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alittledizzy · 8 months ago

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this a big ask and feel free to ignore but you seem like the right person to come to.

can you give like a dnf overview for those of us who know almost nothing but are sooo curious (minecraft? face reveal? queer?)(i follow for dnp lol)

Okay so... I'm gonna try and do a bullet point overview and for the purpose of not getting in the weeds I am not going into the controversies. I'll be happy to discuss that part - OFF anon.

Dream and George met on a Minecraft server when Dream was 16, George was 18/19 and became best friends.

When Dream decided to start youtube when he was 18, he asked George (and Sapnap) to come along with him. They both said yes.

In 2019, George started talking about moving to America. At the time Dream lived with his girlfriend, though they broke up by 2020. (George and the girlfriend did not get along. But that's also a whole other can of worms because she fucked Dream up pretty badly with consistent cheating and verbal/physical abuse.)

Plans for George to move to the US got more concrete and at some point over 2021 became him moving into a house with Dream and Sapnap.

Dream also came out multiple times in this general period of time. He came out in a post on reddit, on twitter, and on a stream. He does not explicitly state that he's bisexual, but he does explicitly state he isn't straight.

Sapnap had already moved in with Dream for Dream's protection since he was being swatted pretty regularly. Dream had plans for a face reveal but people were stalking and harassing him both to 'reveal' him and also because at this point the Kiwi Farms targeted attack on him had gained a lot of steam.

Speaking of: George used face cam pretty regularly, but Dream did not face reveal. Based on things he's said it seems pretty clear he was trying to lose weight but at some point set the goal of face revealing once George was in America because he wanted George to see his face before anyone else.

George applied for his Visa and would have had about a 6-9 month wait, and then was denied. He had to apply a second time, and wait another extended period of time, which put it September 2022 when his visa finally was approved. This means they'd known each other for seven years and he'd been trying to move to the US to live with Dream for three years at that point.

George arrived in the US and Dream posted his first video with a face camera on. George posted a vlog meeting Dream irl for the first time, which is a great starting point for a watch.

In terms of the ship stuff: they've always had a heavily flirtatious relationship and Dream is open about how attractive he finds George. They've acknowledging having a conversation about if they'd date or not.

Once in a while Dream will reiterate that they're not dating, and we know he spent 2023 having a variety of hookups but no confirmed relationships. (Which lines up with his long history of women that flirt with him complaining he'll be great to them and make them feel good but always says he doesn't want a relationship.)

2023 was pretty wild for them in terms of nonstop travel, events, and making very little content besides Dream's music. So far in 2024 we've seen a complete 180 of that and Dream and George have noy traveled at all, staying at home in Orlando together. (Sapnap has traveled and spent time in LA, but alone.)

This is partially due to controversy, I'm sure, but also seems to be just in line with a rededicating of themselves to Minecraft and content impending. They're working on a project that hopefully will come out soon.

Right now in terms of what they've publicly told us, they're just in the category of Super Not Normal About Each Other. Here are a few of the Not Normal things that are just fun from a shippy pov:

Before George moved, they were open about living most of their life on a call together. This includes sleep calling and staying on the phone while taking showers.

One of Dream's early videos was gifting his friends money to thank them for supporting him. He gave Sapnap and another friend $500 each. He gave George $5000.

Dream took 'am I in love with my best friend' quizzes on stream twice with George on the call and neither treated it quite like a joke.

Dream sent George an oversized Dream hoodie which George has worn repeatedly and even admitted to spraying with cologne before he'd put it on. Dream took pictures of George in the hoodie (a private call, not one fans were in on) and then later shared them saying they were the cutest pictures of George ever.

The first time we really got to see them interact irl at length was a stream they did around Christmas. Here's a supercut that just really shows the vibe between them.

Initially in late 2022 Dream was wearing a very specific chain. At some point in January 2023, George started wearing that chain (the specific one Dream used to wear) and has not been spotted without it since.

At one of his concerts Dream described George as a friend he just met a year ago that he's so in love with.

The entire song Spotlight which everyone immediately associated with George, to George's embarrassment and pride.

And there's obviously way more... but I feel like this is a good starter kit for Them.

#anon asks #dreamnotfound #dnf asks

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batmanisagatewaydrug · 7 months ago

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reading roundup: june 2024

before I get started on June, I have to issue a correction from May: I forgot to include a book!

last year I backed Iron Circus Comics' erotic anthology My Monster Girlfriend, edited by Andrea Purcell and Amanda Lafrenais, and it finally arrived just ahead of pride. My Monster Girlfriend contains 15 stories by all by different artists, and features protagonists who get it on with everything from the classic ghosts, werewolves, and vampires to a reality-warping angel (?) who contains infinite dimensions, a sleep paralysis demon, and an all-consuming flesh monster hivemind.

while I would have liked to see a little more variety in the freakishness of the actual sex, the anthology is a lot of fun and shows off a great diversity of art styles and scenarios in which one might get down to clown with a monster girlfriend. my personal favorites were Feather by Kanesha C. Bryant, in which an intrepid pervert boldly attempts to locate their girlfriend's genitalia; MonsterHER Under the Bed by Bont and Wes Brooke, which puts a cute, sexy little spin on the monster under the bed; Forest Wedding by Otava Heikkilä, which reads like an old timey fable except it ends in a giant forest woman getting crazy fisted by her new trans husband; and Girl Fiend by InnKeeperWorm, which is infinitely jackoffable even though, frankly, the hellhound should have stayed in her more monstrous canine form to fuck.

okay, now onto the June reading! I found myself reaching the end of the month surprised that I had added so few books to my 2024 spreadsheet, and then I realized: it's fucking PRIDE MONTH and I'm a career queer. I spent most of June either busting ass working various events or in a coma recovering from said events; no wonder I didn't read as much as I thought I would. I also gave up on one novel after sinking close to 200 pages in it, which means the list is even shorter, but trust me: the DNF was the right decision.

so, who made the cut for pride?

The Monsters We Defy (Leslye Penelope, 2022) - this book was a romp! it's fun! it's a hoot, dare I say! this is a historical urban fantasy that takes place in the Black society of 1920s Washington, DC. protagonist Clara and her band of ragtag magical misfits have a heist to pull off against one of the most powerful Black women in DC, with their own curses and powers at stake. it's a fun story with a neat magic system and lots of words that are capitalized so you know they're Magical and Important, and it's a read that goes down real easy. strong recommendation if you find yourself in a slump!

Just for the Cameras (Viano Oniomoh, 2023) - my first foray into independently published romance! and it was... fine. the plot's a little patchy, sure, but it's definitely not the worst romance I've ever read, and at least a throuple made for a nice change of pace. AND nobody's seething with jealousy or insecurity about multiple partners? you love to see it. this book was apparently originally intended to be a novelette and it definitely could have stayed that way, but if bisexual Black hotties sucking and fucking is what you seek then you're going to have a great time. TW: 2/3 main characters are British.

Strange Bedfellows: Adventures in the Science, History, and Surprising Secrets of STDs (Ina Park, 2021) - to the surprise of absolutely no one who knows me, this is one of my very favorite nonfiction reads of the year so far. I cannot emphasize this enough: if you like the way that I talk about STIs and sex ed on this blog then I think you'll really like this book, because having read this book I desperately want to be her friend. she brings so much passion and energy to her work that it bursts right off the page and is - pardon this awful pun - absolutely infectious.

Survivor (Octavia E. Butler, 1978) - for those you not in the know, this book is kind of a get. it's the only book of Butler's that was never reprinted, so now you can only read it if you get ahold of a super expensive original edition OR if you, hypothetically, find a PDF online and print off the entire thing on your work printer. and I'm so glad I did the latter, because holy shit this book whips ass. the book was apparently disavowed for its lack of connection to the rest of the Patternist series, which is true but oh my god, the story is SOOOO cool anyway. we've got a human woman named Alanna who grew up feral on Earth only to be adopted by a Christian cult who are GOING INTO SPACE to preserve the human race, but it turns out there are already intelligent people on the new planet and they have Feelings about what the future of these human missionaries is going to be. it's on Alanna to navigate the clashing cultures and tension between the humans and two warring groups of aliens, and it is fucking URGENT. I don't say this lightly but I think this has ascended to be in my top three Butler novels.

No Name in the Street (James Baldwin, 1972) - ooooooh my god you guys!! oh my god!!! I've never read any of Baldwin's long form nonfiction, but within pages I knew that this was going to pretty permanently change my brain. this memoir-ish book delves into, among other things, Baldwin's witnessing of the American civil rights movement, including the deaths of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Medgar Evers. woven around that is the alienating experience of being a Black man with exactly enough cultural cache and social clout to sometimes isolate him from the people he grew up with but not nearly enough to buy acceptance or safety in a white society, emphasized by Baldwin's unfinished struggle to free a friend from prison after a wrongful murder charge. and somehow that's barely doing the book justice! it's so vast and incisive and weary and impassioned and it did, truly, have me jotting down the names of everything Baldwin ever wrote to make sure I can read it all. as much as I bemoan my habit of impulse reserving books from the library, I really am indebted to the Stacks podcast for getting this on my radar.

#bookblr #reading updates

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scenetocause · 9 months ago

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⭐star⭐

ah thank you anon!!! i'm gonna do climb up to your lips because altho i already did the logan ask i have an embarrassing number of thoughts and feelings about. my own fic. good god. but specifically about girloscar and i've been really fighting the urge to write a bit from her perspective because it's unnecessary authorial indulgence but also whatever, doing it for free aren't i.

Oscar's going to fucking die. They can't seriously be making them play Twister, this is like some sort of torture. The team shouldn't be torturing them, they're meant to be driving F1 cars soon. If she DNFs this weekend it's absolutely on marketing.

She says it to Mark, who tells her it's just a bit of fun, mate. Don't worry, he's probably shit at it. Which tells her Mark doesn't know anything about Lando Norris because the guy can contort into a shapes Oscar's never seen before but now very much haunt her dreams even when he's just meant to be sitting in a press conference chair.

It's not fair, being given a hot teammate. She could've had someone weird and awkward like Esteban but the need for a seat, to secure her future, was too strong to worry about the other side of the McLaren garage until she was there and it was suddenly her problem.

Lando's really nice, too. Helps her out, isn't anything like as annoying as she'd expected him to be. He's taken to spending meal times with her and giving her bits of his food and things, probably because he's a fussy little bitch but Oscar still appreciates it. The company, the way he doesn't seem scared of her being a girl, the sort of sad illusion he could be her boyfriend or whatever.

Logan says it's just teammate stuff, that him and Alex do that kind of thing, too. But Oscar's pretty sure Logan's never had Alex bring him a hot chocolate and a brownie just because it was a bit chilly in the sim room that morning. She doubts Logan is having to play Twister with him, either because Williams is a humane team with sane people doing their PR.

Sweating her way through a game of who can look the stupidest between her and the world's hottest, bendiest man has got to be some circle of hell. At one point she somehow ends up having to stick her arse practically in his face and she wishes she'd worn jeans, even if that might make it even worse, just in case he can see her whole bush up the leg or something.

When she admits she's in a world of trouble it's not just because she has no idea where her left foot can go now. Trying not to look Lando in the face is fruitless because he's giggling and keeps wriggling around, getting her attention so she'll laugh with him. Maybe it's awkward for him, too, having some girl he'd rather not touch having to climb all over him.

She knows she doesn't have a chance with him, that he's just being friendly. Lando dates models, influencers, whatever. Pretty, little girls with long hair who tell him he's big and strong or something, not someone taller than him. She can compete with him, not instagram hotties.

It's fine. Oscar could probably get her own instagram hottie if she liked. Or some guy who worked in finance, could look after her future. Handle all that shit, probably be nice enough to her. Mark was suggesting it the other week, that that'd be a good way to plan things out and Oscar's practical enough to know it makes sense.

It's just that she's being really stupid about being in love with Lando Norris. And guys in pinstripe suits make her pussy dry up.

Wanting things comes naturally to a racing driver. And usually there's a set way of getting them: be good enough, win. It's just that she's not going to magically become half a foot shorter, skinny and with a lingerie deal any time soon, so that's not an option.

"You're not putting your foot between my legs." Lando's blushing, mouth wet and panicky-open, like he's going to make one of those screeching noises she shouldn't find cute.

Conceding is the only option. Because Lando's not just laughing, his voice is a croak and he looks - obviously, he's not but - like he's turned on. Like Oscar could push him back onto the mat and kiss him and he'd wriggle and moan just as much as he is now. Like he'd want her to touch him and she knows he doesn't, would probably freak out if he knew the way she thinks about him.

(face down in a pillow, getting fucked raw, that flush high on his skin while he's making all his weird, whining noises and begging to come, still begging for her to hold him afterwards so she can stroke his sweaty curls - it's started invading her thoughts at the worst times, like right now)

Limbo is even worse. She's shit at it and he could probably get under something an inch off the ground. It's awful, Prema challenges were never like this; she might not know how to cook eggs but at least Rob didn't, either.

Lando's clearly insane because he's won both the first rounds, has got this challenge in the bag, except he makes the third one all or nothing. By this point, Oscar had figured it'd probably be slime wrestling or something equally awful but instead they get to sit down and play jenga like relatively normal people.

He absolutely lets her win. Which is shit, as she explains to Logan later.

"I think he just wanted to get away, y'know? Like, obviously he doesn't want to spend time with me, that's fine."

Logan raises his eyebrows, fringe standing on end where he's been running his hand through it. "Didn't you just say he followed you to your driver room and talked about Halo for twenty minutes?"

"Well, yeah but I think he was just hiding from Sophie." And they'd had hats to sign, so it sort of made sense to do it together.

Logan sits back, stretching his legs out in front of him and crossing his arms. "You know how many times Alex has been in my room?"

The fuck would she know that. "No?"

"Zero. Nada. Zilch." Logan looks smug, for some reason. "I've never been in his, either."

"So?" Clearly Williams have different rules. It's not like they're in Logan's room now, sitting out on the patio in front of the motorhome nursing sparkling waters.

"I am just saying," Logan's grinning, like he knows she isn't going to listen to him and thinks it's hilarious. "That doesn't sound like a guy who doesn't want to spend time with you."

#emptyhalf fic

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bohnsky · 1 year ago

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Honestly after Qatar I was anything but motivated to post, so here it is for Qatar and Texas.

I literally still feel sick thinking about what the drivers had to go through just because Qatar has money. It physically hurts me. I'm honestly just glad that everyone is okay now.

That being said here are my favorite drivers 5,5 months into liking f1:

1. Alex Albon

As always, my beloved. This guy made me support Williams in the first place and now they have become my second favorite team (after Ferrari of course, because I apparently like pain). It sometimes feels like they're the only one's who really care for their drivers.

In Texas I was really stressed out like what do you mean 0,3s away from the points in the sprint race? And what do you mean 11th in the race?

2. Sergio Perez

Checo is the sweetest, I love his smile so much and it felt good to see so many Checo fans over there in Texas, not only haters. He was doing okay this week, but Lewis is getting closer and closer and I'm scared. I just need him to be good in Mexico, otherwise I'm going to quit watching F1 (I would never but please Checo please)

3. Lewis Hamilton

This was a hard decision. But I've been obsessing over Lewis again these past few weeks so he gets 3rd for now. Even though him being good literally tears my soul apart. I want him to be good, but he's a danger to Checo my beloved. I am sooo happy that Mercedes seem to get closer to Red Bull and that Lewis might have even had a chance today if the race had been just a few laps longer. But at the same time, please be worse than Checo.

Also Lewis is one of the very few men that I find breathtakingly beautiful. He is so gorgeous. And I love his tattoos. Especially his hand tattoos.

Fun Fact: My dad watched the Qatar GP with me, which was his first race ever and now he keeps refering to Lewis as the one who never makes it past turn one. Can't wait to tell him that the one who never makes it past turn one almost got Max.

4. Charles Leclerc

This was another hard decision, because I love Charles, but the past few weeks I barely paid attention to him (not because I didn't want to, but because there were so many other things to focus on, plus Uni sucks). I have thought about putting him on 5th, but who am I kidding, I love Charles too much and when he took pole I basically had the same reaction as Matt from p1. But I didn't really have time to be sad, about him losing P1 so early, because there was so much happening.

Also both Ferraris have been doing quite good, just not good enough, which is sad, but at least they didn't have any major strategy fuck-ups.

5. Lando Norris

I almost put him in 4th. This is mainly because I totally fell in love with Team Quadrant and was watching almost all of their youtube videos. Texas quali was the first time is tuned in to Max Fewtrell's watch along and I couldn't help but cheer along for Lando. And for the first half of the race I thought that there might be a chance for him to get his first win. It's kinda frustrating watching him being on the podium every weekend but never on the top step.

Honorable mentions:

Lance. He's really close to taking 5th. I might just have two 5th places next time. I might feel for him even more than I feel for Checo. And that means something. My boy passing out in the car in the middle of the race in Qatar? I literally couldn't sleep after reading about all of this. Just imagine the things that could have happened. I could cry just thinking about it. And then the dnf in the sprint race in Texas. He was doing so good and then that. But at least we got some Strollonso content and two stroints. Good race for him today.

Logan. I didn't think I'd ever say that, but Logan has kinda sneaked his way into my heart. He's nowhere near the top five but same as Checo and Lance, I just want him to have a good race for once. Qatar might have opened my eyes about him. That he was the only driver with the balls to retire for the sake of his health. And a big thanks to Williams for being so lovely. I feel like no other team would be so understanding. Sure you could say they have nothing to lose, but still. It takes some bravery to do. And I'm happy they did.

Also the Texas race was quite good, happy for Logan. Even though the rest of the weekend sucked.

Fernando. I don't know how and when it happened but I feel myself growing fonder of Fernando every day. I realized during quali when I was really upset that both Williams, both Astons and Hulk were out in Q1. So, all five of them, drivers that I wanted to see doing well. And the dnf in the race sucked so bad. Both Astons did so well and then that.

But then again, at least we got some Strollonso content. Fernando always pointing his camera at Lance is so cute.

Also him dead ass asking the team to pour water over him in Qatar might be my favorite thing ever.

Nico. Also no idea where that came from, but I realized that I have developed a huge soft spot for Nico. It started with me being interested in how he does because he's German. Then I started to genuinely like him and now I have this huge soft spot for him. It's not like he's competing for the top five though. It kinda feels like he has his own category (again, might be the German in me talking). I respect him big time, spitting facts about how shitty Haas is and frequently driving that shit box into the points. But I don't really search for content about him. Except for Hulknussen every now and then.

Speed round:

Oscar's safe (mad respect, many would have sent that into the wall) and stupid dnf. Also Loscar is kinda cute.

Alpine being sponsored by Travis Kelce. I just think it's funny how the whole Taylonso thing comes full circle now with Tay's new boyfriend basically buying Fernando's ex team.

Also Esteban just casually talking about throwing up in his helmet...

Nico Rosberg. I initially didn't like him, but he does spit facts and I appreciate that.

Yukierre. They're too cute for my little heart.

Pierre and Danny Ric. It's crazy to me how two drivers who literally used to be my favorites at some point are now totally irrelevant to me. I still like them, but in a normal way. Which is weird. I'm not used to being normal about something.

F1 acadamy slaying. And Bianca in McLaren :)

Women.

(Please can we talk about queen Susie?)

That's it for now. Give me your thoughts.

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eulchu · 2 years ago

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I came to this fandom after dsmp ended, i have only a vague idea of what the c!dnf story was, could you do a brief summary of it? if it's not too much effort, and if you happen to remember the timeline and how it parallels real life? thanks 🙂

so basically towards the begining it was c!dteam having fun, until c!tommy joined the server and started griefing and killing george repeatedly for fun (both were against the server rules) so that made c!dream really mad and he started messing with c!tommy back. c!george and c!sap joined him and a rivalry was born.

fast forward some betrayals and a war, c!dream pronounces c!george king of the server, and promises loyalty to him. it's epic and awesome fast forward some time rumors stirr that there's a riot waiting to happen to dethrone c!george. that makes c!dream paranoid and he dethrones him first, which feels like the absolute betrayal for c!george, who had been promised only good and big things. shit hits the fan shortly after and c!dream loses his mind HEAVILY whilst c!george finds a deeper alliance in the fiances.

c!dream gets locked up for being insane and c!george tries to get him out by mining the obsidian with his fists. you'd imagine he doesn't get very far. after that c!dream is in prison while c!george is off to sleep all the time to the point where he can't differenciate between awakeland and being asleep. he sees a man who looks like dream in those dreams, which turns out to be the god of the server, dreamxd. he befriends him because he reminds him of dream and also does things for him. it's unclear why xd fixates on c!george the way he does - maybe because he likes to fuck with c!dream (there's a whole story arc there). probably because his favorite kind of people were the ones who suffered awful nightmares, and c!george had a lot of those.

that situation kind of stays like that until the end of the server. c!dream stays crazy, people using c!george against him because it's the only thing that gets through him, and c!george stays sad and in dreamland, plagued by weird dreams and nightmares about c!dream betraying him and pandora.

- in terms of their story resembling real life, id say a lot of it comes from the xd narrative. dream creates that character during a george stream because everyone was in the server and his character was canonically in prison, so he creates xd to be able to play with them. most of it though, comes from george. it's george who makes his character look for c!dream everywhere without quite reaching him. it's c!george who always wakes up with a gasp before he can really turn his dream from a nightmare to something nice. it's c!george who always looks at the prison from afar and who never dares visit c!dream because "i was told you didn't want me to see you", but really, he was just scared that he couldn't take dream back with him.

there's a dream that c!george has, one of the only nice ones he ever had, where c!dream shows up on top of the prime path, and they're running towards each other, saying how much they've missed each other. and then c!george wakes up.

c!dnf (dnfxd) was a lot of dream twisting the server's narrative so that he could spend irl time with george during lore (even when they were already spending 24/7 together), and a lot of george making one of his character's traits long for c!dream to the point where he went fucking ballistic and destroyed the entire server because c!dream chose someone else over him (which, quite frankly... that's just cc!george)

#asknootfound #long post #ok well this isnt really a summary thers just a lot of lore

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bloody-wonder · 9 months ago

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Hello, can I ask from this ask game :

https://www.tumblr.com/threecheersforinking/677824836625694720/anime-ask-game?source=share

You can pick for either of these series : the lymond chronicles, all for the game, a song of ice and fire, harry potter, captive prince?

Thanks 🌻

thanks for the ask!

⚔️the lymond chronicles⚔️

favorite character: phelim o'liamroe, prince of barrow and lord of the slieve bloom...😐🤥 jk it's lymond - the man, the myth, the lemon. i mean if lymond isn't your fave character in the lymond chronicles are you even reading them right?

character i think is underrated: hmmm margaret lennox? i don't see people talk about her too often. justice for the evil ex!

character i think is overrated: philippa. don't even get me started🙄

favorite ship/pairing: while reading i did ship lymond with each and every one of his boytoys which was very entertaining but i wouldn't actually like any of these relationships to be endgame. i firmly believe lymond is bisexual, aromantic and non-monogamous, therefore the only person i would want him to "end up with" is marthe - not as a slash ship but as in lymond and marthe, both in drag, ride into the sunset together to cause chaos and mayhem✨

favorite arc/episode/scene: the hume castle shebacle from book one is my platonic ideal of a fictional experience. just thinking about don luis fernando de cordoba y avila with his "long, exquisite legs" and his perfecto scottish is enough to raise my mood for the rest of the day😁

something i love about this series: tbh the thing i love the most is lymond to the point that i'm afraid to try dunnett's other books bc there will be no lymond in them. however, i will still read them sooner or later bc my second favorite thing about the lymond chronicles is dunnett's witty but sophisticated prose which i'm sure i will find in abundance in her other works

🥍all for the game🥍

favorite character: i love both of my boys equally but i will admit i voted for andrew minyard in that best queer character poll bracket🙈

character i think is underrated: actually i don't think there is one. some of the aftg characters are controversial but i think everyone gets their fair share of love and attention🤷‍♀️

character i think is overrated: in the og trilogy it's nicky and in tsc it's sort of everyone?😅 lol i just don't think they're that interesting but i'm glad other people are having fun with them

favorite ship/pairing: andreil, obviously.

favorite arc/episode/scene: aftg is full of amazing scenes, both quiet and spectacular, but if i have to pick just one i'm gonna go with the first riko roast bc fun fact: i actually abandoned tfc halfway through the first time i tried to read it bc i just didn't know what to do with it - but then i decided to give it a second chance and the riko roast was the scene where i finally comprehended and internalized the chaotic but rebellious vibe of aftg. that's why i never dnf books - you never know which weird selfpub sports anime might become your all time favorite story!

something i love about this series: the way it depicts the relations between the society and people who are treated like outsiders due to their trauma - it always sides with the latter! exemplified by how the team needs andrew and so they have to put up with his little quirks and find ways of communication - instead of him making himself act more normal and agreeable in order to fit in. which i think is pretty much the status quo of writing about trauma so aftg feels very radical in that sense

👑captive prince👑

favorite character: it's laurent, lymond's baby cousin😅

character i think is underrated: aimeric? tbh i haven't read anything capri related in a while, maybe he's the newest fandom fave by now

character i think is overrated: never have i ever understood why everyone insists on resurrecting auguste. he dead! and not that interesting in any case😒

favorite ship/pairing: damen/laurent, since their love is the whole point of the series, but i will say for me it's more like. i'm obsessed with laurent and so i like that damen gets obsessed with him too and falls in love with him bc that's what laurent deserves. however i do not actually like damen nor do i like the final jump from enemies to lovers in the second half of book 3 soooo yeah. many caveats🤷‍♀️

favorite arc/episode/scene: laurent's duel with govart. listen, i'm a simple girl, i love me some competence porn and power fantasies with swords. also! laurent calling out aimeric for all the bad things he secretly believes about himself which leads to aimeric's suicide. that's some fucked up shit, love it👀

something i love about this series: the witty, backhanded, at times scathing exchanges which i started calling pacatesque dialogue upon encountering it in other books (of primarily australian sff authors who are personally acquainted with pacat, it's a whole thing). i know other booklr girlies like to talk about themes and motifs and whatnot but for me all of that is vastly inferior to lines like "tell my uncle boykiller etc etc". i think i just have lots of bottled up bitchiness inside me and like to live vicariously through characters who can vocalize it in such a brutal yet elegant fashion

🐉a song of ice and fire🐉

favorite character: tyrion lannister. lol at this point you can see a pattern: if he's shrewd, traumatized and blonde you can safely bet he's on my blorbo shelf😅

character i think is underrated: i'm gonna go with doran martell. he represents one of my favorite character archetypes - someone who is seen as a simpleton and a pushover but has actually been scheming and masterminding stuff all along. "oberyn was ever the viper. i was the grass. who fears to walk upon the grass? but it is the grass that hides the viper" - is actually one of my favorite quotes from the series. comparing book doran to show doran one can see how he's sort of emblematic for how the show butchered the dorne plotline😒

character i think is overrated: i did like sansa's journey in the books but they end just on the cusp of her turning from a pawn into one of the most capable and dangerous players on the board - something she however hasn't become, not yet. so i think the hype she gets in the fandom, largely based on the show which skipped a lot of steps in her character arc and made her a very basic girlboss, is somewhat undeserved🤷‍♀️

favorite ship/pairing: i definitely feel a certain kind of way about jaime & brienne but idk if i ship them in the proper sense of the word. their developing relationship is probably the most compelling in the series and some of its aspects are very personal for me as a weird looking ace girl, among other things, so i don't think i want them to become a *couple*. but i do want them to become *something*. if they survive, that is😬

favorite arc/episode/scene: tyrion's trial is one of the most excruciating and heart-wrenching yet dramatic scenes i've ever experienced. i have to admit i remember it better from the show bc that was just Peak Television and peter dinklage's acting?? unparalleled. a scene so epic it made me cry every time i watched it. just thinking about it gives me chills🫨

something i love about this series: i've spent an ungodly amount of time thinking about what makes asoiaf superior to other fantasy series and the character work and complex morality are certainly up there but the one thing that speaks to me personally and which i struggle to find elsewhere is something i call the slytherclaw ethos. normally the characters of western sff are rewarded by the narrative for being brave, kind, other boring gryffinpuff things, regardless of whether they could've *realistically* prevailed thanks to those qualities alone. in the world of asoiaf one is instead rewarded for cunning and ambition - or at the very least it's clear a character will not get anywhere without learning how to play the game of thrones. this difference is at the core of the subversiveness asoiaf gets both praised and criticized for and, as someone who relates to characters who rely on their brain more than their heart and other muscles and would like to see them elevated above generic fantasy protags, i find this approach to storytelling in general and to sff specifically very appealing

#un hidalgo no debe a otro que a dios y al rey nada!!🕺🤸‍♂️#book tag #tlc mine #aftg mine #capri mine #not gonna do hp bc i haven't ever been in the fandom so idk what's overrated and what isn't #but if you must know my fave character is snape my fave scene are his flashbacks in the last book and i like this series bc it's fun lol

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swordofsun · 9 months ago

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13 Books tagged by @aceofthegreenajah

1)Last book I read

What Stalks Among Us by Sarah Hollowell - this is upper YA and so fucking good. Bi4bi best friends Sadie and Logan find an out of season corn maze while ditching the senior class trip. They enter it and quickly figure out that this is not the first time they've entered the maze. Now they have to figure out the maze before they become part of it. It would also be nice if they stopped dying.

One of the best books I've read this year. The only way out is through and the only way through is the mortifying ordeal of being known and confronting your trauma. This is a story about friendship, forgiving yourself, and learning to move on, but also horrible corn monsters and a maze that tries to eat you.

2) A book I recommend

I recommend lots of books. But lets go with The Ghost Network by Catie Disabato. This starts with a simple premise: The biggest pop star in the world disappears one day. A struggling journalist and said pop star's personal assistant start investigating her disappearance uncovering conspiracies and secret projects along the way.

This book will make you spend way too much time looking up architectural philosophy, which is a keystone of the entire book. And, honestly, The Situationists have a number of ideas that would mesh well with fandom. I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole in the middle of reading this book.

The real fascinating part of this book's writing is that it's done at 2 narratives removed from the core story. The conceit is that what we are reading is a final edit of a manuscript handed down to the author when the person who wrote it died suddenly. That person was writing a history of the search for the missing pop star and recorded what our two main protagonists were doing. Along with various research done outside of those two. The final editor also redid interviews and some of the research to find proper citations. And the book is filled with citations. This is for lovers of footnotes.

It is such a good book.

3) A book that I couldn’t put down

Let's go with something fun. Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko is an odd book. It's a weird book. It's a compulsively readable book that is very hard to describe. Nothing anyone says will actual explain what is happening. This is, nominally, about a girl who is forced to go to a university that she never applied to or her mother will be killed. And, yes, this is a magic school. But it's also something completely different. The classes make no sense and the punishments are extreme. Nothing is explained to the students and nothing is explained to the reader. You either figure it out with our protagonist or you don't.

It's ridiculously good.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more)

After a false start I'll be going with The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron. A master thief, a legendary swordsman, a woman with a dark and mysterious past form a traveling party and refuse to admit that they're found family. Then the plot interferes.

This series is fun because it starts with smaller, episodic, adventures that set the stage for the big epic fantasy last 2 books. The friendship between Eli, Josef, and Nico is utterly believable and fun to watch develop from a convenient partnership into a real found family. The stakes are high, but the sense of fun from the first few books never disappears, and the world building is very unique and sets the entire stage for the story.

If you like heist fantasy pick up these books.

5) A book on my TBR

Ha! Moved this answer and forgot to replace it.

I don't have a TBR so much as a library hold list. But a couple of books I'll probably be waiting for a few months to come in are:

Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen

Dionysius in Wisconsin by E.H. Lupton

Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake

Can't really say anything to recommend them, but they all sounded interesting.

6) A book I’ve put down

I DNF all the time. Firm believer in DNF'ing. You don't gain points for finishing books you don't enjoy. Life is too short to spend time on books that you don't like. I also don't track my DNFs, but I recently returned Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell. Not for any good reason, I just put it down and never picked it back up and then it was due and Libby took it back.

I will DNF a book at any point that I find I don't actual like it.

7) A book on my wish list

Again, not something I really have. If I want to buy a book I do. I'm also not a book collector. Most of my reading is done through the library.

Nghi Vo has a new book coming out in October that I'll autobuy because Nghi Vo is amazing. The City in Glass sounds neat. Sapphic demon and angels falling in love as written by Nghi Vo. What's not to be excited about?

8) A favorite book from childhood

Okay, already said one of those series. So, actually let's move Circle of Magic down here from #4:

I am a re-reader. I like to re-read books like I like to rewatch my favorite tv shows or movies. I did just finish a re-read of the Emelen books by Tamora Pierce. The first quartet is The Circle of Magic. These books start with 4 children who have been through some horrible circumstances and found their way to Winding Circle Temple where they learn that they have magic, how to control it, and forge a new family. The first quartet is a middle grade series, but it deals with a lot of heavy material and the 4th book has a plague plotline.

This is probably my favorite of Pierce's work. I love the four protagonists; Sandry, Daja, Tris, and Briar. These are just fun books that deal with some heavy themes in a very age appropriate way that is also still enjoyable as an adult. They are out of print currently. The ebooks are available, but print copies are harder to find. And I don't think they all got audio releases. Which is a problem with the publisher, Scholastic, not Tamora Pierce to be clear.

10) The most books you own by a single author

Without actually counting what I own vs what I've just read it's probably Seanan McGuire or Will Wight. But probably Seanan McGuire because I also own several Mira Grant titles. Both good authors though with fun backlists. Also both authors where if you didn't like one series they wrote I'd recommend giving another series a try because they do have the range.

Favorite Seanan McGuire series is the Ghost Roads series. Which is just a fun and unique take on ghost stories. Starts with the infamous Phantom Prom Date telling her story and how she ended up a ghost and goes from there. It's very good and does tie into the InCryptid books.

Underrated McGuire series is Indexing which is a very interesting take on fairy tales and how they infect the world and how people learn to live as part of them and stop other people from being effected.

Favorite Will Wight would be The Elder Empire which consists of two companion trilogies: Shadow and Sea where each book is telling the story from opposite points of view. Short tagline would be Assassins vs Pirates in a world over run by Eldritch Creatures. Shadow is the assassins side and Sea the pirates. If you didn't like Cradle I'd say give this a shot if you want to understand why people like Will Wight.

11) A nonfiction book you own

I own a disproportionate amount of non-fiction to the amount I read. I am going to say You'll Do: A History of Marrying for Reasons Other Than Love by Marcia A Zug. If you've ever wondered what exactly is wrong with the straights and their idea of marriage this is the book to read. Utterly fascinating and the audio book is good too.

12) What are you currently reading

I already answered this with the TBR question, so I guess I'll move that down here and redo that one.

I don't really have a TBR so much as a library hold list. Jirel of Joiry just came in and I'm looking forward to finally reading this one. It's a classic of the genre and I've heard good things.

13) What are you planning on reading next?

Probably The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo which is the new Singing Hills Cycle book that just came out. If you haven't read this series do yourself a favor and go pick up The Empress of Salt and Fortune.

This series follows Cleric Chih and their talking bird companion Almost Brilliant as they travel collecting stories for their monastery. Each book is written in a different genre. They are a lot of fun and filled with a lot of emotions and showcase an amazing world.

Then apparently I'm supposed to post a shelfie. But my shelves are a mess so you get a close up of part of one:

And then tag some people: @liarual @jewishdeanwinchester @greywrenn @dreamalottie and anyone else who wants to do this. Let's talk about books!

#booklr #tag game #13 books

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muddyorbsblr · 2 years ago

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For “get to know me better”:

First, I hope you get better from your injury 🫡

Now for the questions. . .? Sorry it's a few 🗣️

What's your fav books (can be any genre)?

What's your fav tropes to write?

A trope you hate?

Thank you so much 🥹💖 I've been sleeping most of the day and the swelling's gone down to a point where I can bend my right knee again and I'm just expecting some really bad-looking but not bad-feeling bruises in the coming days 😂 The left foot however is still a wee bit swollen on the outer side so I have to be careful with it whew--

What's my favorite book…Well starting with genres, I'm really one to gravitate towards love stories or crime/mystery novels. For the love stories, my favorite as of late has been the Shattered Isle Series by Jade Presley. It's a why choose/reverse harem based off of Marvel characters. The first group that the first 2 novels and the first novella in the series focus on are characters based off of Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Thor, and Loki. The 2nd group that the 3rd novel focuses on are characters based off of Clint Barton, Scott Lang, Eddie Brock, and Bucky Barnes. The book are fast paced and the spice is to the level of the smuts we find here which is top tier, and the author herself is a real hoot on TikTok especially when she lets her Loki bias show 😂 (also fun fact, I have a mention in the 2nd book "Her Revenge" which is just absolutely awesome eep--)

Favorite trope/s to write…coworkers to lovers, friends to lovers, mutual pining, idiots in love…that's definitely my current wheelhouse 😅 Some tropes that I love to read and hopefully will be able to write convincingly one day would be: "Who did this to you?", "That's my wife/my husband", and "Touch her/him and die" (there will be a "who did this to you" in 'fitting the profile', the modern day serial killer AU for Thomas Sharpe, and I just hope that it'll be good haha)

A trope I hate…Insta-love. I haven't yet found a story that could convince me that the main characters were willing to spend the rest of their lives with someone that they literally just met that night (side-eyeing Frozen for even trying tbh), like one night stands and insta-lust I can almost get behind, but if the characters are dropping L-bombs within the first 24 hours I've disconnected from the chat. (not so fun fact, someone actually dropped an L-bomb on me 12 hours after meeting and when I tell you I immediately left the chat--). Another one I hate with a passion is those stories where they're like "I didn't know how good I had it with you until I was with someone else" and then they get back together with barely any groveling? Hard pass. DNF. I would be more tolerant with the story if they didn't immediately get back together but they had to work real hard to start building something new because they can't just start from where they left off. Like go on dates again, try giving them a reason to fall in love with you again, because if they just take the other back so quickly I'm not inclined to believe that it was because of love. 🙃🫡

send me a 'get to know the blogger' ask to distract me from my foot injury

#get to know the blogger asks

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hermithomebase · 2 years ago

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I need to share how I started watching dream+the dteam because it always makes me laugh

so I found wilbur first through his ylyl videos popping up in my recommended and I thought he was funny so I binged his entire channel and through him found out about tommy and techno and started watching them (fun fact I actually found tommy really annoying at first but then he grew on me lol)

but anyway because I was fans of the sbi gang I was obviously aware of dream and the dteam but I stayed away from that side of the fandom because there was just so much drama at the time and I didn't want to deal with with it (this was like dec 2020 and jan/feb 2021)

but then one day while scrolling through Pinterest I saw a clip from a george stream and I was interested so I watched it and it was the fucking Valentines clip and I was super confused so I went to yt to find context and once I did I was like okay these guys are actually pretty funny which then lead me down a rabbithole of clips and compilations and ended in my watching a 20 min dnf comp😭😭😭😭😭

so the next day I asked my friend who was a casual dream fan at the time wtf was up with them and she was like "oh dream and george? yeah they're not dating they're just like that" and yeah thats how I joined the fandom😭😭😭😭 I joined in like march/april 2021

this is fucking awesome like you and i are kind of similar.. again, im curious to know how many dteam mains now used to be SBI mains

#prompt.input #like ive always watched a lot creators but id consider myself one of the converts

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cringetism · 7 months ago

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warning — long post incoming

this "dreamnotfound: consequences of baiting your audience" whatever video looks like it sucks. making an entire hour and a half video critiquing 2 best friends' sexualities and how they joke with each other is so lame. i was gonna give the video a chance but seeing as other people are saying it compared dnf to epstein of all things, i don't wanna give this freak views lmao, even if youtube has been shoving it down my throat since it came out.

people wanna get so up in arms about "queerbaiting" without actually knowing what it means or why real people can't queerbait. got harassed in 2021 for saying real people can't queerbait and using dnf as an example but i stand strong by my opinion. this isn't just about the video, this is about people getting pissed about dnf "queerbaiting" in general.

queerbaiting refers only to fictional media because fictional characters in fictional media are controlled by their creator(s). their sexualities and how they express themselves are chosen for them because they are fictional characters. in wikipedia's words, "Queerbaiting is a marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but do not depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ+ representation. The purpose of this method is to attract ("bait") a queer or straight ally audience with the suggestion or possibility of relationships or characters that appeal to them, while not alienating homophobic members of the audience or censors by actually portraying queer relationships."

real people can't queerbait because real people can't choose their sexuality and are entitled to their own ways of self-expression. dictating that only queer people are allowed to do this and only straight people are allowed to that is not promoting inclusivity or acceptance. it also enforces stereotypes.

plus, what even are the "consequences"? that people will see them as gay/dating? who the fuck cares?

a portion of dteam's audience is on the younger side (the kid dteam fans that only engage with their youtube content) if they see 2 men flirting, they'll think it's normal for people of the same gender to flirt— which it is.

if george is straight (which people shouldn't care if he is or isn't), then it's a good thing for straight men to not mind being seen as gay. it helps enforce the fact that being queer isn't gross or weird, it's normal and fine.

dream and george are 2 white guys with huge audiences in the gaming sphere. it breaks down stereotypes for 2 influential gamer guys to flirt with each other and it deters bigots in the gaming sphere + shows would-be bigots that again, people of the same gender flirting is normal.

they're not "baiting" anything. they've said they aren't dating and currently have no plans to date. it's not like "ooh, are we dating? better stay tuned to find out ;)" it's "we're not dating but we're close with each other and like to flirt."

why is it an inherently bad thing for people to ship dreamnotfound??? dreamnotfound hasn't been nearly as harmful to dream and george's relationship as other ships like dan x phil or harry styles x louis tomlinson have been to their respective people. if anything, it's strengthened it.

dream is queer

it's not a big deal

bruh dreamnotfound literally lead a song to break records (heat waves broke the record for longest amount of time a song has spent on the billboard top 100 at 59 weeks on the charts) and has over 2 billion spotify streams, 1.3 billion youtube music plays, and 721 million youtube views on the music video. and glass animals themselves engaged in dnf before

as a bisexual trans man, i feel comfortable in the dream team fandom, and i like watching creators that don't make me feel alienated for being trans and queer. i love being a dnfer, writing dnf fanfic is fun. it's not harming anyone for dnf to exist, and if you're so "harmed" by it, question yourself on why you care so much about two minecraft youtubers flirting despite not being a dnfer yourself. they're not taking views away from queer creators, i am a queer creator and i'm getting hits on my ao3 dnf fanfic so if anything, they're helping. plus, i watch other queer creators while enjoying dnf. plus, dream is a queer creator.

you are not entitled to someone else's sexuality. they do not have to come out to you or anyone. thinking that "dnf are queerbaiting because they get to reap the benefits of being in a queer relationship online without actually dating" is so gross. they don't have to date if they don't want or plan to. also, being queer online isn't all sunshine in rainbows, dream has faced quite a bit of homophobia (and quite a bit of that homophobia comes from people acting like they're helping the community by 'calling out queerbaiting...' cough cough k*ceytron). george doesn't talk about his sexuality publicly all that much and that's his choice that he's entitled to. dream has come out, saying he knows he's somewhere in the LGBTQIA+ community, but doesn't know where yet or have a label, and he gets people being homophobic to him. yet people claim they're "inclusive" and "support all queer people." and saying "i'm not homophobic— dream's a straight man!" is homophobic because he's not a straight man. disliking a queer person doesn't give you an excuse to be homophobic.

TLDR/"i ain't reading allat" — queerbaiting refers to when creators hint at queerness in their media without having to actually show queerness. real people can't queerbait because they can't choose their sexuality and are entitled to their own ways of self-expression. dnf flirting actually has benefits, and telling people they can or can't flirt with each other based on their sexuality isn't inclusive or accepting lmao. you're not entitled to someone else's sexuality.

people who aren't in queer relationships flirt all the time. why is it such a bad thing if dnf do it?

(also before people come at me for "yapping," this fuckass youtuber is doing 10x the yapping i am lmao. do you need views that bad?)

#dranting #gonna call my dteam rant posts 'dranting' now #real people cannot queerbait

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sheepwasfound · 4 years ago

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Do you think dream and george would ever be a thing? Seeing how emotionally tangled they are with eachother and stuff its easy to believe that they can

i think that if they can learn to talk honestly about their emotions, they could make for an amazing and happy couple that could be together for good. but i don't think that they want that so no, i don't think that would happen. like i've said before. i don't think it's impossible or anything (which is what makes them fun to ship), but i don't think they actually have romantic feelings for each other. at this point i'd kinda have to see them interact irl to rly be able to tell how they're feeling enough to counter what they've actually said - which is that they don't feel that way

#i mean if they very obviously look at each other like they're in love and move around each other like they're in love #at that point i think i'd change my mind no matter what they're saying about it #but as of right now to me what makes sense is what they've been saying #which is that they find dnf fun but they're not like that #their actions aren't weird for very close friends to do #but also they might have other feelings idk 🤷 that's just not my first guess yknow #sheepy ask #idk why ppl keep asking me basically this same thing in different words #maybe i need to put in my description that i'm not a truther or something?#not that there's anything at all wrong with truthing cus d n g are fine w it!!#i just am not one cus it's not what i genuinely believe haha #i'm at like 80% or so that they're completely platonic #but that used to be like 99% a half a year ago so who knows how i'll feel at the end of the year yknow haha #i'll probably keep leaning further and further into the truther side cus of the shipping environment #but also those two have srsly started to get pretty crazy haven't they...so who knows what they'll do to convince me #atm i go by what they say #anti dnf #i'll tag it that in case i get q's like this again but honestly i think i might just not answer them from now on cus this is a shipping blo

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mermaidsirennikita · 2 years ago

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As I mentioned earlier today, Goodreads posted its Top 100 Romances of the Past Three Years today.

Some things to know:

A) Goodreads is not a tastemaker explicitly--it's a logging site. But nonetheless, we know that Goodreads is references by publishers, authors, agents, industry people far and wide, because it is the dominant book logging site. (Plug for The Storygraph, which isn't perfect either but allows you to log .25, .5, and .75 ratings, and get more granular about the vibe of a book as you rate it. Its CEO and co-founder is a Black woman, Nadia Odunayo, as a note.)

B) Goodreads is owned by Amazon, which, as the Big Five publishers have made abundantly clear recently, has a direct connection to many of the book sales made today. Take that and run with it.

C) This list is theoretically not something Goodreads arbitrarily selected via staffers, it's true. They're following the "trends" of their users. But that... is not an exact science, as several books here would not necessarily fit the parameters of a romance (which, admittedly, are subjective to an extent).

Furthermore, these books are largely traditionally published--some self-published books are here, though a few were originally self-published before getting picked up by a trad publisher. This is seems odd, as romance has notoriously boomed in recent years within indie channels.

And, let's call a spade a spade here--these books are more often than not, white and/or cishet.

Another thing I noticed about the list as I went through it, real-time recording my dumb little reactions, was the repetition? And I get that Goodreads is saying "this is what we noticed most", but let's be real--these lists can potentially be great promotional tools. It just seems sloppy to compile it in this way and go "welp, that's on the Goodreads users!" Like, mostly my (very arbitrary and shallow) beef with this list is how lazy it is. But then again, it's February and these are romance novels....

What I find to be a particular bummer is how the books clearly don't reflect.... what hardcore romance readers are into? Which, I guess it wouldn't. Goodreads is more general, and that's fine. But damn. Lots of contemporary romances, a handful of historicals, a few fantasy or fantasy-lite romances here and there. No monsterfucking books? Really? In 2023? Come on now.

I think the data here is skewed, likely--but I'm not saying it's completely off. What I am saying is that this list has had zero effort put into it, and it's not so much about what romance readers are reading, but what everyone (which includes people who Don't Read Romance but will Read That Special Book That Totally Isn't A Romance) is reading. So. Remember that grain of salt. And remember how this is affecting publishing, and how self-publishing really, truly could be the future of progressive (and for that matter, edgy and groundbreaking) romance.

Anyway, here's my painstaking, needless recording of thoughts.

People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry.

Rating: DNF

Thoughts: I started this, but quickly stopped it upon getting wind of the lack of heat--I'm a reluctant reader of friends to lovers in general, but when it hits it hits. However, in order for it to hit for me, it must have.... extreme heat. I don't personally enjoy a slow, chaste build in friends to lovers. I will also add that I've heard about some issues with this one? In regards to a tragic "my girlfriend had an abortion" backstory?

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood.

Rating: 4/5.

Thoughts: This one has gotten a lot of shit for being a converted Reylo fic, which I personally find either innocuous or delightful depending on the day. It doesn't reinvent the wheel--it's a fun grumpy/sunshine, I like the STEM backdrop, it doesn't have as many sex scenes as I'd like but the one it does have is quite long, quite hot, and has things I've seen some naively deride (he puts her whole mosquito bite boob in his mouth--trust, this can be done) (he eats... his own cum out of her, it's a closed loop system) (squelching, ewwww!!! Or uh... squelching... tell me what page that's on...) while I find them fun. I don't know why this book is promoted as the hottest thing ever because it's not, but I also don't know why it's controversial. It's pretty easy to see why it took off.

Beach Read by Emily Henry.

Rating: 4/5.

Thoughts: Maybe I'd lower this to a 3/5 in hindsight? Not sure. I read this pre-Storygraph (for me). On there, it would probably be a 3.5/5. It's very pleasant and I enjoyed the romance for what it was, but it is... very much romance-lite. I'd call it a romance, but it's for people who want to say they're reading it for the daddy issues when they're reading it for the hot author guy. It's nice!

Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover.

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: I tend to wonder if anything Colleen writes is romance versus women's fiction, but whatever. I haven't read this and I won't.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Have not read, probably will not due to the lack of heat Emily seems be favoring (Beach Read did have a mild, but not unheated, sex scene).

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas.

Rating: 2/5

Thoughts: The heroine's lack of professionalism and maturity in the workplace really didn't work for me. I couldn't take her seriously. None of it read as real (this is an issue I have with contemporaries--you either go completely bananas or go completely real, in my opinion, and many try to sit in the middle). I get why people are into it, but it's not for me.

It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: At least it's not the one actively about the abusive husband, just the sequel...

Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score.

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: I'm totally unfamiliar with this. As it involves the heroine raising a child, I probably won't, but rock on I guess?

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey.

Rating: 3/5

Thoughts: Some Tessa stuff has worked for me in the past, some hasn't--due to some issues I have with her work, I'm currently not looking for more? This was cute and hot in some sections... Others I found a bit hard to believe; I struggle with the way her heroes speak, though I know some love it. I love dirty talk, something is just missing here for me. Also, I can't handle the Back to Front Scene.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston.

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: I liked Red, White, and Royal Blue, but I didn't love it. I may get around to this one day. It sounds cute. Yay sapphics!

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: It looks nice?

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood.

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: Will read eventually. Once it's off hold in like, five years.

Twisted Love by Ana Huang.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Everyone and their mom has been talking about this. The content warnings have me intrigued. Will read.

Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey.

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: Probably will not read.

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Probably will not read. I actually really enjoyed Beautiful Bastard and want to read more of their early work, but the more recent stuff is too sweet for me. Would recommend to those who want milder, lower heat books though!

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams.

Rating: 3/5

Thoughts: I had a hard time getting into this, likely because the heroine is a single mother, but I loved the setting, the writing style, and the connection between the hero and heroine.

Neon Gods by Katee Robert

Rating: Have not read (finished)

Thoughts: I had to stop this one and haven't gotten back into it yet. I liked what I was read and I will eventually!!!

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will try eventually.

The Fine Print by Lauren Asher.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: I'll check it out. I have a love/hate relationship with billionaire romances.

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: See earlier comments on current Christina Lauren books.

Twisted Games by Ana Huang

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Kind of insane to me that Goodreads repeats authors so often in this list.

You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle.

Rating: 3/5

Thoughts: Read this long ago, would amend to 2/5 as I actively wanted the couple to break up. It possessed an issue I see in many contemporaries where behavior that is kind of insane is painted as totally normal and cute because it's a romcom~.

The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams.

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: Not for me I think.

Twisted Hate by Ana Huang

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: Good for Ana Huang, sincerely, but it feels like... not much effort... was put into this list.

The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: Will not read.

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

Rating: 4/5

Thoughts: I understand the debate around this being a romance. If Beach Read can be one, so can this. It's very intense and hard to read, but well-written and worth reading if you're the right audience.

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall.

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: I love A Lady for A Duke by Alexis, but I'm not sure if this one has sex in it or not--if it doesn't, it's not for me, but I have two of his upcoming books in my TBR. Would recommend his writing in general.

The Switch by Beth O'Leary

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: Will not read.

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace.

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: I do love figure skating... and I've recently started paying attention to hockey... Will consider.

Terms and Conditions by Lauren Asher.

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: Isn't it funny that so many authors repeat?

All Rhodes Lead Here by Mariana Zapata.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will not read.

Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman.

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: Never heard of this before, and it sounds cute. Will investigate further!

Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert.

Rating: 4/5

Thoughts: My least favorite of the trilogy, but Talia doesn't really miss, and it's super good.

The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: Will not read.

The Roommate by Rosie Danan.

Rating: 4/5 (on Storygraph I'd probably go 4.5/5)

Thoughts: So GOOD. Pro sex worker, hot as fuck, emotional, all about sex positivity.

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert.

Rating: 4/5

Thoughts: I like this even more than Dani Brown. ASD rep from both the hero and the heroine, and the sparkly purple dildo scene was hotter than it had any right to be. Oh, here's this sparkly purple dildo my friend had hiding in her bed, I guess I'll just fuck her with it???

The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon.

Rating: 4/5

Thoughts: This may be more of a 3.5/5 for me? Anyway, it was cute, I remember enjoying the heroine being older than the hero.

Twisted Lies by Ana Huang

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: I feel like people are gonna come at Ana for being on the list a billion times but... don't.

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will not read.

Part of Your World by Abby Jiminez

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: May read.

Hooked by Emily McIntire.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Has been on my TBR for a while. Eventually...

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: I don't know if current era Sally is for me?

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: Will not read

By a Thread by Lucy Score

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: We'll see?

The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jiminez

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: Maybe someday.

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver.

Rating: 2/5

Thoughts: This didn't read like a romance to me.

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston.

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: Not for me, I think.

Something Wilder by Christina Wilder.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: See above.

My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will not read.

This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will not read.

A Not So Meet Cute by Meghan Quinn.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: I may read this--I have an ARC from Meghan to read soon, so if I like it, this may follow?

A Touch of Ruin by Scarlett St. Clair.

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: Isn't this a later book in a series? Will not read.

Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy.

Rating: Have not read

Thoughts: I have not read Elle yet--I have an ARC of hers coming up. Maybe I'll read this if I like that?

Shipped by Angie Hockman.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will not read.

The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa.

Rating: 4/5

Thoughts: This was quite cute, and I enjoyed the sex scenes/hooking up with her ex-fiance's brother aspect a lot.

If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: May read--fake dating in contemporaries is hit or miss for me.

King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will not read.

Life's Too Short by Abby Jimenez.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: May read.

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: May read, but I've also heard it's not a romance? Need clarity.

Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will read, love the cover.

Electric Idol by Katee Robert.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will read.

The Dating Plan by Sarah Desai.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will read eventually.

The Takeover by T.L. Swan

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: You had me until the heroine has three unruly sons.

Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will read.

The Honey-Don't List by Christina Lauren.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: See above.

A Touch of Malice by Scarlett St. Clair

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will not read.

Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Have an ARC by her on the docket, will read this if I like it!

Love Her or List Her by Tessa Bailey.

Rating: 2/5.

Thoughts: I had many issues with this one.

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: I may read other books by Olivia, but this books surrounding this TV show many not be for me.

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: I like behind the scenes looks at reality TV. Will read.

Mr. Wrong Number by Lynn Painter.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will read. Though the steamy text~ mentioned in the summary better be steamy!

The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: May read.

You Made A Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will read.

Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will not read.

The Wedding Crasher by Mia Sosa.

Rating: 3/5.

Thoughts: Did not enjoy this as much as the first, unfortunately.

You had Me At Hola by Alexis Daria.

Rating: 3/5.

Thoughts: Fun, but I prefer Daria's Take the Lead. I suspect the hero being a single dad brought this down for me.

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton.

Rating: 5/5.

Thoughts: Love it and totally recommend it.

A Rogue of One's Own by Evie Dunmore.

Rating: 2/5.

Thoughts: General issues with the place of these books in historical romance, my God, the racism in this one.

Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore.

Rating: 3/5.

Thoughts: Her best sex scenes, solid hero, horrible ending.

First Comes Scandal by Julia Quinn.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Probably won't read.

A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting by Sophie Irwin.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will I read? I don't know, I've never heard of it and I'm not sure how hot it is...?

Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas.

Rating: 3/5.

Thoughts: Fine, but a mid Kleypas for me.

The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: I've never heard of it but it sounds kinda lit...?

To Love and To Loathe by Martha Waters.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will read.... eventually.

Never Fall for Your Fiancee by Virginia Heath.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: My last Virginia Heath was a 3/5, so not sure if I'll read.

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will read, I think? Never heard of it before.

Reputation by Lex Croucher.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Unlikely to read.

The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton.

Rating: 5/5.

Thoughts: Love, would recommend. Even better than the first.

Sea of Ruin by Pam Godwin.

Rating: 2/5.

Thoughts: Charleston, SC is in the lowcountry. Heroine's mom jumps off a cliff. We don't have cliffs there. It got worse from that point.

A Lady for A Duke by Alexis Hall.

Rating: 5/5.

Thoughts: Love it, so emotional, would recommend wholeheartedly. It's so good.

Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas.

Rating: 4/5.

Thoughts: It's not her best, but I had fun!

Bombshell by Sarah MacLean.

Rating: 4/5.

Thoughts: A strong series starter, though I prefer Heartbreaker. Very enjoyable, would recommend.

The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Unlikely to read.

Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will read.

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will read.

The Heiress Gets A Duke by Harper St. George.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will read. I kind of like the covers for these books? I don't know if that's Controversial But Brave or not.

Always Be My Duchess by Amalie Howard.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will read, though I deeply prefer her other covers.........

Slippery Creatures by K.J. Charles.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will read.

Daring and the Duke by Sarah MacLean

Rating: 5/5

Thoughts: I love this one, will recommend.

To Marry and To Meddle by Martha Waters.

Rating: Have not read.

Thoughts: Will read.

#romance novel blogging #book recs #sorta? lol

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roxytonic · 3 years ago

Text

what is the mangoball "cheater cheater" fanfiction? (a personal overview)

hi everyone,

lately a very specific social media AU DreamNotFound fanfiction on Twitter has been making the rounds. i'd like to make an introduction to the work based on my observations--i don't think we've seen anything like it so far, barring highly textual chatfics and the like.

at the time of this writing, i've caught up to entry #108. the author is prolific!

so what is this fanfiction?

the fanfiction is called "Cheater, Cheater" and is written by the ostensibly single author, mangoball (mangobaii in typing). it revolves around George as he breaks up with Sapnap and hits a rebound and potential relationship with Dream. it includes plenty of side characters, including but not limited to, Karl Jacobs, Quackity, Corpse, Wilbur Soot, and Tommyinnit.

you can find it on twitter here, but i highly recommend using the ThreadReaderApp page instead for full-size images:

what works about the fanfiction?

unofficially categorized, the story itself is a comedy-satire slice of life with a few blips of absurdity. off the top of my head, mangoball writes in references to DreamSMP and surrounding MCYT, and there are some fourth wall breaks, which are all framed in an absurd way.

in the story, the side plots corresponding to the side characters are just as vibrant as the one around George's fallout with Sapnap and his later rebound to Dream. not spoiling them, but they're fun. the story events themselves are moderately simple--the bulk of the work is made up of character interactions, which, as we find, range from globally yassified characters to complete divergence from individual personalities.

i think the reason why the mangoball fic works is because it's a nice convergence of comfy things under a very thin, easy-to-read format. if we actually go to the thread, we see that it's 100% composed of phone-sized screenshots of messages. there's not much text with each tweet in the thread, so it's short and digestible.

therefore, both the form and the function of the story work together to create a double-whammy of a very light read.

what does it's potential categorization as a light read pose for it as a work?

i don't think there is any problem with light reads in the fandom. it's optional reading, and if you do wind up reading it, you'll blitz through it easily. stan twitter will obviously take well to it since the characters are yassified, though budding readers might find it accessible too.

however, there are a few flaws i want to point out:

1. it's vaguely formulaic and/or familiar to me. i mean, given enough time and effort, i could deconstruct the humor (absurd claim to another person + agreement from the other person? further OOC-ness?) but generally speaking it's content and tropes don't "feel" new. i don't know what specifically i've read that would cause this familiarity, though. (on the other hand, this means that it's going to be a safe read.)

2. i feel like i have to suspend my disbelief a bit higher. this is more of a personal issue, so you might fare better than i have, but generally i feel like i'm a fly on the wall looking in. i haven't felt that in a while so it took me a few minutes to settle into the groove of it and start rolling.

3. this somewhat ties into point #2: the author needs to be very judicious about how they use the fourth wall break and self-references to absurdity. off-hand jokes are super obvious, because there is such limited text/narrative bandwidth to the individual screenshots. fourth wall jokes can tire out quickly, and at worst, fail to suspend the reader's disbelief.

i remember seeing one character call attention to their collective habit of narrating what they're doing ATM (because there's no italicized text or stage text in the work, it's all dialogue). it's funny for sure, but it drags me out of the story because it's too true. suddenly i'm thinking, "wait. why isn't there flavor text and italicized descriptions and videos of things happening IRL?" (there is some audio and a few pictures but that is not the bulk of the work.) if the characters know their narratological limitations, it becomes uncanny.

4. you're probably not going to find powerful themes and motifs. we have no idea what's intended or not. on the other hand, if you're going by "Death of the Author", then all bets are off.

note that i said "themes and motifs"--things we can extract and synthesize from the text. the wonderful @bothersome-edgar has made some great strides on identifying and categorizing key aspects of the characters, and i highly commend him for doing so. check out his work here: https://bothersome-edgar.tumblr.com/post/669498983742324736/putting-this-here-so-i-know-what-to-write-tomorrow

what other thoughts do i have?

i really love BadBoyHalo and Quackity in this story. i totally relate to BadBoyHalo's awkwardness when interacting with people online (i don't sound like i'm 50 years old though!!!) and his latent craziness, though i'm not violent. Quackity is the anchor that keeps the story and character interactions from flying apart from the absurdity of it. he's realistic, and reacts to the craziness in the story realistically.

Karl is growing on me and George is just really fluttering around. like a moth. and Dream is a lit Ruben's tube matched to dubstep. love is in the air, i suppose :]

#gin and roxytonic #mangoball #cheater cheater #mcyt #mcyt fanfiction #mcytblr #<- if this is too many tags lmk.

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