#unsolicited book recommendations

[sunset-peril]

You know, sometimes I worry...

When I write about Ganondorf. Admittedly, part of it is due to me seeing him as attractive.

However, his association with Demise gives me pause.

I want to treat others' religions with a degree of respect. Not because they are true, nor because I think they are good. But more so, because I view them as expressions of a culture's values.

So, while I know in my heart that they are wrong, I see value in acknowledging their existence. Which is why I don't like it when people try to fit other religions into the shape of Christianity, because, simply put, they aren't Christianity.

And we shouldn't try to treat them as if they are. For one, it's an insult to God.

So, while I can definitely see the Christian overtones in LoZ, at its core, I see it as its own thing. A wonderful story, but still just a story.

At the same time, I suppose that, subconsciously, I want to portray Ganondorf as a person who as been raised astray. But, at the same time, someone who can still be saved. From Demise.

Perhaps, I see it as a symbol of how far redemption can reach? Or, at least, I think that's what I'm going for. Because I don't see Ganondorf as Demise. Not even really, as Demise's hatred reborn.

More so as a man unfortunate enough to act as Demise's pawn.

And maybe I use a tiny amount of elements from my own real-world beliefs, but I don't want this to be an outright... allusion.

Like, if it were, then I think that Ganondorf would already be doomed. Period. End of story.

I guess my problem is that I see the parallels & the implications. Like, even though the closest thing the games have to an actual devil allegory is Demise & I never intend to redeem him, I still sometimes worry that I'm playing a dangerous game.

Perhaps... perhaps I can make it an allegory for Jesus' victory? Subtextually, I mean.

I dunno, I'm struggling because the closer I get to Him, the more I want to live in a way that will do right by Him. But sometimes I look at the things I write & worry a bit about if the things I write are wrong.

Like, obviously, some of the subject matters are wrong, but like I said before, I try to acknowledge that such things are wrong.

Try being the key word, I'm afraid that I don't always succeed.

It's somewhat like the struggle you were having earlier, but with a much more important Judge.

Do you sometimes worry the same?

I'm sorry to put this on you, but I suppose that I've been thinking lately is all.

Or today, at least.

Hmm, that's a tricky one. I'd phone in C.S. Lewis if I could.

Allow my to ramble my rambles and pray they make any sense/are helpful.

Personally I feel like I'm always going to be more inclined to produce that more allegory-like material, so I tend to be real careful with religiously bound figures. Zelda's also an interesting one because the Book of Magic was literally the Bible in the Japanese version and Link to the Past has an official artwork of Link literally praying at a crucifix and it appears that Nintendo America's "no real religions" policy was what threw it into... whatever we have now. So I feel it definitely depends on which game you're directly spitting at. Personally, I've only played the Three "Breath" games, Skyward Sword, and a liiitttlleee of Twilight. And Skyward especially I feel is one of the closest we got to having an allegory like that, with Breath's Gerudo deviating from Hylia to the Heroines (as the old lady mentioned) reminding me of modern times. I've always kinda seen Nayru, Din and Farore/the Triforce as kind of a Holy Trinity reference that they had to split out from Hylia due to the No Real Religions thing, but that could be me being... optimistic might be the word? I know Japan is not a Christian country, but Miyamoto was obviously making a point with the first couple of Zelda games having those very overt themes and so a lot of me wants to believe he's continued to sneak those in.

I've been that way too, recently. I've noticed I've collected a lot of spirits that I'm... not sure if I want to keep in there. Saint-like characters? Sure. But I'm talking more like Egyptian gods kinda thing. Which I definitely don't want. Quite a bit of the Hateno Village stuff is loosely based or inspired off the big ol mess that's called my life so I think I'm more comfortable putting that in there because to me that is redemption. Link's story there, from the tragic story of his parents to him breaking that "curse" of inbreeding by marrying Zelda who is 100% not related to him because all of the 'worldly' ways Link, his family, his tribe, try to fix it just blow up even further, but the journey he (and later Zelda) takes through faith ends up being better than the solution they crafted with their own force (ah let's not cry here).

However, I think it's good to remember that we're sucky little humans who are really good at "Hey, don't do the thing!" *does the thing* (and I can laugh while saying that because my Xanax is still active haha.) That's literally the whole point of Jesus coming here in the first place and while definitely don't discount that or use it as an excuse, it's good to keep in mind.

What I also try to do is I try to always look for my 'why'. Do I want this because its trendy currently? Am I looking for shock value? Do I need to stick my face in cold water and come back to this concept in a week or two when I'm less hormonal? (This happens often when I'm fooling with those darn Wolfbred, I have to be really careful who I bounce ideas off of with them, because their story can very easily tumble into a dumpster fire of Bad if I'm not being very careful, which is why I currently don't permit myself to write any fics where an important part of the main premise is Wolfbred in the Spring because that's been a problem in the past). Usually I require myself to hold new lore for a week so I can take a good long look at it outside of whatever influence I may be under. I have done absolutely 0 holding of lore recently and I have been telling myself off about it for a while because I should be. Especially with those Wolfbred, who I am the worst about holding lore for!

And there's definitely different types of "putting God in the story".

Allow me to quote from this video

There's the Complete Allegory (Aslan - Narnia)

Partial Allegory where some parts of God are represented, but not Him in His entirety (Gandalf's defeat of the Balrog - Lord of the Rings)

Different World/Different Name - Same God; where its very clear that characters worship God simply under a different name (God being named "The Maker" in Wingfeather Saga, and I've actually played with this one before in an original concept where He is called "The Protector" and the major village where His people are located is "Ecclesia" (Named after the Greek city from Ecclesiastes because apparently Past Me is clever)... I think it will work better as a children's book because I cannot think of any coherent young adult/new adult concepts for it. It would also help if I didn't leave myself SUCH CRYPTIC NOTES)

Ahem. Anyways

There's also the Biblical Retelling, self explanatory (a fantasy take on Ruth's story in A Bond of Briar's... or a massive chunk of VeggieTales)

Themes - Biblical messages and values are passed on without God's explicit mention (I throw this one around a lottttt)

Symbolism - Baby allegory. No one character symbolizes God, but objects or situations reflect Him

~~~

I don't think I've really gotten to the point. I think I've just run my mouth.

But yeah, I think maybe stopping yourself and really getting a look at why you include what you include/why you want to write that specific thing is a nice place to start! Maybe I'm too much of an old stickler for this one but I try not to let myself play with other religions. I've seen a lot of good people get stuck to Greek/Roman/Egyptian gods out of what was originally a good intention of cultural awareness or simply scholarly intrigue. Although I am a former furry/therian so I hold myself to very rigid standards about how I interact with non-Christian materials, especially ones without humans or with extremely humanized animals, and this probably isn't a necessary standard for everyone. (Don't get me started on my conspiracy regarding Warrior Cats and Wings of Fire being a pipeline to this. I'll never go to bed and I have to be awake in 6.5 hours.)

But ooh! Allegories and shenanigans! The Pride Wars is a good read while I'm thinking of Narnia/Lord of the Rings/etc. Anti-Religion-Only-Science Kingdom meets Very Religious Kingdom. Anti-Religion kingdom's heir turns out to be able to tell magic parables/fables. It's got a lot of Hebrew woven in as well, and follows that Different World, Same God setting. (God is named Alayah)

I'm fond of this proverb from the second book (which I still need to finish... I should really just buy them). I think it's a paraphrase of a Bible verse, but if so, the verse it paraphrases escapes me

[lacunasbalustrade]

If you haven’t already read Catherine M. Valente’s series Fairyland, you are deeply beseeched to find it immediately at your nearest public library.

[g4yr4t]

finished unfollow (Megan Phelps-roper's memoir abt being born into and later leaving the Westboro Baptist church). great book. serious crying at two separate parts. like taking my glasses off, nose running, pause reading crying. highly recommend, especially to people like me who grew up in what was perhaps the church's heyday.

[spiggott]

currently reading both of these and I highly recommend them 📚

[phaedraismyusername]

Hi hello I have been knee deep in a genre binge so here are some literary sci-fi books that deal with loneliness as a core theme

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

Translated from French this book follows the youngest girl in a group of 40 women who are being kept in a cage underground in an unknown place, for unknown reasons, until one day they get the chance to escape triggering a search for answers and survival on a desolate surface.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

This is a very subtle dystopian story about a group of people who spend their childhoods at an extremely secretive english boarding school, the course of their relationships, and where they are at the end of their lives. There's a subtle feeling of wrongness from the first chapter and the author spends the rest of the novel very slowly revealing the reasons why.

Everything You Ever Wanted by Luiza Sauma

The super short form pitch for this book is 'Fleabag if there was an option to yeet herself to another planet'. Iris is in a long term relationship with depression, kind of hates her pointless job, sometimes hates her family, and is generally overwhelmed by the weight of existence, when she hears about Nyx - earth's first space colony - and thinks that just maybe it could be the answer to all her problems.

Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon

When the population of a company sponsored colony finds out they have been designated a failure and the people are to be packed up and shipped off to another planet to try again, one little old lady decides that for the first time in her long life she's going to break the rules - she's going to stay and live her best life alone on the planet, and finally get some peace and quiet. What could go wrong?

Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley

Skyward Inn is an odd little book set in a future where Earth has come into contact with an alien world that quickly surrendered to humanity. The story follows a small group of kind of unlikeable people who live behind the walls of the 'western protectorate' - a place in the moors that's decided to isolate itself and live like the old days with rudimentary technology for a simple life. Until strangers appear and things start to get... weird. Slower, stranger and with more body horror than you might expect.

[jellyfishjulie]

My (recently wealthy) older sister and her husband bought some land and got ducks and they have this big plan to grow crops and sell produce and she keeps talking about "homesteading" 🤢 and since she lives in an overwhelmingly white community it's unlikely any of her farm friends are gonna call it out, so I keep meaning to like. Look up some books to gift her for xmas that offer better terminology and an At Minimum Less Colonial perspective and introduction to the concept of a voluntary land tax/land acknowledgement before she gets into this stuff too deep and starts making money off it (bc I know she won't take it on my authority) and I keep forgetting to google resources. So this is both an accountability post for me to not forget to do this but also a request for recommendations if any of y'all have some tyyyyy

[thejessleigh]

Picked this up at Bucket O’ Blood books and records in Chicago probably 3 years ago. Been waiting for the right time to finally pick it up. My life is falling apart, and I’m traveling home, so I finally brought it with me to read on the plane.

I cannot express how delightful this reading experience has been. From stunning settings, to wry and recognizable father/daughter banter, every page is giving me something new and exciting to look forward to. I’m probably about halfway through and can tell it’s about to get very scary, too.

Idk I just needed to tell someone how much I’m liking this, and most of my meatspace folks aren’t much for horror, even the hardcore readers.

Do yourself a favor and pick up The Elementals by Michael McDowell from Valencourt Books when you feel like shit and need a book to sink your teeth into.

[thebookofm]

Recommended Reading

Here is a list of books, both prose and graphic, that I think are worth checking out. All of these books are speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, alternate reality, et cetera), since that’s essentially the only genre I read. Entries followed by a ♥ are my extra-special favorites. The ones marked with an H won at least one Hugo Award. Those marked with a Q contain prominent LGBTQ+ characters or issues.

Lighter Science Fiction

Douglas Adams: The Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy and its first two sequels, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, and Life, the Universe and Everything. The Hitchhiker’s Guide is a landmark work in SF comedy and is a must-read. If you are an audio listener, then I suggest starting with the 1978 BBC radio play, which was the original version of this story. (If you like THHGTTG, then check out Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency and its sequel.) ♥

John Scalzi: Any of his SF, especially the Old Man's War series and the Interdependency series (The Collapsing Empire and its sequels). Scalzi’s work, with few exceptions, is not only very funny, but also includes some good science-fiction-y “big ideas.” If you are a fan of Star Trek, then his novel Redshirts, which won a Hugo, will be of particular interest. Interestingly in some of Scalzi’s recent work, such as Kaiju Preservation Society and the Lock In series, he never revels the gender of the main character. Almost all of Scalzi’s audiobooks are read by Wil Wheaton. Wheaton does a great job, but his voice does tend to make the listener imagine the main character as a man, even when there’s no textual evidence to support that imagining. ♥H

Martha Wells: The Murderbot Diaries (All Systems Red and sequels), winner of the 2021 Hugo Award for best series. Despite the name, this series of five novellas and one novel follows a human-bot hybrid (not a robot) security unit (SecUnit) as it struggles to protect its stupid humans while coping with social anxiety and finding time to watch soap operas. Plus, it doesn’t really murder all that often. The series is very funny, but it is also a surprisingly serious and insightful examination of sentience, autonomy, and living with neuroses. Wells, who identifies as neurodivergent, will write three more Muderbot books, beginning in November 2023, as part of her six-volume deal with Tor. I particularly enjoy Kevin R. Free’s narration of the audiobooks. I’m counting these books for LGBTQ+ representation because Murderbot is nonbinary and asexual, but since it isn’t human (and doesn’t want to be), nonbinary and/or ace readers (whom I assume to be human) may not find themselves reflected in Murderbot’s experience. ♥HQ

Scott Meyer: The Authorities series (The Authorities and Destructive Reasoning), Master of Formalities, and Grand Theft Astro. Meyer’s books are all hilarious, fun adventures. The Authorities books follow a privately funded taskforce created to investigate crimes that the police cannot solve. Megan Sloan is one of my favorite detectives in fiction. Master of Formalities follows a protocol expert in a far-future monarchy. My favorite gag in this book occurs when someone becomes his own uncle. Grand Theft Astro is a heist story with Meyer’s trademark humor. If you enjoy these books, check out his Magic 2.0 series, which is described in the Lighter Fantasy/SF Mashups section. Luke Daniels, who narrates all of Meyer’s audiobooks, does an excellent job with these stories. ♥

Ernest Cline: Ready Player One. This book is great fun, especially for those that remember the ‘80s or enjoy the popular culture of that era. The audiobook is narrated, very appropriately, by nerd icon Wil Wheaton.

Andy Weir: The Martian and Project Hail Mary. The Martian is the basis of the very faithful film adaption (which I also recommend), and it is super-realistic science fiction with a lot of jokes. Project Hail Mary feels much like The Martian (though far more speculative) at first, but a third of the way in, a major plot development shakes up the story for the better. ♥

Dennis E. Taylor: We are Legion (We are Bob) and sequels (the Bobiverse series). This series begins with the dark premise of the protagonist being uploaded into a von Neumann probe and launched into deep space, but it’s actually very funny. Ray Porter does a great job narrating the audiobooks.

More Serious Science Fiction

David Brin: Startide Rising and The Uplift War. In this universe, sentient species modify or “uplift” presentients to help them bridge the gap to sentence, after which the “client” species is indentured to its “patron” for 100,000 years. Humans, once discovered by the Five Galaxies civilization, only escape indenture because they have already uplifted chimpanzees and dolphins, making humans the lowest-ranking and most hated patron species in the known universe. These books have great worldbuilding and aliens that are very well developed in terms of both biology and culture. The other Uplift books are also good, but these two, which each won a Hugo, are my favorites. ♥H

David Brin: Glory Season. This novel is an amazing extrapolation of an agrarian society built on parthenogenesis. The main character is a rare “variant,” a person who wasn’t cloned but was instead conceived sexually via one of the tiny number of men on the planet. She and her twin must find roles in society without the benefit of membership in a clan of genetically identical women occupying an established niche. Plus, there are fun puzzles and Conway’s Game of Life. ♥

Vernor Venge: A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky. In this universe, the laws of physics vary with the average density in the galactic “neighborhood.” Thus, while the Earth lies at a point where only sublight speeds and human-level intelligence are possible, farther out in the plane of the galaxy and especially off the plane, superluminal speeds and superhuman intelligence can be achieved. Also, on one planet in the “Slow Zone,” there is a race of wolf-like beings who are not individually sentient but who achieve sentience (via ultrasonic communication) in groups of four to six. These books have spectacular worldbuilding, well conceived aliens, and some very compelling science-fictional “big ideas.” Can be read in either order, but publishing order (as listed above) is likely best. Each novel won a Hugo. ♥H

Vernor Venge: Across Realtime. This volume is a compilation of the novels The Peace War and Marooned in Realtime as well as the novella The Ungoverned. These stories revolve around an interesting technology for altering how time passes.

James S. A. Corey: The Expanse series (Leviathan's Wake, eight sequel novels and several shorter works). Fairly hard science fiction based on a politically strained three-way balance of power in a solar system that is confronted with terrifying alien technology. This series is the basis for The Expanse TV/web series, which I also recommend. The Expanse won the 2020 Hugo for best series. ♥H

Ann Leckie: Ancillary Justice and sequels (The Imperial Radch series). A far-future story in which a sentient ship formerly controlling and inhabiting many human bodies is now confined to a single human body (and with its ship self destroyed). These books attracted a lot of attention because the Radchaai language only uses female pronouns, and thus the gender of many of the characters is never revealed, but there's a lot more to this story than that. Ancillary Justice won basically all the awards offered in 2013. Leckie’s novel Provenance and her upcoming Translation State take place in the same universe but follow new characters. ♥HQ

Arkady Martine: A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace. A new ambassador (with the old ambassador’s memories shoved into her brain) is appointed to represent a “barbarian” space station to the “civilized” Teixcalaanli Empire, where she becomes embroiled in a succession crisis and meets people with names like Three Seagrass (my favorite character) and Eight Antidote. Eventually, she must also negotiate first contact with sentient aliens. These books are an interesting examination of imperialism and language. Both novels won the Hugo Award. HQ

Becky Chambers: The Wayfarers series (The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and sequels). This anthology series explores different cultures and locations in a well developed galactic civilization. Wayfarers won the 2019 Hugo Award for best series. HQ

Lighter Fantasy/SF Mashups

Scott Meyer: Off to Be the Wizard and its sequels (the Magic 2.0 series). These books are science fiction disguised as fantasy. An amateur hacker discovers a computer file that can be edited to change the real world. Within 24 hours, everything goes wrong, and he flees from the FBI to medieval England, planning to set himself up as a wizard using his new capabilities. That plan doesn’t go well, either. These books are laugh-out-loud funny and may be of particular interest to computer scientists. The audiobooks’ narrator, Luke Daniels hilariously brings the text to life. ♥

More Serious Fantasy/SF Mashups

Tamsyn Muir: The Locked Tomb series (Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth, Nona the Ninth, and Alecto the Ninth [not yet published]). Charles Stross described the first novel as “Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space!” Honestly, I’m not sure whether to put this series under the “Lighter” or “More Serious” heading. There is a lot of humor, especially in the first book, but there is also quite a lot of horror and sadness. The second novel will absolutely gaslight you, forcing you to question your own sanity, but you’ll be glad you trusted Muir before you reach the end of the book. I can’t imagine anyone other than the excellent Moira Quirk narrating these books. ♥Q

John Scalzi: The God Engines. This novella, in which humans use enslaved gods (defeated enemies of their own god) to power their starships, is almost the only Scalzi work without a large dose of humor. It’s very good, though.

Anne McCaffrey: The first six Dragonriders of Pern books. (I've only read the first six.) These are science fiction disguised as fantasy and are classics in the genre. Far in the future, on an agrarian planet that has forgotten its history, humans ride sentient, telepathic dragons into battle against deadly spores that fall from the sky when another planet in an extremely eccentric orbit comes close.

Lighter Fantasy

Nicholas Eames: The Band series (Kings of the Wyld, Bloody Rose, and Outlaw Empire [not yet published]). Mercenary bands are the rock stars of the fantasy world in which these novels take place, attracting rabid fans and touring huge arenas. These books certainly have strong elements of humor, much of which is focused on the central conceit, but there is also a lot of action and pathos to be had. Both published books a great fun to read, and I’m looking forward to reading the third.

Tamsyn Muir: Princess Floralinda and the Forty Flight Tower. This novella subverts fairytale tropes and comments on gender roles while delivering an outsized dose of Muir’s trademark dry humor. Moira Quirk is hilarious as the audiobook narrator. I’m counting this book for LGBTQ+ because one of the characters doesn’t identify with any gender and because the story examines gender roles. ♥Q

Travis Baldree: Legends and Lattes. A female orc warrior retires from adventuring to open a coffee shop. "What's coffee?" everyone asks. This novel is well crafted, full of interesting characters, and very cute. My friend @novelconcepts aptly described it as “a beautiful warm hug of a book.” There's even a tiny touch of WLW romance, if you’re into that. Baldree is writing a prequel. Q

More Serious Fantasy

Brandon Sanderson: All of the series and standalone books that are set in the Cosmere (rather than on some alternate Earth). Mistborn: The Final Empire is probably a good place to start. The Stormlight Archive (The Way of Kings and sequels) is my favorite series of Sanderson’s, but each of those books is >1300 pages or >45 hours in audio form, so it may not be the best place to start. Era 2 of the Mistborn series (set 300 years after the Era 1) is probably the most fun. Sanderson also has many books not set in the Cosmere that are more than worth reading. His method of taking a break from writing is to write on a different series, so, every year, he puts out ~400,000 words worth of material (3-4 normal novels or a single Stormlight book). If you listen to the audiobooks of the Stormlight Archive, I recommend getting the hardcopy as well, since the art included really helps bring the world of Roshar to life. ♥

Scott Lynch: The Lies of Locke Lamora and sequels (The Gentleman Bastard series). Great worldbuilding of an original fantasy world with dark humor. Lynch finally completed his first draft of Book 4 (of 7 planned) in May 2019 after a 4-year delay, so I’m hoping it will be available eventually. I’m starting to give up hope, though.

China Miéville: Perdido Street Station. Very rich worldbuilding. Very, very dark. Don’t read this book if you aren’t interested in depressing storylines. Miéville’s other work is just as inventive and, in his word, “weird” as this one.

N. K. Jemison: The Broken Earth trilogy (The Fifth Season and its sequels). These books have an intriguing premise, extensive worldbuilding, and an interesting writing style. These novels won the best-novel Hugo for three consecutive years, which no author had done before. HQ

Alternate Reality (Including Alternate History and Steampunk)

Elizabeth Bear: Karen Memory. This novel follows a lesbian prostitute as she teams up with a lawman in a steampunk version of a Seattle-like city in the Pacific Northwest. I also enjoyed Bear’s space opera series, White Space (Night and Machine). Q

Cherie Priest: Boneshaker and its sequels (The Clockwork Century series). Steampunk + zombies = fun. This story begins with a plague of zombification erupting out of Seattle, and it finally provides a reason for Steampunks to wear goggles. ♥

Ian Tregillis: The Mechanical and its sequels (The Alchemy Wars series). Alchemy + steampunk robots + a little philosophy.

China Miéville: The City and the City. See the Detective Stories section of this document. ♥

Felix Gilman: The Half-Made World. Steampunk mixed with fantasy. Also, sentient, demon-possessed firearms.

Mary Robinette Kowal; The Lady Astronaut series (The Calculating Stars and sequels). This universe is an extremely hard-science-fiction alternate history in which a catastrophic event dramatically accelerates the space program. The Lady Astronaut of Mars, a short story, is chronologically last but was written first. There’s also a short story called “We Interrupt this Broadcast” that comes chronologically first but isn’t closely connected to the rest. Kowal’s second job is audiobook narrator—she narrates Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series, for example—and she narrates all these books herself. Interestingly, Kowal’s third job is puppeteer, so she’s pretty busy.

Scott Westerfeld: The Leviathan series, as described in the young-adult section of this list. ♥

Detective Stories in Speculative-Fictional Settings

Scott Meyer: The Authorities and Destructive Reasoning. See the Lighter Science Fiction section. ♥

John Scalzi: Lock In and its sequel, Head On. This series of detective stories takes place in a world where a disease has left millions of people “locked into” paralyzed bodies and forced to use remotely operated mecha to interact with the world. Scalzi never reveals the gender of the main character, leaving it up to the reader’s imagination.

John Scalzi: The Dispatcher series. As of a few years ago, if someone is intentionally killed, they stand a 99.9% chance of recovering with their body reset to a few hours earlier, which makes murder more difficult, but not impossible. Dispatchers are licensed to kill—I mean dispatch—people before they can die from injuries or illnesses, thus giving them a second chance. One such service provider gets caught up in illegal dispatches and a series of mysteries.  

Brandon Sanderson: Snapshot. Two detectives are sent into a snapshot, a detailed simulation of an entire city and its millions of inhabitants on a specific day, to investigate a crime.

China Miéville: The City and the City. This book is amazingly thorough exploration of a ridiculous premise: two cities occupying the same space. This novel is probably my favorite of Miéville’s books. ♥

Richard K. Morgan: Altered Carbon. A murder mystery with an SF “big idea” at its core. The basis for a Netflix series that I haven’t seen.

Superheroes and Supervillains in Prose

Brandon Sanderson: Steelheart and sequels (The Reckoners series). This is a young-adult series in which all super-powered people, called Epics, eventually turn evil.

Seanan McGuire: The Velveteen series. This series is McGuire’s funniest work and is available for free here, but I recommend buying the books to support the author. McGuire also has a number of other fantasy series under her own name as well as some SF/horror series under the pen name Mira Grant.

Comics and Graphic Novels

Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, and Matt Wilson: Paper Girls. This 30-issue comic follows four newspaper-delivery girls who get swept up in a temporal war on Hell Day, 1988. They travel to the ancient past and the far future, meet their adult selves, and learn a lot about themselves in the process. The comic was adapted into an excellent Amazon Prime series, which is a bit more character-focused than the plot-driven comic. Both comic and show are recommended. ♥Q

Ryan North: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. This comic was my favorite ongoing superhero series until its recent ending. Firstly, it’s hilarious. Secondly, since Doreen Green (Squirrel Girl’s alter ego) is a computer-science student, there are a number of gags about coding and math. Thirdly, the heroine usually solves her problem not by beating up the villains, but by empathizing with them, understanding their problems, and helping them find nonviolent solutions. Since the series ended with Issue 50, it’s quite possible to read it all. ♥

N. D. Stevenson: Nimona. This mash-up of fantasy and science fiction is not only filled with humor but also includes a surprising amount of sweetness. Q

Various authors: Lumberjanes. This young-adult comic series follows a group of cabin-mates at a summer camp for girls—excuse me, “hard-core lady-types”—as they encounter a surprisingly high frequency of supernatural phenomena over one time-dilated summer. This comic wrapped up its run after 75 issues. Q

Alan Moore: Watchman. There’s a reason many people point to this graphic novel as an exceptional example of the genre. Honestly the way the story is told is more interesting than the story itself, but the storytelling is well worth the price of admission.

Short Stories in Speculative-Fiction Settings

Various authors: Metatropolis and its sequels. This series of anthologies is a near-future look at how cities (and green spaces) might evolve.

John Scalzi: Shadow War of the Night Dragons, Book One: The Dead City: Prologue. Trust me, read this hilarious fantasy parody for free here.

John Scalzi: Miniatures. A collection of very short science-fiction stories.

Young-Adult Speculative Fiction

Brandon Sanderson: The Rithmatist. In an alternate United States (so not in the Cosmere), geometric drawings are used to defend the world against an onslaught of 2D creatures. If you listen to the audiobook, I strongly suggest buying the hardcopy as well, since the drawings included play such as strong role in the story. I also suggest the Reckoners series, listed above, but The Rithmatist is my favorite non-adult story from Sanderson. ♥

Scott Westerfeld: Leviathan, Behemoth, and Goliath. This series takes place in an alternate-history WWI, where one side uses steampunk mecha, and the other relies on genetically engineered animals. There’s a bonus epilogue online, for those how can’t get enough. The hardcopy contains some very nice illustrations. The companion Manual of Aeronautics provides much additional (full-color) artwork, though the character descriptions in the last few pages contain major spoilers. ♥

Mark Lawrence: The Book of the Ancestor trilogy (Red Sister, Grey Sister, and Holy Sister). On a world being buried under ice, an orphan with magical powers joins others like her training to become warrior nuns. Q

Myke Cole: The Sacred Throne series (The Armored Saint and sequels). In a land ruled by a religious tyrant who claims to have defeated devils from another plane, a teenage girl must fight to protect those she loves when the emperor’s vicious zealots arrive at her tiny village. Plus, there’s a steampunk mecha suit. The age of the protagonist points toward a young-adult audience, but this book has far more violence than is typical of YA novels. Q

T. Kingfisher: A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking. “T. Kingfisher” is a pseudonym used by Ursula Vernon for young-adult and adult titles. This book follows a very minor wizard whose magic only works on dough. The story is full of humor and heart, and there’s more than a little (bread-based) action as well.

Anne McCaffrey: The Harper Hall Trilogy: Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, and Dragondrums. These books are a subset of McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series, which is discussed eleshere.

Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games series. These books are the basis for the kids-killing-kids battle royale film series.

Children’s and Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events. Very well done, but also very dark. The Netflix series based on the books is also quite good.

Ursula Vernon: Castle Hangnail. This adorable story follows a would-be wicked witch who applies to fill a vacancy at the titular castle.

Brandon Sanderson: The Alcatraz series (beginning with Alcatraz vs. The Evil Librarians). These books take place on an alternate Earth (thus not in the Cosmere) where most of the world is run by a cabal of evil librarians. There’s a ton of fun adventure and silly humor, which my son loved when I read them to him as an 8- to 9-year-old. Be sure to get the later printings with art by Hayley Lazo; her work is great.

Kazu Kibuishi: The Amulet series (beginning with The Stonekeeper). A portal-fantasy graphic novel with beautiful art and an interesting, magical setting.

[geodethecrow]

I've currently got a mug of warm tea, an absolutely lovely book, and a cat sleeping next to me :)

What more could a guy wish for?

[thebibliosphere]

So what would you recommend for publishing a book for the first time? Anyone you'd recommend as publishers etc?

My experience with traditional publishers is limited to having worked for one of them over a decade ago as an editor for several years (and it was, honest to god, an underpaid, overworked nightmare) and then the limited exposure I had querying Hunger Pangs, which made me decide to go the route of self-pub instead. (I didn't like what they wanted to do to my disabled character(s).)

And if you're aiming for trad-pub, it's not like you get to pick. You just aim for whatever one(s) are in your genre wheelhouse and hope for the best. You will need an agent for trad-pub, though. Most of them don't accept unsolicited manuscripts without agent rep unless they run an open call for submissions.

Indie-pub is a bit more lenient, but an agent still isn't a bad idea to ensure you get a fair deal and your contract isn't screwing you over.

So, if you're not doing self-pub, step one is Finish Your Manuscript and step two is Start Querying for Agents.

If you are doing self-pub, I recommend you read Let's Get Digital by David Gaughran. He updates it periodically as online publishing changes; you can find it free on his website. It's basically the playbook for breaking down how digital publishing.

It primarily focuses on Amazon because that's the giant, but the advice is applicable to other distributors like draft2digital.

If you've got more specific questions, I can try to answer them, but my wheel is primarily self-pub these days.

[nanowrimo]

Pro Tips from a NaNo Coach: How to Write a Clean(ish) Fast Draft

NaNoWriMo can seem like a daunting task sometimes, for NaNo newbies and veterans alike. Fortunately, our NaNo Coaches are here to help guide you through November! Today, author Jesse Q. Sutanto is here to share her advice on how to set yourself up for noveling success:

Dear Nano-ers,

My first book took me three years to cobble together. During that time, I joined Absolute Write—a free writers forum which I completely love and recommend to all aspiring writers—and I made a friend who convinced me to try doing NaNoWriMo. I was completely unconvinced, but I am a people-pleaser and I can never say no, so I agreed to try it for my second novel.

My second novel took me less than a month to write. It was a complete mess, but it was also a revelation. Often, I felt myself falling into that writing Holy Grail—the hole which consumes you, makes you forget the rest of the world, and absorbs you completely in the world you are creating on paper. I loved the process deeply, and never looked back since. All of my subsequent books have since been written in a matter of months. 

And you know what? They were all a horrific mess. I did not learn how to do a clean and fast draft until my NINTH book, and I don’t think I would’ve ever learnt without the help of NaNoWriMo. So here are my tips on how to best tackle a sprint-a-thon like NaNo. 

1. Try to come up with a loose outline.

When I first started writing, I was a pure pantser. I had no idea what was going to happen before I sat down to write. This is a completely legit way of writing, but I have since learned that it is massively helpful to have an idea, even a vague one, of what you are trying to say with your book. What was really helpful for me was to sit down for just five minutes before writing each scene and try to envision what I wanted the scene to achieve. Once I had that in mind, the scene became much easier to write. 

2. Break down your writing time.

Ever heard of the Pomodoro technique? In order to hit 50,000 words a month, you need to write around 1,600 words a day. That is a heck of a lot of words to write! Break it down. Set 10 or 15-minute timers and use that to your advantage. Trust me, if you told me to sit down and write 1,600 words, I would be like, “Omg that’s too much!” But if you told me to just write for 15 minutes, that feels a lot more doable. 

3. Give yourself permission to write trash.

Before each writing session, I actually say out loud: “I am going to write trash.” And this gives me permission to write whatever comes to my mind without judgment. You can always edit later, but for now, focus on letting the words out on paper. 

4. Lean on others for support.

I made the mistake of thinking that writing is a lonely vocation. In fact, it is one of the most social things I could do. Social media, while a double-edged sword, has done so much for the writing community. I have found all of my close writer friends through social media, and I chat with them every day and consider them my close, lifelong friends. Don’t be afraid to reach out and make connections within the community. You are not alone. 

Jesse Q. Sutanto is the award-winning, bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, Well, That Was Unexpected, The Obsession, and Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit. The film rights to her women’s fiction, Dial A for Aunties, was bought by Netflix in a competitive bidding war, and the TV rights to Vera Wong was bought by Warner Bros, with Oprah and Mindy Kaling attached to produce. She has a master’s degree in creative writing from Oxford University, though she hasn’t found a way of saying that without sounding obnoxious.

[mamieishere]

How to row a hook-up

MDNI

disclaimer : unprotected sex, quickie, doggy style, creampie, semi public, teasing, breeding kink, no name mentioned

You met him on a dating app. You liked his profile because of his blue hair. It's not common and you love someone with their own personality. He was a traveler, coming we-don't-know-where and indicated that he was around for several days.

There was no expectation, you liked some other profiles. You got some matches and started to talk with them but they weren't interesting or too weird. You gave up for the night and went to bed. Tomorrow evening your friend will arrive and the both of you will head to the most anticipated festival of the year. How exciting is it to finally being able to enjoy music lives.

When you woke up the next morning, you were anything but a portable battery, too much energy, too much happiness... too much eve everything.

You headed to the shower and had a full body wash, hair included. Summer nights were hot and humid, so much so that you needed to wash your hair daily. After getting dressed, you picked up your phone and oh! missing notifications. It was the blue haired cutie. He liked you back! FUCK!

"Hi! I'm here for a few days. I'm going to be honest, I need someone who speaks the local language... Are you in?" 4 hours ago

"Ha ~ Finally, I wasn't that honest. I have a big event this weekend and I am very stressed. It's impromptu but could you help you to reduce this tension?" 4 hours ago

"I mean in a sexual way?" 3 hours ago

"Wait... It's impossible to erase a message on this app??? Fuck it." 5 minutes ago

"You know what? Forget it, nvw. It was unsolicited." now

You laughed. He was cute and kinda strange in a way.

"Hey :) sure I'm in, even for a tension revealed thing if you want." now

You texted back without proofreading, probably because you'd cringe at your message. You tossed your phone on your bed. after all, What are the chances that he will respond now? Obviously none.

You planned to go on a self date, one of your fave thing. You put a little make, mascara and lip gloss, grab your bag stuffed with keys, wallet, a book and your flying phone. Headphones on your ears, you headed out to a cozy restaurant nearby to the hotel.

The atmosphere was hushed, the lights were subdued and the ceiling had mouldings. A perfect place to order a fancy dish and a glass of white wine in the back corner out of sight. After the waiter has taken your order and came back with your drink, you took your book and started peacefully your me-time.

A group of about ten people took the table on the right. They were loud, chaotic dressed in expensive clothing. You sighted and turn on the headphones again. You looked for your phone to play some music. While the tracks scrolled across the screen, he popped up. You jumped on your seat, hurting the table.

- "HOLLY... ", you restrained yourself from screaming and rubbing your knees. The neighbours at the table turned around with surprised looks. "My apologies", you nodded, pressed play to the first track coming and hid behind your book.

"Hello again! Thank God, I'm glad you did answer. I'm not used to dating apps, probably because I'm not allowed to. Had I say I was relieved? Haha I'm rumbling... Anyways, I'm going to dinner in a restaurant, would you like to recommend me a dish? I'm so lost... " 3 minutes ago

You laughed softly.

"Okay, it's funny because I'm in a restaurant too currently. I order a croque madame, it's a hot sandwich studded with béchamel sauce, cheese and ham plus there's a sunny side up on the top of it. It comes with a salad. So, I guess you may order this too!" now

"THANK YOU!" now

Oh the answer came very quickly this time. You left your phone on the table with the book, as the waiter came back with your dish.

Oh it was delicious... The bread was crispy outside but still soft and buttery. The egg was perfect, the ham and cheese tasty and smoked. It was heaven,all of this combined with the jazz music playing... It was orgasmic.

"I guess you gave me a good choice. It looks yummy. *one picture attached *" now

Your eyes widen once again. The picture of his dish was exactly the same than yours, the dishes, the tablecloth, everything. You raised your head and started to search around you. He was here.

*Wait... We are in the same restaurant. Oh lol, where are you?" now

You kept looking for some blue hair but failed. Was it a joke? Where was he? After 5 minutes, your message was still unread. You decided to go to the bathroom, leaving your things under the waiter supervision.

Until someone grabbed your hand and guided you to the first nearby room. You were about to scream when your kidnapper switch on the light. Blue hair. Oh.

- "Hey... hey hey hey", he whispered "I'm so sorry, I caught you by surprise. I recognized you when I entered the restaurant earlier. I wanted to give you a hand sign but as I was with my band and the staff, it was impossible. Please accept my apologies. But jeez you're beautiful. Ah sorry I'm rambling again... Hey? Hello, Earth?"

Of course you heard him but you were shut. He was stunning, his delicate face, his bobba eyes contrasted so well with his blue hair. You were subjugated.

- "Yeah? Hi...", the words fell from your mouth.

- "Are you okay? Are you shocked?" he panicked "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry.".

You put your hand on his chest. "Are you real...?" you asked randomly. He burnt out of laughter,took your hand and swapped your fingers with his own.

- "Hello sweetheart, yes I'm real", he cooed with a chuckle. He took your chin and replaced a strand of hair out of your face. "May i kiss you?"

Wow, that was bold but not as bold as you, putting your hands on his shoulders for leverage, you reached to his mouth and put a lingering kiss on his lips. He caught you and deeper the kiss, glued his body to yours.

- "Ah princess... I want you now, can I have you now?", You looked at him and nodded. "Use your words baby. ".

- "Ha.... yes, please. Are you not afraid that someone caught us?".

He cadged you between his body and the door.

- "No, I'm not. You'll have to stay quiet if you don't want to be discovered.", He leaned to kiss you again. Both of you had a little time. His hands made their path under your shirt going for the claps of your bra. You weren't wearing a bra, oops. He broke the kiss and gave you a stern look.

- "Oh my. What do we have here?", he raised your hands with one hand while his others reached up your top, exposing your chest to the cold air, making your nipples harder than they already were. He started to leave little pecks on your neck, down to your collarbone, decorating it with purple and finally reaching to your left boob.

- "Let's start with your heart side would you?", he rolled the sensitive tip between his digits, cutting off a moan of you. He urgently put his hand on your mouth. "Stay quiet baby if you don't want to get caught".

He freed your hands which ended up on his shoulders again and licked your nipple. Your chest arched, giving him more flesh. You moaned again, silently. His other hand found a place on your hips, rubbing slow circles.

- "Touch me, please...", Your voice was almost a whisper. "May I have your fingers in me?"

It was all it took for him to snap. He got back on his feet, turned you around and lifted your skirt.

- " Oh baby wants my fingers?", he teased. "Baby wants me to finger your needy hole?"

He didn't give enough time to answer before he ripped soaking panties, stuffed you with two fingers at an incredible rough pace. You felt the first sprinkles of pleasure and he added a third one. Soft moans weren't enough, louder ones erupted from your throat as he stopped them by placing a hand on your filfy mouth.

- "I told you to stop being noisy", his action hadn't the expected effect, your creamed his hand. "Fuck that's hot. May I give you my cock sweetie, uh? Want me to fill you up? Breeding you with my seeds?".

Unable to form a coherent sentence, you gave him a "Ha... y... es fuck, gimme y-your see-seeds".

While licking his digits, he undid his pants, freeing his erected dick from the confines of his underwear. One hand came to press on your back to put your pussy on display. You felt him, rubbing his cock along your folds, teasing your entrance. You tried to push your hips back on him to finally get your dream fulifilled.

- "tsk... baby no... that's not how we ask to be fucked"

- "please, I can't... oh shit!", he penetrated you in one full stroke. He snapped his hips on yours, making the head of his penis kissed your cervix, forcefully. The pace he chose left no space for mercy. You thought you were going to cum only by being penetrated until he reached your clit only to play with it. As his pace maintained a high drive, he doodled circles on your bundle of nerves.

- "Fuck baby girl, cum... cum for me. Cum on my cock, I want to feel it", he bite your ear. Then everything became colorful. You came hard around him, squeezing your insides like never you did before. He helped by guiding you through it. The only sound remained was the lewd, squishing sound of his cock entering you again and again. He took him a few pumps before he filled you full of him.

- "hhhhaaa fuck baby, I'm bringing you to my hotel room. I can't leave you like that."

hiii, it's been a while! I hope you enjoyed this story. it was supposed to be a drabble, as usual, it's a failure 🤷🏻‍♀️

Feel free to give feedback and comments (constructive ones only!) 💕

I have to be honest, im not a big mood to write rn but I felt I needed to post this one. please be nice if you find typos or grammatical mistakes, english isn't my first language.

[tragedycoded]

blog 2.0

Hello, welcome to @fortunatetragedy's post-ADHD meltdown blog.

For those who weren't following me before, I am an almost-40 previously-published author who uses Tumblr to shitpost and connect with other writers.

I write horror. Adult. Mostly Weird Western. I'll be referring a lot to Doom Metal Love Story, which is a Weird Western horror romance. You can read the first of three parts on AO3 (link below). It will be independently published starting in 2025. I am coding it in Twine as an interactive fiction (IF) novel FOR SCIENCE.

The Schedule (ish)

Monday: publish/talk about Doom Metal Love Story Wednesday: annoy the squad with tag games Friday: publish A Living Machine (or forget to publish ALM and scramble to do it over the weekend)

Rest of the time it's vibes.

Hashtags

I'm working on a Weird Western horror romance at the same time as... whatever A Living Machine is. You're going to encounter some things you might not want to encounter on this blog. Blacklist the following hashtags if you're particularly against:

#dmls-spoilers: this will keep most major spoilers for Book 1 as well as all Book 2 & 3 details off your dashboard.

#dmlsposting is usually spoiler-free; it's me rambling about DMLS. If you're trying to avoid any spoilers bc you haven't read Book 1 yet, I would recommend blacklisting this one as well.

#wip: a living machine: this will keep ANYTHING about ALM, to include shitposts about Khalid's Mad Science, mostly contained.

sometimes I reblog #body horror or #horror art; I do not tag pregnancy (to include mpreg) as body horror, so if you don't want to take your chances:

#DMLS core or #ALM core are my aesthetic tags. sometimes intense horror imagery ends up in the first tag and transgressive imagery ends up in the latter. soz.

I do trigger warn against the major ones (death, blood, gore, etc.) and I put spicy content under a cut, but if I'm not being explicit, sometimes pregnancy, sex, and/or violence make it through without a tag. My bad, y'all. Blacklist the WIP tag you don't want to see that shit in and you should be fine.

Fandom Nonsense

You will see me reposting fanart and media from the following most frequently:

Pathologic Classic HD/Pathologic 2

Fear & Hunger/F&H Termina

Slay the Princess

my mutuals' work (I'm a simp, soz.)

What else...

Yes to tag games.

Yes to unsolicited asks.

Yes to WIP exchange requests. I'm more likely to agree if we're genre-adjacent (horror or Weird Western); I am a hard sell on high fantasy, historical fiction, or mystery/thriller.

byeee~

[daylightdabbles]

Teyvat Omegaverse Headcanons (Act 1)

This is apart of a collection of headcanons for the genshin characters in my Teyvat Omegaverse AU. I would recommend reading this to add some context to this post. I do use some personal headcanons and ideas for omegaverse. SFW Feat: Faruzan, Heizou , Venti, and Xiao

Faruzan, The Enigmatic Machinist

In a country that values betas over omegas or alphas, praising their ability to not be effected by pheromones that may get in the way of the pursuit of knowledge, Faruzan applied scent blockers diligently to show she was different from other omegas. 100 years ago, being an omega or an alpha meant banging on a glass ceiling in order to be heard the Akademiya. Faruzan has had to adjust to a lot of things in her homeland. From losing her place in time, her research no longer being the jewel of Haravatat and everything else that changed, one uncomfortable idea she had to shed was that her outdated views on being an omega.

In the past, Faruzan felt the need to hide her status as an omega in order to advance her research. The Akademiya was crueler than, often passing over funding requests made by alphas and omegas, citing their natural responses to pheromones leaving it likely they would have to 'pause their research in order to engaged in debased behaviors.' This attitude shifted over the last 100 years, the Akademiya becoming less prejudice towards non-betas. When Nahida formally claimed her place as the Dendro Archon, the Akademiya started working extra hard to remove these bias from their practices and regulations. A joyous moment, but one that left Faruzan having to reconcile her past with the present.

It is well known Madam Faruzan does not like being treated like an omega. When Kshahrewar students seek her help, they make extra sure to treat her like a beta, often forgoing gifts they would normally bring to try and ply omega researchers for a crumb of advice. Her standards for respect is well known and she will not hesitate to fight tooth and nail for it, honed from years of having her work discounted because of her secondary sex.

Faruzan is also oddly protective over the alpha and omega students in the Akademiya, offering often unsolicited advice to them on how to get grants and other resources. Her advice is a little dated, and she can be overbearing at times, but it all comes from a place of kindness. She is dismayed by the current standing of Haravatat and struggles to get students who appreciate her teachings, but she is thankful that they don't have to struggle with the same barriers she had.

Her writings also have an interesting history around them. The book made from her writings was used to establish Kshahrewar and caused quite a stir in the Akademiya. Her work was brilliant and was a key point in the arguments against funding discrimination against omegas and alphas, citing that their work was just as impactful as their beta peers.

Madam Faruzan doesn't like to be touched. She spent 100 years locked in a ruin away from others, so shes extra sensitive to touch even for an omega. While most omegas find cuddling and hugs very calming, its way too much stimuli for Faruzan. This tends to be something that makes it hard for her when socializing. She used to be very touchy with the people she held closest to her, relaxing her guard around them, but now they are gone. She thinks about the last time she had a hug that didn't hurt during late nights in her office.

She does secretly partake in things like nesting, even if they are hidden. Her nest is small, tucked away in what used to be an office. Unlike most omegas, Faruzan keeps puzzles near her nest. The blankets are soft and help her stay calm in heat, but she needs some sort of mental stimuli else she gets nervous. It provides her with a sense of a control during a time when her hormones are making her disoriented. She also doesn't cover the windows and her nest is rather open, preferring to avoid dark or tight spaces during her heat.

As an omega, Faruzan doesn't have an identifying scent, or a scent unique to her. Instead, omegas adopt the scent of places they feel safe or of their home. Faruzan's scent is old parchment and metal, mining the scents of her workspace.

Shikanoin Heizou, The Analytical Harmony

Shikanoin Heizou, the number 1 detective in the Tenryou Commission, is an alpha. It's not unexpected: he's confident, smart and plays by his own rules. Despite the fact he doesn't adhere to the expectations of him being a proper Tenryou Commission Doushin or an alpha, Heizou's work speaks volumes about him.

Being an alpha something Heizou take any particular pride in. Inazuma favors alphas, with them traditionally carrying on the family line . Inazuman culture expects omegas to be strong, powerful, dominant leaders of their 'pack' who guide through example, commanding respect from betas and omegas. Heizou gets frustrated when its commented upon that he should be more responsible or and how he should be taking on a leadership position amongst the Doushin. He's happy as he is and doesn't see a reason why he should be considered superior over betas and omegas according to older Inazumans.

He is, however, protective like a stereotypical alpha. Its not uncommon for him to check in on his friends through out the week to see how they are doing. He makes sure to walk people home late at night, in particular omegas. This stems not from a place of viewing omegas as weak, but from knowing just how often they are targeted by criminals.

While Heizou does use his enhanced sense of smell to help in track down criminals and link evidence to certain individuals who touched it, he's content to pursue justice his way and thumb his nose at the expectations for alphas in Inazuma. The only time he takes advantage of Inazuma placing alphas on top of the social hierarchy is when its needed to get information on a case.

Beyond its use in detective work, he's cheeky about being able to pick up on an omega's emotions through scent or tracking someone down. Heizou loves to tease people, popping up by them to see if he guessed where they would be right based on other clues, or poking fun at serious individuals when he catches them being flustered even though their face is stoic.

Heizou really dislikes how the Tenryou Commission building smells. Its part of the reason he spends as much time away from the headquarters as possible. As an alpha, he can smell just how thick with fear, desperation and grief the air is in there. Even the very walls of his office, which he stopped letting people into, is soaked in these scents. It makes it hard for Heizou to focus, even if other alphas in the Tenryou Commission don't seem to be affected by it. He cares about the people he arrests, having empathy for them and the people they leave behind. To be surrounded by such fear makes him feel sick to his stomach.

Heizou is needy when he is in rut. He is almost inseparable from his omega, only leaving their side when its absolutely necessary for the comfort of his S/O. It is the only thing that can cause Heizou to stay in one place for an extended length of time that doesn't relate to his casework. He's soft, fulfilling any need to ensure that his partner's heat cycle passes safely. His rut also makes him more defensive as his hormones make him more anxious, searching for any threats to him or his omega. If he's forced to be separated from his omega, he'll dreams of a familiar alley with two people leaning against the wall, hand in decayed hand.

Heizou's scent smells like vanilla, black pepper and patchouli. Its a complex scent with sweet and spicy layers to it.

Venti, The Windborne Bard

As the Anemo Archon and a wind spirit, Venti doesn't have a secondary sex. This does not stop people from assuming he is an omega, seeing him as a gentle if mischievous traveling bard. Venti leans into this, playing up the act of a simple omega bard here to play music and offer advice at just the right moment.

Mondstadt doesn't place an emphasis on one's secondary sex, instead treating all as equal. Ultimately, it doesn't affect Venti too much to be seen as an omega vs. a beta or an alpha, so he lets people have their assumptions about him. If anything, it tends to help him charm people into giving him more money for his songs.

Venti does find it amusing to see how alphas, betas and omegas act around each other. He chuckles when he sees the bafflement betas sometimes have when an alpha tracks them down or when an omega curses Celestia for making them extra sensitive to Dragonspine's chill. Kaeya, in particular, has the most colorful curses whenever he has to track up the mountain to get Klee from Albedo

Venti's scent helps let people assume he's an omega. Omega's adopt the scent of their home as their personal scent and Venti smells like Mondstadt. He smells like the apples growing in Starfall Valley, the windwheel asters in Bright crown mountains and every other scent the winds of Mondstadt carry. He carries the scent the wind picks up as it travels through Mondtstadt, which makes his scent actually the closest to a real identifying scent of all the archons.

His favorite game to play when he has way too much time on is hands is 'mess with alphas'. He smells like a omega, but he doesn't produce the range of pheromones an omega would. This confuses alphas who try to key in on his emotions through his scent, often leading to them making guesses that are wildly off. All it takes is a pout or a misleading smile to make them flustered. Diluc has taken revenge for this a few times by purposely luring a cat into Angel's Share.

Most of the Church of Barbatos assumes he would be an alpha based on how protective he is of people in the scripture, so pretending to be an omega helps Venti avoid detection. It also made his attempts to gain access to the Holy Lyre Der Himmel harder because people didn't believe that the tiny omega bard could be Barbatos. Every time he is forced to reveal his identity, he has to deal with the double take. He knows he's short, but come on? He doesn't need to be a big scary alpha to care for his people!

Xiao, The Vigilant Yaksha

Despite being a Yaksha and not having a secondary sex, Xiao has been referred to as an omega by humans for centuries at this point. It developed through a combination of stereotypes, mistranslated of stories and his protective nature that led to this. Early art showed that Xiao was smaller than other Yaksha and his zeal in protecting Liyue has lead people to believe he's an omega who has claimed the whole of Liyue as his nest, his area to protect.

Xiao had mixed feelings once he caught on to this happening. He figured it out when he started to notice pilgrims leaving soft blankets, pleasantly scented balms and even gifts usually associated with alphas courting omegas in Liyue. After some investigation, Xiao was a little miffed that Liyuens assumed he was someone who didn't spend every night of his life fighting to keep them safe, mostly because omegas in Liyue tend to be stereotyped as fragile, delicate humans who shouldn't see the battlefield. Poets wrote lamentations on the Conqueror of Demons, forced to defend Liyue after his pack died as there was no alternative.

Xiao stewed over this for a while. He did lose his fellow Yaksha and mourns in his quiet way, but felt like this view of him was reductive. He defends Liyue to uphold his contract to Morax, dedicating his life to fighting demons to honor how the Geo Archon saved him. It wasn't done out of grief, nor something he was saddled with. It was a choice he doesn't regret, even as his karmic debt hangs over him.

After meeting the Traveler and spending more time around Liyue Harbor, Xiao starts to learn the nuances of this view of him. He originally only knew about secondary sexs through flowery poetry or hearsay, so it was pleasantly surprising to learn more about why people associate him with omegas. He doesn't discriminate over those he protects, guarding Liyue as an omega guards their nest. Its a softer view of him that most people actually hold, one of a caring protector. There are even people who invoke his image in telling stories of hurt omegas, claiming him as their protector in stories.

The Vigilant Yaksha is still mostly confused by secondary sexs, such as why omegas are viewed as 'emotional' and alphas get pushed into roles of leadership, often being pressured into ignoring their own emotions. Its a little silly to Xiao, to treat humans differently based on something given to them as birth, but he's content to be seen as an omega, the guardian of their homes and a figure they can draw strength from in dark moments.

Xiao doesn't have an identifying scent, but he smells like qingxin and almonds to most people. However, alphas can detect the nearly invisible scent of blood that clings to him like a leech.

[phaedraismyusername]

3 Unsolicited Recommendations

(( for fans of Fleabag ))

* all of them are around 200 pages, have that strong flavour of feminine chaos, neurotic sexploits, sharp social observations, and unfettered access to the characters deepest darkest thoughts.

1 - Luster by Raven Leilani

Edie is in her twenties, stuck somewhere between depression and apathy, and burning her way through a slew of bad choices, when she finds herself invited into the life and home of a married couple and their black adopted daughter as she does her best to find her place in the world.

2 - Hysteria by Jessica Gross

A guilt-ridden sex obsessed college student walks into a bar and falls into a reflective relationship with a bartender that she's pretty sure is actually Sigmund Freud. It's chaos all the way down.

3 - I'm a Fan by Sheena Patel

This book y'all, how do I even explain it lol. It's a single perspective intense character study of a woman who has become obsessed with a glamorous american influencer after learning that she is romantically entangled with the man she's cheating on her boyfriend with. Or trying to, at least. Bad decisions and biting social commentary made this one genuinely so addicting to read lol

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

may i generally recommend ‘fashion killa’ by sowmya krishnamurthy as a fascinating look at hip hop & rap fashion? it is such a rich history.

normally I shoot people on sight for unsolicited book recommendations (not a joke) but this one sounds cool so I'll take it under consideration