saturated (and apparently Descendants is still active, and I know they're still publishing their Disney fanfiction AU books...) -- so there's little hope on that front. But I'm bringing Ever After High back into my life myself anyways. Wayback Machine saves of the old website and my books will suffice <3

Edit: wait something is GOING ON right now?? something peculiar and iffy but SOMETHING!!

[writesailingdreams]

Watched the teaser trailer and actual trailer for the Disney live action Snow White (apparently that is a real thing that is happening somehow), and wow. I hate it.

read more because I wrote more than I thought; very rambling

the quality is lacking. I think there's shots with voice overs that don't match up. This may be because of the strike(s) and I'm okay with that if it teaches Disney you can't make good trailers if you don't pay people and recognize unions

I am so confused as to where it exists; I saw fantasy and/or historical and modern settings at the same time. (I hope that doesn't play into the choosing her destiny bit.)

I can do without girlbossing Snow White. like I get wanting to make her a more active character but active-in-story does not equal defying/rewriting destiny. What's wrong with gentleness and positivity as strengths?

most importantly, if you're doing live action Snow White anything and you don't give the dwarves dynamic character arcs, along with Snow, while focusing the emotional story around her and their relationship, what are you even doing?

it gives me 10th Kingdom vibes (the setting), but like with 90s era Disney feminism

also gives me vague Winter Lunar Chronicle vibes (mostly if that's a wolf I caught a glimpse of)

it doesn't feel like a fairy tale; it feels more fantasy -- fighting evil and darkness and lots of references to destiny (at least the 10th Kingdom tied destiny into the fairy tale angle of there being these larger roles you find yourself enacting & fitting into because of circumstances of your life but also your personal temperament due to those circumstances.)

[fandomsandfairytales]

I haven't been in multiple fandoms at once in a long time and being so now is pulling me in all different directions XD I'm rereading The Selection series (just finished it actually) in tandem with reading The Lunar Chronicles for the first time, I'm rewatching Longmire with my mom and am still into it, I'm so into Sons of the Star & Annaáuchiwee (it's on the brain very often), I just finished and posted my first Tolkien fanfic and I'm reading Tolkien fanfics I'm subscribed to, and I'm getting drawn back into Greta Van Fleet because they're resuming their tour in a few days and the guitarist just announced that he's forming a band with 3 other guys and that band is going to be opening for GVF. My brain is a very chaotic place right now in terms of fandom. So. Yeah.

[cyborgcourt]

lol “dream every night about her brown eyes while ordering her arrest in the morning”

At some point all the The Lunar Chronicles boys get teased for their crushes, but while Jacin and Wolf and Thorne get defensive about it, I adore that Kai gets absurdly embarrassed. Torin teases him for his obvious crush and this boy is absolutely mortified. Stammering, blushing, trying and failing to deny it. 10/10 would see one teenage emperor pathetically obsessed with one kick-butt Asian cyborg princess again. A+++, please continue to dream every night about her brown eyes while ordering her arrest in the morning.

[emmatcha]

the lunar chronicles series needs so much more love.

the world? one of the most immersive worlds I’ve ever experienced, and fun but serious.

the characters? likable and distinct and heroic and complex, with deep trauma and moral dilemmas that make them feel like real people.

the concept? unique and epic and cinematic but classic.

the romance? nearly every type there is, a slow burn star-crossed lovers, an enemies to lovers, a childhood best friends to lovers and rapunzel and flynn vibes.

the plot? complex and extremely well thought out, yet easy to understand, original and so addicting.

fractured fairytale dystopian fantasy sci-fi on futuristic earth and the moon with secret princess trope and princes and evil queens who can control minds? cinderella and red riding hood and rapunzel and snow white? I WILL TAKE IT THANK YOU.

there’s literally something for everyone, and no one could say it isn’t well written.

why this series is not hyped up more is beyond me.

[cyborgcourt]

Cinder definitely has an old prince kai merch mug, but since he’s the emperor now the ‘prince’ is crossed out and emperor is written off to the side instead, so it’s “#1 Prince Emperor Kai Fangirl”

[fictionadventurer]

Top ten fairytale retelling novels/novellas you've read.

I've already answered my top 10, so here's my shot at listing 11-20.

11. A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan: Would probably be higher on the list if I'd remembered it in time. Sci-fi story that's a very loose retelling of "Sleeping Beauty", but so rich and emotionally devastating.

12. Maid and Minstrel and The Beggar Prince by Kate Stradling: Putting both of her short "King Thrushbeard" retellings in one entry. The first is more of a "Beauty and the Beast" tale that makes both leads decent people caught up in a misunderstanding, but I appreciated how it (probably accidentally) made me see the Christ-imagery inherent in the original. The second gives King Thrushbeard some character flaws and a good arc, and has an excellent explanation for why the princess didn't want to marry any of her suitors.

13. Fairest by Gail Carson Levine: Snow White retelling set in the world of Ella Enchanted, and retains that book's creativity in adapting the fairy tale elements. Has an excellent full-cast audiobook.

14. The Stepsister and the Slipper by Nina Clare: Georgette-Heyer-esque Cinderella retelling. Very rushed ending, and not the kind of romance I'd advise anyone to pursue in real life, but very fun.

15. Soot and Slipper by Kate Stradling: Cinderella retelling with an excellent twist, adorable characters, and a convoluted ending.

16. Before Midnight by Cameron Dokey: Short and basic Cinderella retelling that gets on the list because I have extremely fond autumnal associations with this book.

17. Unseen Beauty by Amity Thompson: A "Beauty and the Beast" retelling from the point-of-view of one of the invisible servants. Since I'd had that idea for years before finding this, I was thrilled to find that this story does a pretty good job with it.

18. Exile by Loren G. Warnemuende: The first book in a trilogy that retells "Maid Maleen". I haven't finished the series yet, so maybe it's unfair to put it on here, but I loved the section of the story that takes place in the tower, so I couldn't leave it off the list.

19. The Seventh Raven by David Elliot: A retelling of "The Seven Ravens" that does a decent job of retelling the fairy tale, but I mostly love it as a very well-structured novel-in-verse that structures each POV character's poems with their own poetic form.

20. The Tales of Ambia by Allison Tebo: Fun, slightly Wodehouse-ish retellings that are a breath of fresh air in the romantasy-dominated world of indie retellings

Honorable Mentions:

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: Objectively as stories, these should be pretty high up on the list. It had great characters and adapted the fairy tale elements in some amazing ways. But I'm not a fan of a lot of the worldbuilding elements here, so I couldn't bring myself to rank it above some of my beloved, but more-flawed indie retellings.

With Blossoms Gold by Hayden Wand and Sweet Remembrance by Emily Ann Putzke: Both contained in Once: Six Historical Fairy Tale Retellings. The first is "Rapunzel" set in Renaissance Italy with an agoraphobic Rapunzel, and the second is a beautifully devastating retelling of "The Little Match Girl" set during WWII. I haven't read these in a long time, but I remember them both being very good.

Masque by W.R. Gingell: An excellent "Beauty and the Beast" retelling with a very lively Beauty, a Beast who works as a police detective instead of brooding in a castle, and some clever adaptations of the fairy tale elements. Unfortunately, I've decided a couple elements of the magic go beyond what I'm comfortable with, so I couldn't put it on the list, but I had to give it credit.

[gavfleetout]

As someone who discovered the lunar chronicles smack dab in the middle of 2020, every time the plague was brought up it broke my immersion so bad cuz I knew it wouldn’t go down that way.

I'm re-reading Cinder for the first time since its release (it holds up great) but after having lived through a global pandemic, the whole plague plot seems so insane. Like, where the fuck are your masks!? Sure, let's go digging through the garbage, what could possibly go wrong? Let's all still gather in large crowds in the market! Quarantining after being exposed to Letumosis is just a suggestion! I'd get it if the book was set in a regular fantasy world, BUT YOU'RE IN A SCI-FI UNIVERSE! HOW ARE YOU ALL NOT WEARING SPECIAL GAS MASKS ALL THE TIME!?

The one relatable thing about Cinder's evil step-mother is that she hardly ever goes outside. Like, bitch me too! I wouldn't go outside either if I didn't have to. Cinder could work remotely if she could get people to just drop off their broken stuff at her apartment!

[ikosburneraccount]

thorne is a whitino who would pronounce gringo as grinko and im sick of him.