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megaera-of-pigeon · 3 years

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Volume 2 but more chronolgically:

Nikki and Momo return from North where they’d wound up at the end of volume 1 along with Ace and Kimi. They go to Apple where they bid Kimi farewell because she has to stay and work there. Kimi gives Nikki a ring before they part.

Ace, Nikki, and Momo go to the Ash Institute of design where the 9 days war took place; they are looking for clues about King Sayet’s designs because they believe that Nidhogg posses something designed by him and they think that is a potential clue to the plot. They find a special mysterious symbol that is present in some of King Sayet’s works and believe it to be important. The principal of the school mentions Bobo had been there to look at King Sayet’s designs.

After their stop at the school, they decide to go to Bobo’s hometown because they miss her and are concerned :( They learn she and her mother are both missing from their home, but they find several letters Bobo had written to her mom that remained unopened, and deduced that Bobo didn’t know that her mom wasn’t there the whole time she was with Nikki.

They find a design in Bobo’s house that has the same special symbol that King Sayet had in his works! Using that, they discover information related to The Enlightened, and Ace narrates that story for them about the king who wanted peace, but when he was murdered placed the blood curse. They decide they need to get more information about this so they head to the Lilith capital to talk the the casket fairy that the royal family has since they guessed it would know the truth behind the legend, being old and associated with royalty and all. Conveniently, Royce sent someone to fetch them just as they were thinking of going to see the casket fairy.

Ace gets a carrier pigeon and has to peace out.

They meet up with Royce (it actually seems that our chapter picks up the scene literally the day after the Tree of Memories hell event lore with Royce and Neva takes place so refer to that for more on those two). The casket fairy gives them more information about the Enlightened and leads them to a chest that belonged to King Sayet. They open the chest via styling battle and see a phantom of King Sayet that gives them a cryptic directive to find “three paths” and unravel the poem in the rosebud

This is where our most recent chapter ends so I’m not sure how long until our actual storyline catches up with the rest of the volume. If we remeber back to chapter 1 of this volume, it picks up Nikki’s quest for King Sayet’s (three?) relics/designs that we learned about in chapter 6. I think ultimately the three items might be these objects?

I still don’t know where Ransa comes from. The Iron Rose had been disbanded by Elle for failing to get adaqute results on finding Sayet’s relics. Ransa is now with Nikki but they’re traveling to City Oren to talk with Elle because Ransa thinks that will help Nikki’s quest for these relics.

Nikki gets arrested by Elle when she goes to Pigeon to ask her questions because Elle is obsessed with finding the ‘final secret’ of the relics and the Rose casket and she believes Nikki has that answer.

Nikki is not aware of that answer.

Ace has to break them out of the palace and reveals that Elle is her sister. They put together some more clues: Sayet had been imprisoned in Pigeon Kingdom’s monastery for some time and is said to have seen the secret of the blood curse. He wrote a ‘poem’ on the wall that Nikki had seen, one they referenced a ‘destined girl’

Ace declares the Iron Rose reformed and makes Nikki their leader. Ransa, Debbie, and Mela show up and join her too. Now that that’s settled, Chloris is waiting to see Ace so they decide to go to the forest.

Nikki Momo and Mela were waiting on the edge of the forest away from their group for some reason. They get lured into the fog and wind up meeting a kindred child named Kyle. They were supposed to go find a girl named Rachel who guards the epic of the forest but Kyle tells them about this girl Elaine who also knows shit. They go to see Elaine. Elaine lets them look at her book the Memory of Time and they read some nonsensical stuff about the blood moon and a frigid dragon 🙃 not like a prophecy or anything.

Part of what they need to craft King Sayet’s relics is something called ‘elven star” and their clues plus Elaine’s book now point them to the stars’ reflection (or, lack thereof) in Lake Bovaly. Time to go to the lake of super happy fun times :)

Meanwhile, Ransa, Debbie, and Ace find Chloris and also realize Mela, Nikki and Momo are missing. They go talk to Rachel who says her sister Elaine had seen them—Elaine is in the Shadow City, and the only exit has been sealed for a thousand years

Nikki and Mela and Momo realize they’re actually in the Shadow city and are in trouble. But happily, Chloris lifts the thousand year old seal so they can get out (provided they change into a cute outfit first). The kindred are free and threaten to start a war again, o no wonder how that will end. Wonder if Chloris will have to mobilize the furries.

Chloris is very weak from lifting the seal and then Cesare biting him so the next morning they look for information to help him recover. Before they can do that they’re attacked and Chloris has to use the rest of his magic to protect them. He faints into his infamous coma. [unclear how he is walking around and fighting in the upcoming war for our hell event as they don’t solve this. Maybe he just needed a nap]

As Rachel and Elaine are trying to help Chloris, Nikki and the Iron rose put together more pieces about this elven star—Nikki believes it’s referring to Sayet’s technique of embedding memories into clothing. (My guess is Nikki will rediscover this technique and utilize it to create the Star Sea out of her memories of her friends in Miraland after the apocalypse event happens, which is where we get that cool SN video).

They can’t wake Chloris. Debbie suggests they go try to wake up the sleeping dwarf elder who is the oldest living being and probably knows how to help Chloris. Debbie also mentioned he’s connected with one of the relics and my guess is it’s that frangipani the dwarves gave to Nikki at the start of our last hell event lore. We didn’t get to read the story of what happened before our event started but that’s what I would predict.

Before they can get going Nikki is pulled into an illusion by Xiao zong who appears and starts on his whole “noooo Nikki don’t be the savior it’s so haaaard to take on the sins of the universe just give me to secrets instead” [at this point he makes Nikki ‘live’ the 9 days war via illusion which was the story we played during the Steps of Sorrow hell] Nikki won’t agree to give over the relic so they style battle. Nikki is getting her ass kicked.

The ring given to her by Kimi waaaaaay back at the beginning of this that was originally made by Sayet starts to glow and gives Nikki major stats boosts. Nikki defeats Xiao Zong. The world goes black. This is as far into Nikki’s story that we have accounted for, except perhaps in hell events that I didn’t realize took place after this point.

MAJOR TAKEAWAYS: The main goal for Nikki in this volume is to discover the secrets left behind by King Sayet through his designs/his three infamous ‘relics’. She also discovers a connection between Sayet’s work and the True King/The Enlightened, the originator of the blood curse, who happens to be running around in Bobo’s body right now. There is also some connection between Sayet’s work and the secrets of the elves/Kindred, although since our 1,000 benchmark of when shit last went down big time with them was *before* the curse of blood was placed, the connection likely has to do with Sayet utilizing elf magic or elf techniques to create his designs, while also connecting those designs to the secret of the blood curse. At different points it’s mentioned that Nikki is looking for his designs/relics, but then I believe she finds his design(s)? somewhere between where the two sections of the volume are blurry, or potentially in a hell event, and it’s a recipe she has to craft—which turns into looking for ingredients to craft said designs by the time she gets to v2ch1. The hope is by completing the cryptic quest left by Sayet, she will uncover the secrets of why North went to war, why Elle and the other participants in the 9 days war are losing their memory, and how to save Bobo from demonic possession. And while I personally adore a story that takes a nontraditional approach to its narration, boy is it ridiculous the amount of legwork required to actually get a handle on this timeline.

#long post #love Nikki lore #love Nikki volume 2 #if anyone is interested I do recommend reviewing the chapter stories because they’re actually more interesting now #that we’ve sort of got a better sense of how they’re all working!!!

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bookaddict24-7 · 3 years

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I said at the beginning of the year that I would share my reviews more on my blog instead of just on Instagram and Goodreads. I’ve been reading a lot so far this year, so my reviews will be delayed on here.

Friend me on Goodreads here to read my reviews in real-time!

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107. Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow, this book had more of a punch than I anticipated! I think books like this one are super important--not just because of the content, but because of the audience it's geared towards. Young readers now are learning more and more about society than a lot of us did at their age, so I think it's perfectly fitting that a book like this one is out there for kids to devour. One of the things I liked the most about this book was the allegory of racism in a magical community. Usually in fantastical novels for kids (older ones, anyway), there's this belief that no matter what you look like, the moment you go to another magical place all of your worries about racism goes away because MAGIC. But in this one, not only did our MC have to contend with the racism in her normal life, she had to face more racism in her new life, just with a new title. So many of the actions taken against her by those around her, and the comments (like putting her brother on a pedestal because he was the star of the school and calling him the exception to the rule, or one girl actively telling her that "You can take the girl out of the ghetto, but not the ghetto out of the girl) really made me think that this poor kid went from one ignorant situation to another. Not only is she trying to find her brother and solve the mystery of his disappearance, but she also has to deal with racist and ignorant people around her. Imagine calling a child evil because of something they can't control. Imagine going out of your way to ensure that they fail. Imagine you or your child hearing the things this child heard while trying to just do her best in a system that's always been made to be against her, both in the human world and in the magic world. Imagine, imagine, imagine. Another thing I loved about this book was her resilience. She is brave, and smart, and has such a big future in this new world of hers. I'm so excited to read the rest of this series as it comes out. This book was POWERFUL and I highly recommend it. Not just for the young readers in your life, but I think parents and other readers would highly benefit from reading Amari's story.

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108. Mindy Kim & the Yummy Seaweed Business by Lyla Lee--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Okay, this book was ADORABLE. I haven’t read a 6-8 book in a long time and I’m thankful to my friend on Instagram who recommended these books! Mindy has to deal with not only her grief about losing her mom and her dad’s busy schedule (as well as his own grief), but she’s also at a new school in a new State where she is the only Asian student. I’ve mentioned this in some of my most recent reviews, but I love that these important topics are being discussed in children’s books. We see moments of racism in this book where Mindy is left upset, even if she doesn’t fully understand just why certain comments and actions are so hurtful. And even if she doesn’t dwell on it, a parent reading this with their little one would notice and hopefully learn if they see their own behaviours mirrored in the actions of some of these adults. But we also see moments of kindness and love as a young girl tries her best to find ways to make her dad happy. Despite the heavier undertones in this book, there was an overall feel of sweetness and childhood innocence. The ability to apologize when you know you’re in the wrong, the innocence of emotions getting away from you, and the sweetness of a daughter loving her father. This was a great read and I highly recommend it for everyone, but especially the little ones in your life who will be entering situations where books like these and their lessons are really important.

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109. The Dead Zone by Stephen King--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one, I felt, held more of an emotional punch rather than a creepy feeling. I really enjoyed it! I loved the psychic angle and the MC proving the people who didn’t believe him or mocked wrong. Also, this was a King book that actually made me want to cry at the end. I didn’t give it a 5 because of some really slow moments. While I love that his stories always have a way of coming together at the end, certain scenes sometimes feel long, boring, or confusing. I’d recommend this for anyone who wants to read a King book that isn’t scary and if you’re a fan of 11/22/63!

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110. Takane & Hana Vol. 1 by Yuki Shiwasu--⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one took me a while to read. I found that I wasn’t really in the mood to read it every time I picked it up—which is so different from when I pick up a manga I really want to read. The story had some funny bits and the artwork was gorgeous, but it really bugged me how every new chapter re-introduced the love interest. Over and over and over again. I get it: he’s rich, arrogant, and an asshole. Can’t you trust us to remember these key personality traits? But it wasn’t even just that. We were constantly re-introduced to the premise of the story. I don’t know how common this is WITHIN the same volume, but I haven’t encountered it yet—and if I have, it wasn’t as annoying as this one. I’ll keep reading the story because I’m curious, but this first volume was a bit of a rougher read for me.

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111. You Have A Match by Emma Lord--⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I think the thing with this book is that the cover tells a different story than what really matters in this book. Yes, there’s a friends to more relationship in this, but the main storyline is about two girls who find out they’re sisters and are trying to solve that mystery. This isn’t a romcom—the romance is a super side story to the main storyline. And to be honest, I really enjoyed it. I wanted to see why these two sisters lived their whole life separated. I enjoyed the process and the friendships created along the way. I felt for the parents, but at the same time, I felt more for the girls. There were instances where I wanted to yell at the parents because they kept putting the reveal off. This was enjoyable overall—a great summer read. Not particularly memorable, but it does what it sets out to do: makes you question the strength of friendships and what they can overcome. Also, Instagram.

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112. Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When my friend raved about this book I was both excited and intimidated. I usually try to avoid hypes surrounding books because I go in with too-high expectations and a lot of the time, the expectations crush me while I’m reading. Thankfully, the hype is very well-deserved with this one. For me, the most important aspect of this book that stuck with me wasn’t the mystery surrounding the MC’s cousin’s death, but the character growth the MC himself experiences during the time of his investigation. Identity sounds like a pretty clear cut thing sometimes, but it’s a lot harder to know your own when you’re the child of an immigrant family. You live in a new country, get accustomed to new expectations and customs, and inevitably feel a culture shock when you’re re-introduced to the culture your parents grew up in. I saw myself so much in this MC. From my childhood to my current adult years, people have thought that they could define me and who I am simply because I say I’m this or this. But while others make a quick judgment, they don’t see the internal struggle. They don’t see you questioning yourself on whether you’re enough of this, or whether you’re enough of that. I think teenage me would have loved this book even more. The MC is constantly faced with criticism about his father choosing to move them to the States from the Philippines. The judgments and the preconceived notions of him and his family make him not only weary because he recalls how his uncle treated his father the first time he visited, but also wary because it sets him down this road of self-reflection. I haven’t read many (if any, unfortunately) books where a character goes to the Philippines. I’m so thankful to this book. I learned so much about the culture, the foods, and the struggles faced not just financially, but politically as well. I remember reading about some of the topics brought up in this book and it was extremely eye-opening. It’s so easy for us to look away because we have that privilege, but this book says, “No, look at me. I exist.” The MC, in his journey, also learns to speak up and use his voice. Not just against ignorant friends, but an annoyingly smug and verbally abusive uncle (who I hated to all hell). He also learns to listen. He learns that though not every story is perfect, they still have power. I think this is a great read for those who have one foot in two different worlds (hands and arms can be in other worlds, too). Especially if you’re trying to understand this part of you that wasn’t developed as you grew up. I’d also recommend it to readers who want to learn more about this struggle, learn more about a different culture that is more than its stereotypes, and/or want to read about a young teenager trying to come to terms with his grief and guilt.

___ Have you read any of these books? Would you recommend them?

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Happy reading!

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kitty-otome · 3 years

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MAIN STORY: SEIICHIROU (REVIEW)

GAME: my wedding and 7 rings

SUMMARY: in the three months without choosing a fiancé, the execs’ attempts to seduce you are ramping up. they’re even in your neighborhood, and you seek refuge with seiichirou. there you see a side of him he never shows at work...

RATING: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

— THE PLOT

a romcom with the basic, “we’re moving in together due to an undesirable situation but we end up falling in love” plot. as cliche as it is, i find it was very well written. it’s a slow, yet steady burn, definitely no “coup de foudre”. i loved watching the characters go from being coworkers to friends to lovers! the drama as well as the characters’ reactions when faced with said drama was reasonable and believable. it felt real. the story was quite comical too, seiichirou’s curtness and the mc’s innocence married each other perfectly.

— THE LOVE INTEREST

i’ll admit, i didn’t like seiichirou for like the first three chapters. he’s blunt, curt and brutally honest, all while smiling and staying professional the entire time. needless to say, i didn’t trust him much. however, as he began to warm up to mc, i started to really like him. he’s really hardworking and deeply caring, you can tell by how he interacts with mc and hiroto (his best friend). he also has his childish moments, which i found particularly charming considering his overly professional exterior. as much as i disliked his honesty at the beginning, it became my favorite trait of his by the end.

— THE ROMANCE

the chemistry between mc and seiichirou is absolutely undeniable. even though there is very actual romance, you cannot ignore the connection they have with each other. it’s obvious that they both deeply care for each other and respect each other above all else. the fact that they held back throughout the entire story made their first kiss that much more satisfying!

— THE MC

the mc is sweet, funny and relatable. however, she puts up with so much. she’s far too nice for her own good and lets everyone around her step all over her, it’s actually really stressful to watch at times. i wish she’d speak up more when something bothered her. additionally, she seems like the type who easily falls for peer pressure, judging by the poor quality of friends she has (her friends are really unlikable, i think they were what i hated most about the story).

— THE CG’S

to be honest, the cg’s are pretty mediocre. they’re really basic and frankly quite predictable. mc doesn’t have eyes either because it’s an older story, so that sucks. i didn’t really like them, honestly, which is a shame because the story was basically perfect.

i highly recommend this story to anyone who loves cutesy romcoms like i do! it’s really cute and the plot is easy to follow which makes it a great read if you’re just trying to relax or if you’re just learning english/japanese. i love the premise of this story is just one big middle finger to the whole marriage program. seiichirou really played himself, didn’t he?

#seiichirou hayami #my wedding and 7 rings #mwa7r #love 365 #love 365: find your story #voltage inc #otome game #otome review

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snowwhite-andtheknight · 3 years

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My favorite ANS OC right now is Setsuko/Vixen/fox, from Nostalgic Family by your1ocalpotato. I decided to read some of Potato’s work on a whim a few months back, once I realized that Potato wrote stories, and I absolutely adore Setsuko, especially within Nostalgic Family; I just love that universe, the added backstory for Obi, the found family dynamics, the way that Setsuko may be rough around the edges from the life she lived, but she cares deeply for her family, especially Obi. Just the sibling bond that Setsuko and Obi have in it is absolutely incredible, and in that particular universe, Setsuko has barely met Izana, so there’s a chance that that slow burn will eventually pick up, and Izana/Setsuko is such a lovely pair; they contrast very beautifully together, and it’s got to be my favorite Izana/OC pairing. Honestly, Potato’s stories are really good and more people need to read them. https://archiveofourown.org/works/22926751/chapters/54800950 (The Den Series is the name of the particular series I’m talking about, though there is a different story with Setsuko, where she has a different backstory, and it’s pretty much all slowburn Izana/Setsuko. Both are worth a read, though I haven’t finished the longer, slow burn fic yet.) As for An AU I Took A Chance On (And Now Love), it would be the Quarantine AU, that Muselover1901 wrote: Here With(out) You. I figured I’d read a Quarantine AU, and that one was really beautifully written. It’s one of my favorites by Muse. (I may throw in a few other stories that I recommend by Muse, because she’s a super talented ZenYuki writer.) I usually avoid writing any Quarantine AUs or Pandemic AUs unless I really feel like I need to. The same usually goes with reading them; I’ve found at least one good Quarantine AU in about four or so fandoms now. (I usually only read one per fandom, if it seems interesting.) Honestly, this is probably my favorite Quarantine AU ever. It’s longer, and the world is pretty well established. (And it’s a really lovely domestic ZenYuki oneshot.) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13668279/1/Here-With-out-You I’m going to cheat a little on the next two, because I actually reviewed them (and reviewed them around the same time). First, I want to mention a fic that Made Me Laugh Out Loud; the first one that comes to mind is A Snowy Surprise by MuseLover1901. It’s the first one that pops into my head, though I know that I’ve laughed out loud at probably plenty of other stories. I actually was unsure before I read it whether it was a romantic story or not, and had been a bit nervous about jumping in and reading it, but once I started to read it, it was love at first sight. There’s a snowball fight in it, and I’ll have to say one particular hit made me laugh out loud. The story is mostly a friendship story. (The kind of story that I always long for more of in any fandom, because I love friendship stories as much as I love romance stories, and I also love family stories just as much.) But it’s lighthearted and doesn’t contain too many manga spoilers for me, since I’m terribly behind in the manga right now. (I haven’t read all of Muse’s work yet, because some of them have more manga spoilers than I’m ready to read. I’m biding my time for the day that I can just binge read them obsessively. It will happen.) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13668260/1/A-Snowy-Surprise So, here’s the story, I’m cheating by mentioning instead of the above one. (I reviewed them around the same time, so it works, I think.) For A Fic That Made Me Friends With The Author, I’d have to say A Quick Library Visit; it’s a short, sweet read, and if you want quick ZenYuki fluff, it’s a go to. I read it around the same time as the above two Muse fics, and for some reason, some of Muse’s newest stories didn’t have reviews, so I figured I’d review. Shortly after, I reviewed A Quick Library Visit and A Snowy Surprise, Muse messaged me to thank me. (She’s really cool by the way.) And then, a little while later, I joined the old ZenYuki Week Server, and Muse invited me over to a ZenYuki Writing Collab Server, and we became fast friends after that. (She remembered me based off of the two reviews I’d left on her stories, which was pretty cool and definitely humbling.) (Also, heads up, I’ll post the fanfiction links to Muse’s stories, but she also posts them on AO3, so they’re there as well.) (I wish there was a reverse for this panel, because through the ZenYuki Writing Server; I met phenomenal writers and began reading their work as well!) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13668268/1/A-Quick-Library-Visit As for A Fic That Got Me Involved In The Fandom, I may be cheating by mentioning this too, since I starting writing fanfics for ANS practically right after I finished watching Season Two. The Mistress, the Plan, and the Secret by MisusedEllipses really made me long to write for Prince Raji/Shirayuki, and really kicked me off in that little rarepair haven, that Season Two won me over towards. This is an incredible fanfic, has absolutely amazing characterization throughout, and is incomplete on Fanfiction. (I’m hoping that somewhere online, it sits pretty and finished, waiting for me to rediscover it. I may be overly hopeful.) Okay, it ties in onesided!ObiYuki feelings, onesided!PrinceRajiYuki feelings, and wonderful characterization and sibling banter between Eugena and Rona! Honestly, Raji is written so well that it practically reads like canon: a very hard feat indeed for any writer to accomplish. Just, wow! I don’t know who to root for: Raji, Zen, or Obi! It diverges from canon right before the kidnapping, so Shirayuki never gets kidnapped, and eventually a rather interesting Raji and Obi friendship forms, though that’s right where the last current chapter is. It hasn’t been updated in four or five, I guess now or soon, years, but it’s well worth a read. I will recommend this to anyone if given a chance, regardless of whether the person is a multishipper or not. I love the friendship, the romance, the family, and humor that comes along with Raji’s siblings’ banter. It’s just a phenomenal canon divergent fic, and it’s what really made me realize there was a need for more Raji X Shirayuki fanfics, and it left me crazy about filling that gap. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12156186/1/The-Mistress-the-Plan-and-the-Secret I’m going to make a rather honest claim here, even though I’m not sure how often this writer will come up in what I gush about here, but this writer should: genee is one of my favorite writers in the fandom. (I’m not sure if genee is still active.) When I eventually thought of a fic with A Favorite Minor Character of mine, this particular story came up. history doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes is an absolutely amazing precanon story where it focuses entirely on Ryuu, gives him some backstory! (It’s an amazing read, and it follows his journey to becoming a Court Herbalist.) Honestly, the fandom needs a lot more Ryuu fics. (On a side note, a fic by a different writer also came to mind with this, but since that’s more romantic than this gen fic, I figured I’d stick with this one. The other one that comes to mind is the only fic where I could find Kai as a main character. It’s by a different writer, but if I can stick it into this recommendation, I will tell you more about it.) Genee writes really good fics. I know genee has a fanfiction account, but I think genee might have an AO3 as well. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12687531/1/history-doesn-t-repeat-itself-but-it-often-rhymes For Pre-Canon, I want to mention a lovely story by an incredible (mostly?) MitsuKiki writer that may not actually be active anymore. (Unless the writer uses a different site now.) (This story is actually not a MitsuKiki fanfic, though it is still one of my all time favorite stories by fiesa.) Roses, Violets by fiesa. It’s a beautiful story that focuses on Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki during the years since Kiki came there. Zen develops a crush on an OC, who doesn’t like him like that, who actually likes Mitsuhide, interestingly enough. It’s not really a romance story, as it focuses on the way time passes and uses summer and flowers to express that. The perspectives shift, so some parts may need to be reread to understand who is feeling that way, but it’s all written so beautifully. You get to see Zen develop a crush and get heartbroken, Mitsuhide trying to be really nice, knowing Zen likes the woman and sort of trying to let something happen between Zen and the OC. Though, Zen feels that that’s hopeless, since she likes Mitsuhide. It’s more a story of the friendship between Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki, and what growing up entails. It’s Zen before Shirayuki, and it makes for a rather lovely, read. (It’s a multichapter, though it’s not a super lengthy one as far as chapter count goes. It’s well worth a read though.) (fiesa and geneee I discovered around the same time, and I love what both of them write so much.) (So, if you like it, it’s always worth checking out the rest of fiesa’s work.) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12864975/1/Roses-Violets I was just thinking over how to mention an incredible writer, that wrote two ZenYuki oneshot that I’ve read and fell in love with. (Spotted the oneshot section. If I have to refill part of the Bingo Board later, so be it.) The Art Of Watching Stars Fall by Zen Wisteria on Tumblr. The metaphors and images are just so pretty and beautiful and with gorgeous meanings. (The writer feels a bit like a poet, and since I love poetry, that’s a definite plus in my book.) It’s really fluffy and sweet and contains pretty much all of the wonderful reasons to ship ZenYuki. It’s a delight to read and to reread. It’s highly recommended by me. https://zen-wistaria.tumblr.com/post/117283326416/it-feels-like-years-since-shes-seen-his-face AU That Made Me Find The Source Material: Lyrias Station by Eclectic80. I’m cheating here too. Shh… I’ve been slowly getting into Star Trek over the years very deliberately, and I just loved this fic so much! I found it first on the ObiYuki Community, going through a lot older fics, and then fell in love with just the way that Eclectic80 wrote it! It’s an absolutely incredible Star Trek AU, and a lovely ObiYuki story. (I think I did start with reading Historical Fiction, and it surprised me by being a Star Trek AU.) (On the note of really great AUs, there’s a Star Wars AU for ObiYuki that’s incredible, that I’ll have to refind at some point, and an incredible Harry Potter AU. I actually asked a lot of questions to people who know Star Wars lore far better than I do, in order to work through how much of the Star Wars AU for ObiYuki could plausibly happen in canon. (I think it was all of it. It was a great and engaging read too!) The Harry Potter AU left me obsessed with it, and the accidental soul bonding spell, whoops. But, since I don’t remember their titles or who wrote them, I’ll have to recommend them some other day. (I think they are also far back on the community page. I haven’t finished exploring it, since I took a break a while ago.) Back to Lyrias Station, it’s an absolutely incredible read whether you know very little about Star Trek, nothing at all, or a lot. I fall somewhere in the middle, and honestly, it’s a fantastic read, whenever you want to dig in and explore. (I may have reread certain oneshots in it way too much for my own good, practically back to back. It’s a really wonderful reread as well.) https://archiveofourown.org/works/14414148/chapters/34487988 For A Fic That Gave Me A New OTP, though my OTP is hard to define, so I’m technically cheating here, but Let Me Be Bold by Kaedix. It’s an IzanaYuki story, and that is a pairing that I was curious about, but hadn’t really shipped until I read this oneshot collection. I absolutely need to read the third oneshot; it’s new, and bound to be incredible. But, the first oneshot had me sort of falling in love with Izana right alongside Shirayuki, and the second oneshot had me cheering for Shirayuki, and all in all, it’s an incredible read that is well worth your time, whether just to read something new or different or whether you are on the fence about this fabulous rarepair. (Since it did win me over to the ship, I’m including it here.) It’s incredible! Go read it! https://archiveofourown.org/works/20982494/chapters/49894448 I was trying to figure out a fic that I loved that was under a thousand words, and since I haven’t paid a huge amount of attention to the word count, I couldn’t think of one at first. So, I was going through one of the writers that I really like the writing of, and stumbled upon one that I immediately remembered. Importance by bountifulnuggets. I remembered it strictly as the wedding story where Zen and Shirayuki hugged Obi, who desperately needed a hug. I’ve never read anything like it before, and it’s saturated with friendship. (Nugget is a phenomenal writer, so basically anything by her is really good, so if you haven’t heard of her, go check out her writing. You won’t be disappointed.) (I got temporarily sidetracked before going through Nugget’s stories, by a story I hadn’t read by Eclectic80, a ZenYuki(!) story, that if for some reason, I extend and do more than a Bingo Board (or find another way to include), I’ll tell you the title of. Either way, the story by Nugget is a lovely hurt/comfort fic that is more comfort than hurt, and it’s definitely a beautiful read. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26433481 I’m going to pause here for now, even though I haven’t gotten a Bingo yet, because I’ve spent way too long today, compiling this list, and kind of want to share how far along it’s come so far. I recommend every single last one of these fics and several more, honestly they’re all so amazing!

#ansficbingo #fic re #sctwilightvampwolfgal #submission

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13-reasons-ideas · 4 years

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Can’t Go Back Part 7

A/N: I had some issues with inspiration for this chapter, so it is more of a filler chapter. I hope you still like it. The next chapters will be better, I promise. It’s a shorter one. Like and reblog. As always, much love.

I was in the kitchen typing feverously on my laptop when Monty got home from practice. “Hey Addy. What are you working on?”

“College essay.” I replied, not looking up at him.

“How’s it going?”

“Fine. I have to write like three more though after this one. And my top three schools want creative writing samples.”

Monty whistled. “You know it’s only the end of October, right?”

“I know but early decisions are due by like the middle of November for Ole Miss and NYU. My safety schools are due by mid-December.”

“You could also apply for regular admission too. Save yourself the stress rash.”

“Says the boy who has athletic scholarships coming out his ass. You don’t need to make a decision until regular admissions open, at the earliest.”

“With your grades, I see no reason you wouldn’t get an academic scholarship babe.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do though. Have a little hope.”

“I’ll try. For now though, I’m going to spend as much of my free time as I can, writing essays and hounding my teachers for recommendation letters.”

“Okay then. Have you eaten yet?”

“Depends what you consider eating.”

“Food. Not dry cereal, real food.”

“Oh, then no.”

“Addison.”

I looked up at him, “Montgomery.”

“It’s almost seven.”

“Really?” I looked at the clock on my laptop and saw the time for the first time since I got home. “Oh, look at that.”

“Yeah. What do you want to eat?”

“Doesn’t matter, what did you want? I stopped at Walplex on the way home for a few things.”

He opened the fridge and examined the contents. “Was the chicken for something specific?”

“The fresh or roasted?”

“Roasted.”

“No, it was fresh when I got to the store and it was on sale, so I shredded it when we got home. What did you have in mind?”

“Chicken pot pie?”

“Even though it has vegetables?”

“There’s enough stuff in it to cover up the vegetable taste.”

“Sure. Whatever chicken we don’t use tonight can go in the freezer. Can you proofread this after dinner?”

“Of course.” He said as he grabbed one of the ziplocs of chicken. I saved my work and got up to help him. Together, we made dinner, with only the occasional snack or errant vegetable being tossed at each other. The puff pastry I had spent the entire weekend making, worked well. That went in the freezer along with the chicken at the end of the night.

The following morning went a little smoother than usual. Monty was a little less of a pain to get out of bed, so I didn’t need to call Charlie or make outrageous requests to get him up. I brought my laptop to school so I could work on my applications during my free period. “You need to give yourself a break Addy.”

“Can’t take a break. This determines my future. It determines our future, depending where I get in.”

“I suppose you’re right.” I smiled at him as we left the house, knowing the issue would be at rest for now.

We met Scott and Charlie to grab coffee from Monet’s before school. As we were waiting for our orders, Justin and Clay came in. “Oh joy. Here we go again.” Monty muttered to Charlie. They ordered and walked over to us.

“Hey Addy.”

“Hey Justin. Clay.”

“Hey.” Clay replied, awkwardly nodding to Monty and his friends.

“Something is different about you.” Justin said.

“I think it’s called, ‘I didn’t go to sleep until three thirty in the morning and had an energy drink before breakfast.’” Monty said.

“Ew.” Clay muttered, under his breath. We still heard him though.

“Not that it’s gross, but we weren’t up. I’ve been told that’s not allowed by my surgeon. She was up writing until three thirty, when I rolled over and the light woke me up.”

“Oh.” Clay blushed, embarrassed.

“College applications.” I explained.

“It’s October Addy.” Clay pointed out.

“That’s what I told her last night. Would she listen?”

“No. Of course, she wouldn’t.” Clay chuckled. I stood to the side, watching their interaction, my eyes shifting between Scott and Charlie, and Justin. They’re seeing this too, right?

“She brought her laptop with her so she can work on them more.”

“Of course, she did.”

“Okay. I have my coffee we can go now.”

“Sure.”

“Hey Addison, lunch today?” Clay asked after us.

“Okay. I’ll see you then.” I said Monty put his arm around my shoulder and we left the café.

Since we were running early again, I spent the morning with Monty’s friends. “How’s your knee today?” Mark asked.

“It’s fine. Same as yesterday.”

“How long did the doctor say you would be on crutches?”

“A few weeks. Then I can start walking and doing physical therapy. The goal is being back to training and sports by sometime between February and April.”

“That really sucks. Got any more stories for us this morning Addison?”

“Hmmm… let me think.” I adjusted my bag while I thought. My ring caught the light glimmering brightly and I smiled. I think I’m going to like this wearing my ring in public thing.

“Does he actually help you grocery shop or does he just put random stuff in the cart?” Garrison asked.

“He helps, usually. Sometimes it’s more of a ‘can we get this’ kind of help, but he helps yes. That reminds me, we need to go grocery shopping on Saturday.”

“Okay. Why?”

“My mom’s birthday dinner Sunday night? It’s on the calendar in the kitchen. Also, do you enjoy having food in the house?”

“Right, right. Do you think she would be mad if I got her another world’s best professor mug? And yes. Food is nice.”

“Mad? No. Annoyed? Probably.”

“What do you suggest I get her then?”

“A candle? Women like candles.” Aaron suggested. Monty gave him a jokingly unamused look and then looked at me.

“Trust me, I know. I made the mistake of saying she could use the joint chequing account at Bath and Body Works. The house smelled like watermelon for weeks. And almost fell over when I saw how much it cost.”

“It was watermelon lemonade or rosewater and ivy. We both agreed that one smelled bad. You left out the part where you smelled like every other candle in the store and didn’t like the ones I picked. She likes tea?”

“To go with her various world’s best professor mugs. I like the way you think.”

“You like a lot of things about me.” I rolled my eyes, leaning against his side gently.

“You guys are cute. It’s gross.” Bryce commented.

“Thanks Bryce.” I smiled brightly, really laying on the cheeriness in my tone. He merely raised his brow. The first bell rang, cutting our story time short. “I’ll see you after school babe. I love you.” I stood on my tip toes and kissed Monty, perhaps more deeply than was decent at school or around his friends. His eyes were wide but had a vaguely hungry look to them.

“I love you too.” With that, I scurried off to US government and politics.

At lunch, I walked into the cafeteria and people stared at me, not that I expected anything less. It was still rather off-putting though. Clay and Justin waved me over to their table. Alex scooted over so I could sit next to him. “How was class?” he asked, unsure of where to start our conversation. It’s not like I’m suddenly a different person Alex. I’m the same as I was before everyone knew about Monty.

“It was okay. US government was boring, but it usually is. I got a literary review back in English literature. I did better on it than I expected.”

“Addy, you usually do better than you expect.” Justin complained from across the table.

“Yes, because if I set my expectations low, then I’m not crushed when I don’t do as well. But how was class for you Alex?”

“Boring. History was boring and Coach Rick hates me so there’s that. Biology was a nightmare. We were talking about our frog dissection coming up and these two cheerleaders practically screamed when we watched the video on it.”

“Well that sounds entertaining.”

“How are your applications coming Addy?” Clay asked.

“They’re coming. It’s just kind of annoying. I need creative writing samples to send along with my essays, so I was up late writing. Nothing was flowing the way I wanted it to.”

“I know the feeling.” He muttered. Justin laughed while Alex and I just shared a look. Clearly, we were missing something. Zach came over to our table and sat down.

“Hey guys.” He greeted, pulling out his lunch.

“Hey.” I replied. I was still slightly ticked off about his comments yesterday.

“Not sitting with Monty today Addy?”

“Nope.”

“Okay. Do you want some of my crackers?”

“Uh… sure?” This is odd. He passed me the container and I took some, placing them on top of my own container. There was an awkward silence, none of us really knowing how to proceed. I braced myself when Zach opened his mouth to speak.

“So, can you tell us how meeting his parents went?”

“Sure?” I asked, confused that that was what he wanted to hear about. “It was strange. His dad doesn’t like anyone really, so it wasn’t surprising when he didn’t like me, but I wasn’t exactly expecting him to immediately not like me. Lucy liked me right away, but I’m still not sure if it’s because it was so rare for him to bring a girl home, or if she actually liked me.”

“What happened?”

“His dad, ever the charmer and wonderful husband and father, sat on his ass and stared at Monty and I while his mom made dinner. Like, I don’t think he stopped looking at us. It was so uncomfortable and definitely didn’t help my nerves. At dinner-Lucy insisted, Monty tried to keep it to coffee or something short-they asked me a lot of questions. His dad liked me even less when I said I want to be a writer.”

“They didn’t try to argue with you or anything?”

“Nope. Thankfully they didn’t. Because I might have cried if they did, I was so nervous.”

“Is his dad really as bad as everyone thinks?” Clay asked.

“Honestly Clay?”

“Yeah.”

“I think he might be worse.” My friends sat with that assessment of character for a while before we moved onto lighter topics, average high school stuff. Shortly before lunch ended, Justin suggested an… interesting idea.

“Why don’t you invite us over for dinner this weekend? They can get to know Monty better and maybe whatever weird thing happened this morning can be avoided again.” I blinked at him, unsure if he was being serious or not. He nodded at me, encouragingly.

“It would probably have to be Saturday. It’s my mom’s birthday Sunday and we are having her over for dinner. And I need to discuss it with Monty first.”

“That’s okay, right guys?” He prompted, looking around the table. My friends nodded, though seemed reluctant.

“I’ll talk to him tonight and let you know tomorrow?”

“Great.” He agreed, as the bell rang.

Oh, what have I gotten myself into now? Hopefully Monty is open to spending an evening with my friends.

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endureandplay · 4 years

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Game Review: Aragami

I’ve recently come across a video game called Aragami by Lince Works which I was able to buy pretty cheap on Steam. It’s a 3rd person stealth game which lets you play as an assassin operating solely in the shadows.

Note: The spoiler warning refers to spoilers of the story and other detailed reviews of the gameplay and mechanics that might give away a little too much. The spoiler-free part of this review will include basic information about the gameplay, the overall style, design and quality of the game as well as encountered bugs. -Spoiler-free-

Gameplay/Mechanics: The gameplay was very fun. I love stealth games and figuring out the best ways to kill my enemies without alerting anyone - When I played the game, I felt like the developer team must have consisted of people who love the stealth parts in other games and wanted to come up with something that’s just that; stealthing all the f**king time. You do have skills that you can upgrade by finding collectibles in the areas. That was fun and kept the game interesting because you had new ways to deal with your victims. And it made up for a pretty simple objective: Proceed to gather talismans and either kill everyone, noone or some of the guards on your way. The controls were easy and intuitive, although I would have liked to exit the menu with esc, not only with the space bar. But that’s a ridiculously small thing to complain about. Also, there are actually boss fights! The characters looked cool, the animations looked cool. To me, the game appeared like one of those very cheap and often dull but fun games that you get for a few bucks or less. But this game is surprisingly qualitative, and I see it as a little gem. I never heard of it before which I think is a shame.

Design/Environments/Interface: I loved the simple design of the interface. It fit the atmosphere of the game and everything worked absolutely smoothly. The game looks like someone drew everything in Japanese style, it reminds of an anime. I liked that - and there’s only Japanese voice acting as well. All other languages are only available as subtitles. Dialogue is relatively rare. The environments are diverse enough to offer a lot of variety which is definitely refreshing throughout the 13 chapter setup of the game, and they are generally very beautiful and they’re in many cases underlined and accentuated with chapter-specific soundtracks as well.

Bugs: I have only encountered one potential bug: When you scroll through the skills wheel to pick a different skill, I often couldn’t move the pointer to the one I wanted. This only happened when I was running while accessing the skills wheel though, and to be fair, I only noticed it during one session. After I restarted my PC the other day, I did not encounter it anymore, so that might have been a local issue, not one of the game. Other than that, there was one thing I assume the developers are aware of that still bothered me a little. You can use a skill to make enemies in the area visible; they get marked with a white little flame. That flame doesn’t disappear when you kill them, it continues floating in the air. That can make figuring out which enemies are still alive and which ones you’ve already killed pretty difficult and confusing. I’d advise the developers to fix that. I did encounter a lot more minor bugs in the DLC however, but none that would have spoiled the gameplay experience much. I attached a screenshot.

DLC “Nightfall”: I’d recommend this DLC to anyone who enjoyed the base game. It’s a lot of fun - you have a different although similar skill set and a companion who can help you out. The DLC adds a lot of background information to the story established in the base game. It also includes pretty new environments and new soundtracks which I really enjoyed.

-Spoiler-

The story was very simple but well made - But I admit that I often confused the names of the characters. If you carefully watch the flashbacks when the Aragami - that’s you, the summoned assassin - finds a talisman, you can quite easily understand that it’s not at all like Yamiko, the Shadow Empress, the one who summoned you to free her, says and that something is very awry with her version of the story.

I loved the twist at the end of the game although I had expected it after the first few chapters already. The lady who summons you isn’t as innocent as she pretends to be, she’s actually the villain, and you’ve killed the wrong - your - people all the time. It’s a simple, yet interesting concept. When I met the raven Kurosu (btw, I love that name), I was expecting it to play a much bigger role in the future. But Kurosu is only a “tool” that technically scouts the area to tell you where enemies are - and marks them, which is one of the skills you can become proficient with. So, Kurosu is mostly there for the world-building and an explanation, but it also plays a little role at the end of the story. I used all of the skills that were available. I definitely had my favorites, like Shinen and Kunai - placing traps or killing people with a shadow dagger from a distance - but I used all of them at some point, and they really helped killing guards easily.

The scrolls were very well hidden and I admit that I had to look up their locations sometimes, which I did because I didn’t want to miss out on the skills (I didn’t plan to replay the game).

TLDR; I had a lot of fun with this game and it took me several hours to complete. It’s not super sophisticated or anything, but it’s fun and interesting, and it’s definitely qualitative and worth the few bucks it costs. I think it should be much more known.

#aragami #nightfall #steam #stealth #stealth games #3rd person #3rd person stealth #japanese #anime style #lince works #linceworks #action-adventure #actionadventure #assassin #shadowessence #adventuregame #videogame #games

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thecarmillacurator · 5 years

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Love Like Fools - Carmilla Fic Review & Recommendation

Title: Love Like Fools

Author: standardusername on Ao3 and @juststandard on Tumblr

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13245327/chapters/30298521

Word Count: 69K

Chapters: 14

Rating: Mature (For a few episodes of sex later in the story)

Ship: Hollstein

Tags I’d Assign: #fake dating au #hollstein

Author’s Synopsis: At a Christmas eve party, Carmilla tells her mother she is dating Laura, this isn't true. Laura agrees to pretend she is dating Carmilla for next 5 months.

Another fake/pretend relationship AU

Readability: Prose reads smoothly.

Reviewer’s Plot Summary: Non-supernatural, fake-dating AU. The ‘gang’ are long-time friends who meet up routinely at a local bar. Laura is an anchor on a super-early morning local news show, and is best friends and roommates with Perry. Carmilla is best friends with Perry’s significant other, LaFontine. Danny and Kirsch are part of the group. While the others have been friends since freshman year of college, Carmilla is a relatively new addition. And, she was let into the group with a warning by LaF: Laura was off-limits; the group’s dynamic was not to be endangered by Carmilla’s womanizing tendencies. Incidentally, Laura was sternly warned off Carmilla by Perry as well. And that was fine. For Laura, Carmilla’s endless track of women supported Perry’s warning as wise. And to make it easy, Carmilla also wasn’t interested in Laura. A quick lie of convenience by Carm at a Christmas party thrown by her mother, though, and suddenly they’re long-term fake-dating until a business merger can go through. Cue story where they maybe both liked each other after all.

Review: This one isn’t going to bring any high ups or downs in terms of angst or plot surprises, but it’s a pretty quick, satisfying fake-dating read. It isn’t particularly fluffy. The plot doesn’t make the external forces creating their fake relationship overly dramatic. There is some angst and pain, but it is not gut-wrenching. It is more... calm. At a carnival, you might call this the big ferris wheel of fake-dating stories (that will make sense if you read it), rather than a roller coaster or a kiddie ride. It’s nicely smooth and predictable.

The story is written in third person limited, Laura’s point-of-view.

The Good: The good here is- don’t think this odd- it was nice to see Carmilla’s mother as a positive character for once. Not that we need that in this fandom, because let’s face it, Lilita Morgan is a great villain. But, just once, it was nice for there not to be that sort of devious, there’s-a-devil-waiting-to-destroy-Carmilla or hate Laura thing happening. It was refreshing to have a version of Carmilla’s mother who wanted Laura as her daughter’s mate, maybe even more than Carmilla herself did at first.

Also nice about this story is that ‘low-drama, predictability’ thing I mentioned. Hopefully, no one takes this as a slight, because I legitimately, occasionally enjoy having stories that don’t require too much of me as a reader when I’m going through mentally or emotionally draining times in real life. (Do they call those ‘airplane novels’?)

I will say that what was a little out-of-the-norm here, for a fake-relationship AU, was the relative lack of cliche freak-out either of them went through as the relationship built. Until later in the story, when it hit Act III and the ‘rules of writing’ theoretically required there to be some crisis, really, they both kind of went with it, while simultaneously managing to avoid the opposite cliche of going hog-wild in their blind, mutual love. (You know what would be an oddly genius twist to a fake-dating AU? Have the protagonists slip smoothly into the real relationship all the way through Acts I, II, and III, giving the finger to the ‘we must have a crisis’ rule altogether. The closest example of this I can think of is Fade Into You by aliciameade / @aliciameade , a feel-good Bechloe (Pitch Perfect) fic where, yes, there is some emotional crisis, but the characters literally do end up just going with the flow of the ‘fake’ engagement because they both secretly want it. If you have a Carmilla rec for me like this, send it!)

Finally, I loved the idea of Laura being an early morning news anchor who no one (supposedly) watched. It was an adorable fit for her, and if anything, I would liked to have read more of it in the story.

The Concrit: One or two of Carmilla’s flirting instances with other women could have been left out at certain points: There was almost a point I was ready for Laura to cut her losses and walk away.

Secondly, the writer had two or three really great plot decorations on the wall that could have become great multidimensional facets! The first was Lilita’s personality and desire to see Laura and Carmilla together. With her wealth and enthusiasm (and the threats of “spar” practice? Yachts? Horse riding?) there could have easily been one or two cute fluff scenes put in. Also, the business that was being sold was just so *unusual* for what we see owned by Carmilla’s family in fanfiction that some additional fun could’ve been had with that.

(Hey, speaking of rich, benevolent older women: How about someone write me a Heris Serrano AU? Lilita could play the role of Cecelia, the rich space-yacht owner who hires Carmilla (the disgraced, ex-space commander) as the yacht’s captain, and shenanigans ensue. Some smash-up between hound-hunting planets, inter-system political and business intrigue, and The Most Dangerous Game? Laura could be the Petris to Carmilla’s Serrano, except, you know, they could actually get together in the end. Anyone else out there love a good Elizabeth Moon book? Paksennarion anyone? Dorrin Verrakai? Stammel The Blind Archer? Bunny? Esmay? Arvid? I’m just saying. Hit me up with some Elizabeth Moon love to chat if you’re lonely.)

NEXT IN THE QUE: Yes, we’ve reached that month of Fake-Relationship AUs I was talking about. Almost all reviews for the next four weeks are already pre-drafted and ready to go.

Remember: Please please please… if you enjoy the stories I review and recommend- whether you’ve only just read them because of my reviews or you’ve read them in the past and these rec’s remind you of them- stop by the authors and send them some love. They’ve given a tremendous amount of their time, effort, and passion to provide us with high-quality, free entertainment that keeps Carmilla alive for us. Let’s thank them. (I’m not looking for props, either: You don’t even have to mention this blog; just send them a note or a comment to let them know they’re appreciated!)

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in-for-a-drama · 4 years

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Extraordinary You (2019)

The drama has been released in October of the last year. This review contains loooots of spoilers for both webtoon and drama. I watched it in spring since it’s so full of hope and youth and vibrance, but it is warm enough to save you from autumn melancholy and winter snowstorms.

Extraordinary You is based on Daum webtoon “July found by chance” which was the highlight of 2018-2019 for me. And I still patiently wait for every single chapter.

Actually I hesitated watching this drama ever since I heard of the release. So far I’ve encountered lots of webtoons turned into dramas I wanted to unwatch. I felt the writers would go all astray with the story and characters and I would feel angry because of my favorite scenes and characters.

First of all I have to assure you, I really enjoyed this drama, I binge watched it, like, 16 episodes in 2 days, and for the record, usually even if I like the drama, I still finish it over a week, about 2-3 episodes per day.

Secondly, the creators did completely rewrite the plot, the scenes, the characters. Some of the scenes and concepts still remained but overall the changes were big enough so that I could watch this as a separate work.

Still, there were changes in concepts I personally deem unnecessary.

The plot. The rich schoolgirl with a weak heart since birth and a one-sided crush, Dan-Oh, gradually realizes there’s something wrong with her. It turns out she’s actually a character in a romance shoujo comic book. And she isn’t eve the protagonist, more of an extra character. Such a pitiful fate since the author can get rid of her anytime. She decides to change her own fate. Later she gets to know another extra without a name, her classmate. Dan-Oh realizes that as an extra without much presence in the story he is capable of affecting the story in his own small ways. They become close and Dan-Oh gives him a name - Haru.

Haru and Eun Dan-oh

Have to say, I loved the main couple. They’re so cute!!! I also really love when the protagonist isn’t introduced from the very beginning and isn’t obvious, we can see some clues of Haru in the first episode, but we actually get to see him only in the second. And I love Haru way too much both in the webtoon and in the drama, at the beginning he is so mysterious, a bit dazed and yet so warm. And as his character develops, he shows different traits, determination, despair to save his beloved, jealousy etc. Yes, Haru is definitely my favorite.

Dan-Oh had a different interpretation from the webtoon, but different is not bad. The actress is not too beautiful but she is charismatic and cute. Her smile is absolutely charming. And I love the way she cries - it’s real and her face becomes a bit ugly but I can totally believe her grief. As a sarcastic person I would have liked to say she cries too much, but actually every single time she cried - there was a proper reason, I mean, who wouldn’t cry, I would totally wreck my nervous system with all those meta rollercoasters.

Compared to the webtoon the dynamics in the couple have changed because of the changes in Dan-Oh character. Dan-Oh in the webtoon is more serious and strong-willed. Dan-Oh in the drama is more light-spirited. The drama creators decided to do the classical trope where the heroine is often in the dark.

Have to say I liked and not liked at the same time what the writers have done with the story. I personally am really fond the concept of nameless extra becoming aware and falling in love with Dan-Oh. Without there being some kind of fate and dark story behind it. And then in the drama they show the scar and like how come the nameless extra with no features except for handsomeness gets to have a scar?

There wasn’t such a thing in the webtoon so obviously I started to suspect something like past connection from the very beginning. I still loved the storyline, the way they brought in the previous book, Trumpet Creeper. And I just loved the characters in all-those... um... Joseon? clothes (sorry if I’m wrong about the time).

Another thing I have to point out - the characters’ motives. In the drama Dan-Oh originally became close to Haru because of his ability to change the stage (comics scene). And it’s in the second half of the story when she realizes her feelings for him. They have such good chemistry from the very beginning. And then Dan-Oh goes all “Omg! I love him! That can’t be!” and I find myself facepalming a bit. I mean. In what way she is different from all those classic romance novels heroines? Thank god the writers didn’t drag that for way too long, not enough to get annoyed.

Still. what I really like about the webtoon. It’s not that the webtoon Dan-Oh wanted to rebel by completely changing the story. No. She wanted to find her first love by herself, from the very beginning. And that’s how she found Haru. They’re such a couple from the very beginning. And that’s just a biiiiiig difference.

In the drama Dan-Oh mentions somewhere in the last episodes that Haru is her true first love. But that was not her intention from the very beginning, just the way it turned out. Ad the actors look so cute together, their difference in weight is adorable and I’m also satisfied with the acting.

To sum it up, I thoroughly enjoy the dynamics in the Haru-Dan-Oh relationship both in the webtoon and in the drama. They’re just different. I personally recommend first watching the drama and only then reading the webtoon.

Baek Kyung

I think I mentioned but I really love the cast. The actor playing Kyung did his best. I mean if it were another actor I would have seen Kyung as no one but a total asshole. But I could really see the confusion and internal struggles here. Also the previous book storyline enabled us to feel more for Kyung, how he was written by the author as nothing but a really bad character for two books straight. I could feel his loneliness and despair to find out who he truly is apart from his character. In the webtoon I simply can’t feel anything for this character XD

Also I really loved the way they introduced Kyung’s little brother. Maybe I have missed some of the scenes but I don’t remember him in Trumpet Creeper? But he is definitely a very interesting and mysterious character. I hope he stays by Kyung’s side in the next book and the spend lots of good time together.

Do-hwa and Juda

I can’t believe I enjoyed their storyline so much. Jung Gun-joo, the actor playing Do-hwa was nominated for the best new actor for this role. And no wonder. He was truly extraordinary as Do-hwa struggling within his boundaries of supporting character. His one-sided love and inability to do what he want in the stage was just heartbreaking. Do-hwa is definitely the highlight of the whole drama. And I laughed because of his violin dilemma. And I cried because of his love for Joo-da.How he slowly came to realize that his actions cause hurt to the other characters. Ouch. I really hope in the next books he finds happiness. With Joo-da or with someone else.

And Joo-da. I really hoped she will get her ego. But honestly I couldn’t see their story with Do-hwa ending in any way but heartbreak for Do-hwa. Still. I really enjoyed the way Joo-da turned out to be once she got her ego. Every scene with her was delightful since then. And the way she herself admitted she wanted to date both... I really want to hug Do-hwa.

Namju didn’t leave any impression throughout the story except for the last episode strawberry jumper. And I laughed at the scene Joo-da gave Namju the spending diary (I myself wouldn’t mind one, have been anxious of my spending habits lately).

Miscellaneous

The Squid Fairy and his lover storyline was cute though too short. Glad they didn’t have much drama and got to spend time together in Secret.

The finale of the story left many questions but overall I got the picture. So they’re still together in the new book. But. Where’s Do-hwa??? And it seems Joo-da will still go for Namju... And I can’t tell who the protagonists are. I made myself think that this is some loooong new series by the author based on the students’ calm everyday (except for exams) life and that Haru and Dan-Oh can live happily ever after in this and next books as extraordinary characters.

Some concepts I really missed in the drama which are in the webtoon

1. The sky

The scene in both the drama and the webtoon where Haru gives Dan-oh the starry sky. The webtoon thing is that all the scenes in Secret happen during the daytime. And that’s why Dan-oh would like to see the starry sky. The not disappearing hole in the curtain holds a special meaning for Haru and Dan-oh. In the drama the creators made it so the whole give me the starry sky wish comes from the previous book. And there’re night scenes in the Secret. Though without the stars, yes.

2. The flying furniture

In the webtoon there’s a special place for Dan-Oh and Haru - the flying bench, a mistake made by the artist (and as I draw myself I can feel this deeply, sometimes you just don’t calculate something right and then that box or bench is way too high). In the drama there’re just random things flying everywhere in the shadow. And there’s also that black hole that appears in all the right places, gives scars and shows previous lives... I mean... *long sigh*

3. The artist presence

What I really love about the webtoon. We all know that artists and writers have to stay objective and do what they want to the story without listening to anyone’s opinion. But at the same time they can’t help to see the comments, what makes the readers annoyed or what they would like.

In the webtoon “July found by chance” sometimes we’re given glimpses of the comments to the webtoon “Secrets”. That gives us another perspective, how the artist thinks, how the readers react. And that’s just so exciting! Compared to the webtoon, in the drama The artist seems too distant.

Oh. I’ve really written a lot.

Hope you enjoy/ed the webtoon and drama as much as I did.

And now I’m off to watch “Touch” while I still have some time off *_*

I’ll also have to do the best 2019 dramas list at some point (at least for my own use).

#k drama #korean drama #tv show #korean drama review #extraordinary you #july found by chance #daum #mbc tv #mbc drama #romance drama

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alectoperdita · 4 years

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I followed you because of Lucifer but now I am getting interested in Yu-Gi-Oh and was wondering if it has a manga and if so is it good?

Ah! I’m gonna be honest, I always assumed if I was gonna sway people from one fandom to the other: it was going to be the other way around. So cool that the random YGO posts actually piqued your interest!

Yes, there is a manga! It is 343 chapters long. I’m personally quite fond of it. Keep in mind that it is a product of its time so the early humor is very mid-late-90s (especially in its treatment of female characters/the male gaze, which mostly drops off by about volume 7). If you want to read the manga in English, the official translations are done by Viz’s English division (I think they’re mostly sold as omnibus with multiple volumes now). I cannot attest to the quality of Viz’s translation though. I originally read the manga in Chinese and have since reviewed the unofficial English scanlations instead. There are a number of sites out there where you can find the scanlations, but they are of varying quality (from good to bad).

I think reading the first 60 chapters/7 volumes will help determine how you might want to continue consuming the canon. Obviously, if you like the manga, you can and should finish it. It will give you the entire story.

If your favorite parts were the following, you may want to consider also looking at the following:

You liked the varied games/episodic nature/dark mood/high stakes of the early manga, you might want to watch the first Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series by Toei. It was never localized in English, so you would have to watch it with Japanese audio and English subtitles. There appears to be an English fandub project on Youtube, but I cannot attest to its quality. This anime is a bit hard to find now, but it must still be out there for torrenting if you want. This anime adapts those first 60 chapters with some creative license.

If you crave the card game and somewhat higher quality animation, check out the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters! There are 224 episodes and completely glosses over those early 60 chapters. Some of it is implied to have happened, but it can taken as a separate continuity. The story still more or less ends up at the same place as the manga’s ending.You can legally watch all the seasons except for the last one (for some reason) in the Japanese audio with subs in the US on Crunchyroll.com. If you want to watch it in English, the 4Kids dub is available in the US on Hulu. I honestly do not recommend the English dub if you’re interested in the story. We didn’t have readily available options back in 2005, thankfully we do now.

If you enjoy Kaiba Seto as a character, omg, definitely watch the Duel Monsters anime. There are entire filler arcs devoted to Kaiba’s characterization/development. No one stans Kaiba Seto as hard as the series animators istg.

“Oh, this is all so dumb, how can anyone take this stuff seriously?” Check out Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series, a fandub devoted to lampooning all the ridiculousness 10+ years in the making

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Also if you’re looking at my YGO content, you’re also looking at my puppyshipping/violetshipping content? My ship is so very not canon. I dunno. I feel like I should flag that since Deckerstar is very canon and Kaijou is very not. Yay! Expectation setting!

#Anonymous #replies #I feel like I should be making a flow chart #I haven't even mentioned the movies #And then there are the other spinoff series #But let's stick to the original series #anon #feel free to drop into my askbox again #I'd love to tell you more if you have other questions #yugioh

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elliepassmore · 3 years

Text

Children of Blood and Bone review

4.5/5 stars Recommended for people who like: magic, fantasy, non-Western fantasy, multiple POVs, A Song of Wraiths and Ruins I really liked the worldbuilding and thought the world was very vibrant. I liked that the story took us to multiple different places so we got to see a wide range of Orïsha's environments and people. Adeyemi did a good job of incorporating maji/diviners-kosidan relationships into each location so that they felt realistic. One town might have a mix of both where the maji/diviners get shaken down by the guards in a 'normal' way while the next might be brutal for the maji/diviners, and yet another might treat them as relative equals. The way the guards treated the maji/diviners was also realistic, unfortunately, and you can definitely see the influences of real-world laws and actions in the ones present in Orïsha. The magic system overall makes sense and I don't think it needs a ton of explaining: diviners as baby!maji who will get their powers from one of the gods/esses at age 13, the magic is usually passed through the maternal line so kids tend to have the same kind of magic as the mom's, and there are chants/prayers/incantations to the gods that allow the magic to flow. Simple enough. However, the incantations end up getting a bit tricky later on in the book. For one, we pretty much always see Zelie using incantations when she calls her magic, but some of the other magic-using characters are never mentioned as using incantations. While some of them, like Zélie, probably remember a few from before the Raid, that can't be true for all of them, especially ones who are too young or who get a power that doesn't correspond with one their parent had. So that bit felt a little rushed, but overall I liked the magic system in the book and Zélie's way of describing magic was interesting. As for Zélie herself: she's got a fire in her and she's determined to get things done, even if she sometimes doubts her abilities to lead. She balances herself quite well between being afraid of the guards and retaliation and rebellion, and generally seems to keep a good balance, though I do have to agree with Tzain that sometimes she does stuff without thinking. I particularly liked how much joy she took from her diviner/maji heritage and her awareness that simply living her heritage was rebellion within itself. There was a bit toward the end where she was getting doubtful about magic which was kind of confusing since she'd also used magic to fight and for more debatable reasons, but whatever. Overall I liked her character. With Amari I was kind of lost at first as to how people could call her a badass, but I definitely get it now. I'll will admit that I didn't and still don't see how she and Zelie are such great friends. Friends, definitely. But best friends? I don't think they're there yet. Something I definitely appreciate about Amari was how willing she was to learn. Some of the things she came into contact with once outside the palace scared her, but she was open to explanations and other perspectives, which was great considering her upbringing (and considering Inan's chapters). I feel like Amari really came into herself in the second half of the book. She finally gets a chance to fight for something she believes in and I think it helped transform her character from someone who shied away from the blade she knew how to use to someone who would wield a sword to defend herself and others. I could definitely see her becoming a commander of some kind in the future, though I'm not entirely sure if 'queen' suits her (I am not entirely certain the title 'ruler' suits anyone in this book). Inan is the last POV character and he was...he was a lot. Amari and Zelie are definitely my favorites, but Inan is someone I could probably do with having less page time. This boy has zero convictions of his own and is completely unable to look past his nose. Unlike Amari, he continues to believe his father's words even traveling around and doesn't really spare a second thought to how reality might actually be. The one thing I'll say in his defense is that Amari did have Binta growing up and was able to see that at least one diviner wasn't bad, which I do think helped for her to generalize this idea to other diviners/maji, whereas Inan didn't have a figure like that in his life. But enough of that. Inan is wishy-washy and swings one way then the other (though never completely all the way), and he is far too willing to return to his old ideals when things get challenging or scary. I mean, for fuck's sake he isn't even really the one suffering most of these times and is still all too ready to give up. Like, please grow a spine, buddy. I do think Adeyemi actually did a really good job of writing Inan in the sense that she manages to capture the effects abuse and gaslighting and show just how much of an effect those things can have on your psyche. So in that sense Inan was a 'good' character, but I don't think he's a good person nor do I like him. Tzain was someone whom I felt was in the background for a lot of the book. He supports Zelie and is willing to go off with her to do all these things and protects her and stands by her even when she fucks up. He is also able to be nice to Amari despite her being the princess and the daughter of the man who caused a lot of his problems. From what we do see of him Tzain seems to have a good sense of humor and is funny at times. He's also clearly holding in a lot of pain, trauma, and responsibility, though he rarely shows it. I definitely think he feels responsible for his father and Zelie and that whenever something bad happens to either of them he feels guilty, even if there was nothing he could've done. While he blames Zélie for a lot of things, which I don't like AT ALL but at the same time understand needing to direct your anger somewhere, I get the feeling he's mostly blaming himself. In terms of relationships. Someone please explain to me why there needed to be any in this book in the first place? Inan and Zélie are the main pairing, which is just dumb af since he wants to kill her for almost the entirety of the book then, after like two whole days of being together, they decide everything's fine and dandy and start kissing. I side with Tzain on this one, even if his phrasing wasn't great. I'll be honest, the Zélie and Inan's whole relationship just confuses me. I don't understand why they like each other other than 'insta-love' and I don't understand 1) why Zélie's willing to Risk It All after Inan being nice for two days, and 2) why she's willing to continue the relationship after what happens with Saran. Perhaps my biggest issue with them is Inan's so-called love wherein he thinks taking away magic will protect Zélie...completely ignoring the fact that part of Zélie is magic. *SPOILER, SKIP TO NEXT PARAGRAPH TO AVOID* That complete and utter dumbass doesn't seem to connect the fact that he stopped feeling Zélie's soul when Zélie stopped feeling magic. Like? Brains? No brains here. *SPOILER END* Okay, moving on. Tzain and Amari have better prospects for romance. Adeyemi set them up from the very beginning, even if Tzain might've initially seen her as a pretty face. They grow to like and respect for one another and I feel like their relationship could actually go somewhere. But why, why oh why does Adeyemi make Amari mention the L-word? Like, honey, you are not in love with this boy after only knowing him a week. Crush, sure. Love, no. But that matters not, since there is at least the potential. Actually, something re: relationships that I felt Adeyemi kind of brushed over (and it seems like other reviews also had this same thought) has to do with Amari. She is very much coded to be bi and it's written as if she and Binta had a romantic relationship, but Adeyemi never follows through with this. I honestly thought that Amari and Zelie were going to be the main pairing of the book at first, or failing that that Amari would have feelings for Zélie, Zélie wouldn't reciprocate, then Amari would move on to another female character. But nope. Nada. I mean, Tzain's good too, but it's just weird the way the whole thing with Amari's romantic interest(s) was/were written. Now onto something else: the throne. While becoming the next ruler isn't an outright object for either Inan or Amari (or anyone else), being heir definitely sits on Inan's shoulders and drives a lot of what he does. Likewise, Amari comes to the realization that if she were the next on the throne she could help the diviners/maji and overturn the laws and the system that her father created. The current king, Saran, sucks all around and definitely doesn't deserve his head being attached to his body. But we already knew that. The point is, Inan is clearly not good for Orïsha because he can't form his own convictions and leans solely on what he's been taught to think is right. He does, however, think he is the only person who can keep Orïsha safe and protected. Amari, on the other hand, knows she won't be queen and doesn't seem to really want to be queen until she realized what that could mean for what she believes in. However, and there's always a 'however,' she also kind of has Mad Queen Energy about her at times after she makes this decision. She is, in my opinion, also not a great contender for the throne. As mentioned, I think she'd make a great general, but there's something about her that makes me hesitate before supporting her bid for the throne. Do I think she'd be better than Saran or Inan? Absolutely. But probably so would Yemi, that doesn't mean she should get the throne. Perhaps I am merely feeling particularly democratic today, but I don't believe an absolute monarch will help Orïsha. If we are being realistic, I don't even know if a democratic one would either, but power in the hands of a diverse many would probably be better than power in the hands of one. Overall I enjoyed the story. I thought the plot was good and I enjoyed going with the characters as they (mostly) struggled to get magic back. Inan served to be a good character for demonstrating how our childhood can influence the kind of people we become and also serves as a nice foil to Amari, who has decided to be the opposite of her brother. Zélie is a good character to follow since she's so alive. She's got so much rage and love and fear and fire that pushes her every step of the way and helps her overcome so many things. I knocked off half a star for the frivolous reason that I don't like Inan and Zélie's romance and don't think it was necessary for the book. I'll be honest, the book was great, it was tough for me to put down even when I needed to, but for some reason I just don't have any desire to find out what happens in the next one. It's a bit like A Song of Wraiths and Ruin like that for me. I just...don't feel it. I don't think it has anything to do with either book since I couldn't make myself finish reading a new book by one of my favorite authors even though I was enjoying it so...just that kind of year, I suppose.

#book #book review #booklr #tomi adeyemi #children of blood and bone #zelie adebola #magic #fantasy #ya fantasy #characters of color #multiple pov #non-western fantasy

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quaggathemighty · 4 years

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Stepsister, by Jennifer Donnelly: an emotional, messy review.

Recommended For: fantasy, ya, feminist, fairy tale, coming of age stories, girl protagonist, adventure lovers

This will be as close to a spoiler-free review as I can make it.

"It's the hunger in our hearts that kills us."

Have you ever read a book that so thoroughly encompassed everything you ever wanted to put on paper? That ripped into the deepest part of you and dragged you along by your emotions until you're raw and hopeful and shattered and fired up all at once? Because I just have.

The Summary:

“Isabelle should be blissfully happy - she's about to win the handsome prince. Except Isabelle isn't the beautiful girl who lost the slipper and captured the prince's heart. She's the ugly stepsister who cut off her toes to fit into Cinderella's shoe... which is now filling with blood.

When the prince discovers Isabelle's deception, she's turned away in shame. It's no more than she deserves. She cut away pieces of herself in order to become pretty. Sweet. More like Cinderella. But that only made her mean, jealous, and hollow. Now she has a chance to alter her destiny and prove what ugly stepsisters have always known:

It takes more than heartache to break a girl."

My Thoughts:

Isabelle is not pretty. She's jealous and she struggles and while she fiercely loves her sister she often feels lost and afraid, or angry and hateful to the world that left her behind. She cut off her toes because her absolutely mad mother demanded it, heating a knife over the fire while she berates her into obeying, and as a result Isabelle's bitterness and jealousy might even kill her. But as the story unfolds she's also breathtakingly passionate and brave and confident and fiery, and she grows a lot over the course of the story, learning to set aside what everyone else has labeled her (and indeed sometimes what she's labeled herself because of their cruelty), to become her own woman. She's strong and real and well written, and I love her. I want to be her. Goddamn I want every girl to be her. To be their own Elizabeth, Yennenga, Abhaya Rani. Strong, brave, dangerous. Beautiful in their own right, and not always on the surface like the world wants.

"Each queen was once a girl like you. Told who to be and what to do. Not pretty, not pleasing, far too rough. Til wounded subjects, anguished dead, mattered more than things the others said. Then, like a flag, her will unfurled. Go now, girl. Remake the world."

UUUGHhhh. Can we just talk about this book PLEASE? Can this get more of a following so I can scream and rave and flail and ugly cry with more people who loved this book? Oh my god. There are so many things about this book I like, from the way she fought for and protected her sister, to the way she grew to see past the jealousy her mother instilled in her against Ella, to the way it doesn't pit the girls against each other for their vastly different strengths. Well, except for one, but I'll get to that.

The book opens up on what has to be one of the most heart-wrenching, cringe-worthy scenes I've ever read in a young adult novel, and it's that scene with the cutting of the feet and the bloody shoes (yes, from the original myth, this ain't no Disney remake, y'all, it gets gory and doesn't hide from it) is what made me actually come back and buy the book. Isabelle had me by the heartstrings the whole goddamn read. For a girl who never grew up as conventionally attractive, who was always too loud or too brash or never had the right interests (witchcraft, necromancy, and vampires, anyone? No? Don't hide your cringe years from me, I know you had them too), seeing a book properly take these oddities and this 'ugliness', and teach a young woman to learn to accept and even love these things about herself, even though it doesn't get her what she's been told she has to want, but instead pushes her to find her own path? Ugh. Yes. Give me a thousand more of these stories, I could do this all day.

Also, boyfriend cries and has open, deep emotions. What?? A young man in touch with his feelings, that doesn't have to be physically strong to be a good man, that is allowed to be physically weak and emotionally open, and have his own strengths and weaknesses that don't boil down to a six pack and a brooding personality? In a YA FANTASY BOOK?! Hold me.

I rooted for Isabelle the whole way though. I cringed with her, I held my breath, I cheered, I finished the book emotionally exhausted and ready to fucking fight. I haven't felt this pumped up after consuming a story or a piece of media since I went to see Captain Marvel for the first time in theaters, and hot damn, y'all, woman-centric stories that don't revolve around the approval of a man or the need to be petty and spiteful to other women are my jam . I will absolutely be shoving this book in the face of every woman, teenage girl, and preteen female I know, all but begging them to give this book a shot. I read the whole thing in one sitting, the same day I bought it just as a way to pass the time and... mmmm.

I'm gonna try and keep this as spoiler-free as possible, just because I don't want to give anything away, but yeah. On to the genuine criticisms.

Honestly? I didn't have that many. There were a couple of places where I was kind of annoyed, like the catty girl in the village that I wanted rid of, but the way it was handled in relation to Isabelle's story makes me more forgiving, if only for the way she learns to control her temper and not goad more fights out of people that don't really need an excuse. It bothers me that she has to just sit there and take it for her sister's sake, but... maybe that's just because it hits too close to home for some of us. It's a relatively small part of the book and I'm really not too fussed in the long run.

One thing that did throw me at first was the inclusion of the other points of view, like the skip from Isabelle's first chapter in the beginning to the introduction of "Chance," whose band of miscreants and misfits is a little distracting at first, but ultimately entertaining once you figure out how they're involved, and who serves as a sort of 'greater story' framing device for the real world conflicts taking place in the background. "Chance" and "Fate's" cat and mouse game ended up being one of my favorite parts of the underlying tensions in the story, and really helped drive home how make or break Isabelle's ultimate path was, even after she ended up going in a direction no one, not even herself, expected in the end. But it really added to the whole "we make our own path and only we can tell our story" message that ended up getting told as the underlying themes for the whole book. And I can thank it for that.

Right. Now. The big block quote I used up above. Chance decides he needs to tip the scales somewhat, and his whole part of the narrative so far as Isabelle can tell is as a rich eccentric trying to get his misfits and servants to help him put on a play. The play ends up... less a play, and more an inspirational third act speech meant to give Isabelle the push she needs to go and 'do the thing!', and as such it's... kind of cheesy, in hindsight. But at the same time while wrapped up in the story I didn't really notice it save to get super emotional and flaily about how many names were on that list that weren't centered around white western history, and I'm totally here for it. I am absolutely down with the cheese if it brings about the good feels, and the bolster to Isabelle's courage it gave delivered.

I also really like that one of the men driving the story kept pushing that love was what she needed, and automatically brought in a boy to do the job, but it ended up being Isabelle's love for her horse, herself, and her family, and the forgiveness of her step-sister, that really did the trick. Thank you so much Jennifer Donnelly, for not making this be about a man.

I really wish this review could do it more justice, but I'm pushing the limits of my word count as it is, and I don't want to risk repeating the ugly, happy blubbering I was doing at the end of the story. Suffice it to say I ABSOLUTELY recommend this book to anyone who likes fairy tales, feminist stories, girl-centered stories, coming of age stories, fantasies, everyone, really. I can't sum it up any better than Jennifer Donnelly herself in the forward of this book: "To everyone who's ever felt like they're not enough."

SNIIIIFFF. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go eat a pint of ice cream and watch Xena: Warrior Princess reruns with my puppy. Peace!

#stepsister #jennifer donnelly #ya fantasy #book review #fairy tale #cinderella #cinderella retelling #omg yall im gonna die this book destroyed me #ugly sobbing over my computer at 2am #feminist roar #READ THIS BOOK #QuaggaReads

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pfenniged · 4 years

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3, 7, 9, 15, 18

booknet ask game (Apologies for the delay!):

3. what was the last book you rated 1/5?

Probably this horrific and justifiably priced 0.25 cent paperback I got from the library book sale. I care so little about the title I’m not even going to bother getting up to look at it, but basically it was somehow involving a mystery on a liner heading to New York, and The Kennedys circa 1941 when Joe (’God what a terrible person’) Kennedy was ambassador to England (And casual Nazi supporter/isolationist, lovely).

But the book promises you that it will mostly talk about Rosemary Kennedy as a character. Which I liked, because in case you don’t know, Rosemary Kennedy was JFK’s sister who was considered the ‘prettiest’ of all the Kennedy girls, but also constantly was on a diet because she ‘put on weight easily’ (Poor girl), and because she was seen as ‘simple.’ Supposedly when she was in her early twenties, she had the mental capacities or a naive thirteen year old/ writing level of an eight year old. They kept basically shoving her into boarding schools to try to push her forward in terms of education, but obviously when she most likely had something like a severe case of autism, there weren’t exactly many programs that directly addressed those who were learning disabled, and being a Kennedy, they most likely were like PUSH HER THROUGH IT AND SHE’LL BE FINE (Great, thanks guys).

All this being said, there is proof in terms of letters that basically everyone was afraid, because once she became a teenager, she started running away from these schools or sneaking out late at night, and they were literally worried because of how ‘naive’ she was, that she’d end up getting pregnant by some weirdo guy forcing himself on her/ convincing her to have sex. What most normal people/historians think now, is that she saw her brother being John F. Kennedy, El Primo Playboy of the World 1941, dating movie stars and having a buttload of friends (As my older brother used to say), and she obviously wanted to be involved in this glamorous, fun life with the rest of her family, rather than shoved away at some crappy boarding school with nuns the age of time immemorial (Understandable). (Also, for what it’s worth, JFK basically WAS a great older brother, for what I’ve heard, and wanted his parents to loosen up on her. He involved her in his social groups if she was around and never pushed her into anything that someone with her ‘limitations’ might be hurt by).

So of course the natural thing would be to do is to give her a lobotomy so she doesn’t run away, and of course, it had some horrific side effects and basically killed her personality entirely from all accounts, making her basically a human vegetable with only a shadow of the person she’d been before. After that Joe ‘I’m the Worst’ Kennedy carted his daughter off, and debatably, depending on who you ask, she was basically ignored by most of the family for 60+ years of her living in a care home, or embraced in private (The Kennedy message/propaganda/nice try guys). There’s really only consistent public photos of Ted Kennedy visiting her, because besides the whole ‘I accidentally murdered a woman I was having an affair with’ thing, Ted was the baby and seemed actually like ironically the most ‘Christian’ in the most broadest sense of the word besides Bobby Kennedy (Yes, I know they’re Catholic, it’s an analogy).

So bringing this back to this awful book, the ‘mystery’ on the cruise liner shit basically seemingly revolves around Rosemary pre-lobotomy and how she wants to get married to a ‘coloured jazz man.’ BUT THIS NEVER FACTORS INTO THE PLOT. NONE OF THE HISTORICAL FIGURES ABOARD DO EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE ‘POV’ CHAPTERS ASIDE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.

You heard me right. xD I KNOW IT’S THE 1940S IN THE BOOKS AND THERE’S FAR WORSE THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE AND THE JAZZ MAN IS NICE AND ALL BUT DAMN IT’S SORT OF THE WORST, BECAUSE THEY BASICALLY MAKE THIS THE ENTIRE REASON FOR HER LOBOTOMY AND WHILE THEORETICALLY IT WOULD FIT IN WITH JOE’S MOTIVATIONS HISTORICALLY, IT JUST CAME OFF AS SUPER SKEEZY AND UGH. Mostly the book A) Actually did a considerable job giving Rosemary a sweet and loving personality that you like, but considering what you know if you’re probably reading this book and how they’re just dropping bread crumbs the entire way through, it’s just incredibly morbid and bleh.

If you’re going to write historical characters and fiction well, at least have something more to back it up than ‘Racism was more (outwardly) prevalent back then so she was going to be in an interracial relationship so lobotomy.” It just came off as conflating two important issues (The rights of the learning disabled to date and have families of their own, and interracial romances versus status in society), and just came out to justify it for a lobotomy we never even see. (Trust me, I’m making it sound far more interesting than it is).

Plus the mystery on the liner is the main aspect of the story, and I think that’s what makes it the worst: This author just chose to have these random historical figures on BECAUSE, and considering Rosemary’s background and what we know happened to her, it just seemed like a pretty desperate ploy to reel people in (like myself), and have them go, “Wait, this is just a sub-par mystery book, not a historical mystery book: She used that whole actual living person who existed and who was screwed over by her own family as ‘shock value’ and a ‘hook’ for the audience.” Double EW.

7. what was the last book that made you cry?

Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese, who is unfortunately no longer with us but a BEACON of Canadian Literature, and I'm SO sad he didn’t get to write more books, because his writing style is BEAUTIFUL and poetic.

“Saul Indian Horse is an alcoholic Ojibway man who finds himself the reluctant resident of an alcohol treatment centre after his latest binge. To come to peace with himself, he must tell his story. Richard Wagamese takes readers on the often difficult journey through Saul's life, from his painful forced separation from his family and land when he's sent to a residential school to the brief salvation he finds in playing hockey. The novel is an unflinching portrayal of the harsh reality of life in 1960s Canada, where racism reigns and Saul's spirit is destroyed by the alienating effects of cultural displacement.”

What you also don’t get about the book from this review, is the role hockey plays as being central to the narrative. In that moment, and when Saul is young, inside his own head, he is just what we as the reader see him as: A young boy who loves a sport and finds it freeing. A PERSON. A kid who loves hockey.

He’s so good that he has a chance to make it to the NHL. He’s good enough to play on the ‘white teams,’ but when he starts beating white players, grown men and women throw things at him, like plastic ‘Indians’ from a ‘Cowboy and Indian’ set.

He is a skilled player. He has raw talent. But to make it to the next level, and because they won’t let him be on the team in any other role, because a Native man can’t become a skilled star in 1960s Canada, he has to become a ‘goon.’ There’s actually a moment in the book where he snaps, and it’s so well written and heartbreaking, where it’s like this Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde dynamic inside of him, where he literally just goes, “Okay? You want me to be a bloodthirsty ‘Indian’? Then I’ll be that for you.”

There’s also a movie I haven’t had the guts to watch all the way through, because I tried watching it on a plane ride from Australia to Canada without actually having read the book first, and having no idea what the movie was about aside from hockey and Indigenous culture, and Jesus Christ IT KILLED ME. I’m terrible at flying, had been throwing up and thoroughly miserable for about three hours at that point on the plane, tried to turn on a movie to distract myself, and within ten minutes, I was like “No, I think sticking to the vomiting is justified.” (To give you an idea of the directing style, it’s bizarrely produced by uber-Republican yet ‘weirdly-obsessed with Indigenous people’ movie star Clint Eastwood. If you’ve seen his other films and how sparse and depressing they can be, you can only IMAGINE what this material lends itself to. So I’d really stick to reading the book first. Because Wagamese’s voice is so much stronger within the book, and the pain and horror poor Saul is exposed to serves a purpose within the larger narrative much more clearly, and even when he is an alcoholic, he still is able to find hope within himself and returning to his people, and that’s a beautiful thing that I think was lost in the portions of the film I was able to catch.) Check it out: It was only written in 2012, but it’s already being heralded as a ‘classic’ in Canadian Indigenous Literature.

9. do you actually check out books that have been recommended for you?

I do. I might not actually READ them, but I’ll at least check out a snippet on Amazon to see if it’s my cup of tea. So if anyone has any recommendations, go right on ahead <3

15. how do you feel about reading buddies?

I would love a reading buddy! <3 Feel free to message me if you’re keen. <3

18. what was your favourite book when you were 10?

Probably something by Roald Dahl or The Hobbit, if we’re talking sheer escapism or enjoyment (Or the original run of Harry Potter). My Dad is an English teacher, so I was always reading older books than were probably age-appropriate (I was placed at a college-reading level at twelve on an assessment test), so other than that, a lot of classic literature: Just name it, I’ve probably read it.

I also was a nerd who decided to read the entire dictionary back to front somewhere around this time and copy down all the words I actually didn’t know on a list, so that was a hobby. xD I guess I could count that as a ‘favourite book.’ (-Insert Homer Simpson “NEEeeeRRRddddd” gif here-).

#asteriah #sorry this took too long bb! <3 #answers #personal #literature

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bluehhj · 5 years

Text

(don't) love me ˀˀ - one

(DON’T) LOVE ME [“LISTEN TO ME” SPIN-OFF]

CHAPTER 01 || M.LIST

WORDS: 1.1K

a/n: just for you guys not to forget; the narrations will be made from Chaerin's point of view

It started in July, on a Thursday that should have been normal like every other so far.

End of semester is always a mess.

There are people who finish their exams and disappear from college, carrying with them the certainty that their grades were so excellent that they no longer have to worry about anything until the beginning of next semester, as well as there are people who go into despair and, in cases more seriously, they drop out of courses because they are no longer willing to shell out the significant amount that the facilities imposed as a condition.

Fortunately, I fit into the first group, because I struggled to keep the averages in the assessments and devoted myself to all the work, aware that they were always worth more.

Still, at that end of the semester, however, the mess — not necessarily related to academia — was finally present in my day and, unlike the others, it had a first and last name.

I don't know if it was the idea of the dean or any of the institution's coordinators, but scheduling a lecture in the auditorium, when the rooms were not even forty percent full, could have been too frustrating. I myself was only there to deliver a work that was accidentally lost from the portfolio and my courage to endure three massive hours of content that we would have to review in the next period was less than zero, although neurolinguistics was a subject that interested me greatly.

Given my almost tangible indisposition, I really would have gone home without even thinking twice, yet, there was an obstacle: Kim Taeyeon, our favorite professor.

Taeyeon was one of those people who you can't say no. She knew how to convince anyone without even saying much, so much that five minutes of conversation was enough for the fifteen people in the class to give in. In my case, I was sorry to say no to her little eyes and was seduced by the promise of several additional hours we would earn at the end of the course. Besides, I didn't have much to do outside, because, even though Jisung was in our house, we would do nothing but waste our time watching old movies.

So I went.

We were not alone in the auditorium, the medical and physiotherapy classes gathered there as well as the latest sound and image details were organized by the team responsible for structuring the lecture.

My class has never been an example of friendship and collective companionship. From the beginning of the course, the room was divided into a dozen cliques that rarely mingled with the rest any longer than group work required.

Personally speaking, I had nothing against anyone, but I felt more comfortable around three specific people: Lee Minho, Ha Sooyoung and Jeon Jungkook.

Because of fate, none of the three came to class that day, so I sat in any chair, not paying attention to my company until the end of the lecture, and perhaps that was my first slip.

I could have stood by San, Mingi, and Wooyoung, even though they had an annoying craze of laughing too loudly in inappropriate places, or maybe I could have ignored how Jinah looked in love at Im Jaebum and sat next to her and Jade, but no. I preferred to be alone and kept going for the next few minutes until he asked if he could sit in the empty chair next to mine and what must have meant nothing turned out to be everything.

My movements were limited to a shake of the head. If he found me rude, he didn't show it. But the truth was, I couldn't express any kind of more energetic reaction, and that should not have happened.

Kim Seungmin was a boy as normal as anyone there, with his frayed jeans and brown hair. There was nothing different about him, nothing that made him stand out from the rest.

So, why did he look so unique right away?

— "There are more people here than I thought," — he said suddenly, looking around. I believe that he also wasn't putting faith that someone would really be interested in neurolinguistics at this point in the championship. His in-depth analysis ended when he rested his eyes on my face. — "Physiotherapy?" — he suggested with a slight smile. It took me about four full seconds to realize that he was referring to my supposed course.

— "Psychology," — I said, returning the smile without even realizing it.

— "I would have been a psychologist if all my vocational tests had not pointed to medicine." — his voice was kind of nasal and soft as a feather, the kind you want to hear when you need to relax. It was sweet. — "By the way, I'm Kim Seungmin."

— "Kwon Chaerin."

— "You're not from here, are you?"

Another fact that I discovered about Seungmin that day was that he loved to talk, which should have repelled me a little. I was never the kind of person who talked a lot, especially to those who had just met, but, the ease with which our subject unfolded for the next few minutes surprised me.

I told him that my mother's whole family lived in Canada, so I was born there, and he told me that his dream was to visit the United States. Then, we started talking about what we thought about South Korea, from my foreign perspective and from his native perspective. Luckily, the place we were in was one of the most empty of the auditorium, so our whispers didn't disturb the lecture, which had begun at some point that went unnoticed by both of us.

— "What surprises me is that our rooms are in the same building and we had never seen each other until today," — he commented between conversations.

— "Yeah," — the low laugh tore from my lips effortlessly and, pleasantly comfortable at his presence, I leaned my arms against the back of the chair and added: — "But I think we can change that now."

Seungmin opened his lips, but gave up saying anything when his eyes met the thin golden band on my ring finger, and I was ashamed to say that only then did I remember the existence of that detail.

I had a fiance at home and would marry him very soon.

It wasn't as if Jisung and I couldn't develop new friendships. Our relationship was healthy, just as our trust in each other was mutual. However, I needed to be honest with myself and admit that my glances on Seungmin and his glances on me were not as unpretentious as recommended for a committed woman.

And I cannot blame him at all, for, as soon as he became aware of the weight of my wedding ring, Seungmin wilted, forced a small smile, and replied lightly: — "Of course."

And even if his statement showed everything but the certainty that we would actually see each other from now on, I knew this was far from our last conversation.

「❀」

a/n: >so far< we can begin to conclude that Seungmin is a misunderstood little angel and the fool of the story is Chaerin

anyway, I ask you guys to try to understand their side. I'm not saying they're completely right, far from it, but this love thing sucks *lies, love is beautiful, it just depends* and pointing out the mistakes of others is very easy when you don't know what it's like to live a situation like this

could Chaerin have broken up with Jisung before getting involved with Seungmin? yeah, she could. could Seungmin have been irreversible in refusing to get involved with Chaerin? he could too, but they got it wrong and everyone makes mistakes, so keep an open mind to it

changing the subject, I don't know if you guys noticed, but "listen to me" starts at the beginning of the year (like, 2019) and here is July, so, is about a few months earlier (like, 2018). it's just a detail that I found interesting to point out in case someone didn't notice

finally, the chapters in this au are shorter and a thousand times easier to write, so I'm likely to update more often, okay?

ily and take care bbys <3

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snowwhite-andtheknight · 3 years

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(This is mostly edited. It includes the original smaller list, added on to. Also, I’m a bit worried that I might have explained the Canon Divergent fic poorly. I’m sorry. I don’t mean anything bad by it.) (It’s better edited than my first submission for it, that had a bunch of typos, but since this is long, I may not have proofread and fixed up everything worded funny or spelled wrong.)

I’m going to preface this off with the fact that I’m a multishipper, and ship quite a variety of pairings, so this list might go all over the place. (Also, I’ve never written a fic rec before, though I have recommended fics and gushed about several often enough.) First of all, Above and Below Surface by Whitehorse102 immediately comes to mind. It’s probably my favorite AU fic that I’ve ever read for ZenYuki and possibly, my favorite I’ve ever read in general. It’s a Mer!AU; a type of AU that I’m always reading, but Whitehorse102 writes it so differently than any other Mer!AU, I’ve seen. The world building is insanely good, and the story reads a lot more like a published novel than a multichapter fanfic; there’s world building that even takes in parts of canon and plays around with them a bit. The ZenYuki is built up slowly. It’s a work in progress of the writer’s, and such a lovely read, that you absolutely would not regret reading it or rereading it. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12201172/1/Above-and-Below-Surface Apparently, the first fic I read was Of Assassins and Apples by Realm-Leaper, though since I sometimes accidentally refavorite stuff, changing the date that I favorited it or may have read stuff I didn’t favorite, I might not be accurate with this. It’s an Obi-centric oneshot collection with two oneshots, that I vaguely remember reading. (Eventually, I’ll share stuff that aren’t on Fanfiction.net, because I read all over the place.) I started rereading it, and it has almost all the amazing Obi headcanons that I also have. The first oneshot is an Obi and Zen friendship piece, and honestly, maybe this is where most of my Obi headcanons came from as far as backstory. This oneshot collection of two oneshots is well worth your time! I’d wondered if the Mukaze and Obi scene was canon, had convinced myself that the talk they had was canon and took place during the Tanbarun Arc, but it was this fanfic, the second oneshot has an absolutely incredible and in character scene where Obi and Mukaze talk a few things out. (Honestly, it’s on my mind whenever I read a story where the two of them talk or interact in any way, and it a hundred percent affects the way I remember canon.) So do check it out! It’s a lovely two oneshot collection centering on Obi. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12933248/1/Of-Assassins-and-Apples My favorite ANS OC right now is Setsuko/Vixen/fox, from Nostalgic Family by your1ocalpotato. I decided to read some of Potato’s work on a whim a few months back, once I realized that Potato wrote stories, and I absolutely adore Setsuko, especially within Nostalgic Family; I just love that universe, the added backstory for Obi, the found family dynamics, the way that Setsuko may be rough around the edges from the life she lived, but she cares deeply for her family, especially Obi. Just the sibling bond that Setsuko and Obi have in it is absolutely incredible, and in that particular universe, Setsuko has barely met Izana, so there’s a chance that that slow burn will eventually pick up, and Izana/Setsuko is such a lovely pair; they contrast very beautifully together, and it’s got to be my favorite Izana/OC pairing. Honestly, Potato’s stories are really good and more people need to read them. https://archiveofourown.org/works/22926751/chapters/54800950 (The Den Series is the name of the particular series I’m talking about, though there is a different story with Setsuko, where she has a different backstory, and it’s pretty much all slowburn Izana/Setsuko. Both are worth a read, though I haven’t finished the longer, slow burn fic yet.) As for An AU I Took A Chance On (And Now Love), it would be the Quarantine AU, that Muselover1901 wrote: Here With(out) You. I figured I’d read a Quarantine AU, and that one was really beautifully written. It’s one of my favorites by Muse. (I may throw in a few other stories that I recommend by Muse, because she’s a super talented ZenYuki writer.) I usually avoid writing any Quarantine AUs or Pandemic AUs unless I really feel like I need to. The same usually goes with reading them; I’ve found at least one good Quarantine AU in about four or so fandoms now. (I usually only read one per fandom, if it seems interesting.) Honestly, this is probably my favorite Quarantine AU ever. It’s longer, and the world is pretty well established. (And it’s a really lovely domestic ZenYuki oneshot.) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13668279/1/Here-With-out-You I’m going to cheat a little on the next two, because I actually reviewed them (and reviewed them around the same time). First, I want to mention a fic that Made Me Laugh Out Loud; the first one that comes to mind is A Snowy Surprise by MuseLover1901. It’s the first one that pops into my head, though I know that I’ve laughed out loud at probably plenty of other stories. I actually was unsure before I read it whether it was a romantic story or not, and had been a bit nervous about jumping in and reading it, but once I started to read it, it was love at first sight. There’s a snowball fight in it, and I’ll have to say one particular hit made me laugh out loud. The story is mostly a friendship story. (The kind of story that I always long for more of in any fandom, because I love friendship stories as much as I love romance stories, and I also love family stories just as much.) But it’s lighthearted and doesn’t contain too many manga spoilers for me, since I’m terribly behind in the manga right now. (I haven’t read all of Muse’s work yet, because some of them have more manga spoilers than I’m ready to read. I’m biding my time for the day that I can just binge read them obsessively. It will happen.) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13668260/1/A-Snowy-Surprise So, here’s the story, I’m cheating by mentioning instead of the above one. (I reviewed them around the same time, so it works, I think.) For A Fic That Made Me Friends With The Author, I’d have to say A Quick Library Visit; it’s a short, sweet read, and if you want quick ZenYuki fluff, it’s a go to. I read it around the same time as the above two Muse fics, and for some reason, some of Muse’s newest stories didn’t have reviews, so I figured I’d review. Shortly after, I reviewed A Quick Library Visit and A Snowy Surprise, Muse messaged me to thank me. (She’s really cool by the way.) And then, a little while later, I joined the old ZenYuki Week Server, and Muse invited me over to a ZenYuki Writing Collab Server, and we became fast friends after that. (She remembered me based off of the two reviews I’d left on her stories, which was pretty cool and definitely humbling.) (Also, heads up, I’ll post the fanfiction links to Muse’s stories, but she also posts them on AO3, so they’re there as well.) (I wish there was a reverse for this panel, because through the ZenYuki Writing Server; I met phenomenal writers and began reading their work as well!) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13668268/1/A-Quick-Library-Visit As for A Fic That Got Me Involved In The Fandom, I may be cheating by mentioning this too, since I starting writing fanfics for ANS practically right after I finished watching Season Two. The Mistress, the Plan, and the Secret by MisusedEllipses really made me long to write for Prince Raji/Shirayuki, and really kicked me off in that little rarepair haven, that Season Two won me over towards. This is an incredible fanfic, has absolutely amazing characterization throughout, and is incomplete on Fanfiction. (I’m hoping that somewhere online, it sits pretty and finished, waiting for me to rediscover it. I may be overly hopeful.) Okay, it ties in onesided!ObiYuki feelings, onesided!PrinceRajiYuki feelings, and wonderful characterization and sibling banter between Eugena and Rona! Honestly, Raji is written so well that it practically reads like canon: a very hard feat indeed for any writer to accomplish. Just, wow! I don’t know who to root for: Raji, Zen, or Obi! It diverges from canon right before the kidnapping, so Shirayuki never gets kidnapped, and eventually a rather interesting Raji and Obi friendship forms, though that’s right where the last current chapter is. It hasn’t been updated in four or five, I guess now or soon, years, but it’s well worth a read. I will recommend this to anyone if given a chance, regardless of whether the person is a multishipper or not. I love the friendship, the romance, the family, and humor that comes along with Raji’s siblings’ banter. It’s just a phenomenal canon divergent fic, and it’s what really made me realize there was a need for more Raji X Shirayuki fanfics, and it left me crazy about filling that gap. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12156186/1/The-Mistress-the-Plan-and-the-Secret I’m going to make a rather honest claim here, even though I’m not sure how often this writer will come up in what I gush about here, but this writer should: geneee is one of my favorite writers in the fandom. (I’m not sure if geneee is still active.) When I eventually thought of a fic with A Favorite Minor Character of mine, this particular story came up. history doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes is an absolutely amazing precanon story where it focuses entirely on Ryuu, gives him some backstory! (It’s an amazing read, and it follows his journey to becoming a Court Herbalist.) Honestly, the fandom needs a lot more Ryuu fics. (On a side note, a fic by a different writer also came to mind with this, but since that’s more romantic than this gen fic, I figured I’d stick with this one. The other one that comes to mind is the only fic where I could find Kai as a main character. It’s by a different writer, but if I can stick it into this recommendation, I will tell you more about it.) Geneee writes really good fics. I know geneee has a fanfiction account, but I think geneee might have an AO3 as well. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12687531/1/history-doesn-t-repeat-itself-but-it-often-rhymes For Pre-Canon, I want to mention a lovely story by an incredible (mostly?) MitsuKiki writer that may not actually be active anymore. (Unless the writer uses a different site now.) (This story is actually not a MitsuKiki fanfic, though it is still one of my all time favorite stories by fiesa.) Roses, Violets by fiesa. It’s a beautiful story that focuses on Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki during the years since Kiki came there. Zen develops a crush on an OC, who doesn’t like him like that, who actually likes Mitsuhide, interestingly enough. It’s not really a romance story, as it focuses on the way time passes and uses summer and flowers to express that. The perspectives shift, so some parts may need to be reread to understand who is feeling that way, but it’s all written so beautifully. You get to see Zen develop a crush and get heartbroken, Mitsuhide trying to be really nice, knowing Zen likes the woman and sort of trying to let something happen between Zen and the OC. Though, Zen feels that that’s hopeless, since she likes Mitsuhide. It’s more a story of the friendship between Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki, and what growing up entails. It’s Zen before Shirayuki, and it makes for a rather lovely read. (It’s a multichapter, though it’s not a super lengthy one as far as chapter count goes. It’s well worth a read though.) (fiesa and geneee I discovered around the same time, and I love what both of them write so much.) (So, if you like it, it’s always worth checking out the rest of fiesa’s work.) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12864975/1/Roses-Violets I was just thinking over how to mention an incredible writer, that wrote two ZenYuki oneshot that I’ve read and fell in love with. (Spotted the oneshot section. If I have to refill part of the Bingo Board later, so be it.) The Art Of Watching Stars Fall by Zen Wisteria on Tumblr. The metaphors and images are just so pretty and beautiful and with gorgeous meanings. (The writer feels a bit like a poet, and since I love poetry, that’s a definite plus in my book.) It’s really fluffy and sweet and contains pretty much all of the wonderful reasons to ship ZenYuki. It’s a delight to read and to reread. It’s highly recommended by me. https://zen-wistaria.tumblr.com/post/117283326416/it-feels-like-years-since-shes-seen-his-face AU That Made Me Find The Source Material: Lyrias Station by Eclectic80. I’m cheating here too. Shh… I’ve been slowly getting into Star Trek over the years very deliberately, and I just loved this fic so much! I found it first on the ObiYuki Community, going through a lot older fics, and then fell in love with just the way that Eclectic80 wrote it! It’s an absolutely incredible Star Trek AU, and a lovely ObiYuki story. (I think I did start with reading Historical Fiction, and it surprised me by being a Star Trek AU.) (On the note of really great AUs, there’s a Star Wars AU for ObiYuki that’s incredible, that I’ll have to refind at some point, and an incredible Harry Potter AU. I actually asked a lot of questions to people who know Star Wars lore far better than I do, in order to work through how much of the Star Wars AU for ObiYuki could plausibly happen in canon. (I think it was all of it. It was a great and engaging read too!) The Harry Potter AU left me obsessed with it, and the accidental soul bonding spell, whoops. But, since I don’t remember their titles or who wrote them, I’ll have to recommend them some other day. (I think they are also far back on the community page. I haven’t finished exploring it, since I took a break a while ago.) Back to Lyrias Station, it’s an absolutely incredible read whether you know very little about Star Trek, nothing at all, or a lot. I fall somewhere in the middle, and honestly, it’s a fantastic read, whenever you want to dig in and explore. (I may have reread certain oneshots in it way too much for my own good, practically back to back. It’s a really wonderful reread as well.) https://archiveofourown.org/works/14414148/chapters/34487988 For A Fic That Gave Me A New OTP, though my OTP is hard to define, so I’m technically cheating here, but Let Me Be Bold by Kaedix. It’s an IzanaYuki story, and that is a pairing that I was curious about, but hadn’t really shipped until I read this oneshot collection. I absolutely need to read the third oneshot; it’s new, and bound to be incredible. But, the first oneshot had me sort of falling in love with Izana right alongside Shirayuki, and the second oneshot had me cheering for Shirayuki, and all in all, it’s an incredible read that is well worth your time, whether just to read something new or different or whether you are on the fence about this fabulous rarepair. (Since it did win me over to the ship, I’m including it here.) It’s incredible! Go read it! https://archiveofourown.org/works/20982494/chapters/49894448 I was trying to figure out a fic that I loved that was under a thousand words, and since I haven’t paid a huge amount of attention to the word count, I couldn’t think of one at first. So, I was going through one of the writers that I really like the writing of, and stumbled upon one that I immediately remembered. Importance by bountifulnuggets. I remembered it strictly as the wedding story where Zen and Shirayuki hugged Obi, who desperately needed a hug. I’ve never read anything like it before, and it’s saturated with friendship. (Nugget is a phenomenal writer, so basically anything by her is really good, so if you haven’t heard of her, go check out her writing. You won’t be disappointed.) (I got temporarily sidetracked before going through Nugget’s stories, by a story I hadn’t read by Eclectic80, a ZenYuki(!) story, that if for some reason, I extend and do more than a Bingo Board (or find another way to include), I’ll tell you the title of. Either way, the story by Nugget is a lovely hurt/comfort fic that is more comfort than hurt, and it’s definitely a beautiful read. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26433481 Finally, found it! Okay, the Missing Scene fic that is my favorite is Do something with this guy by Codango. It explores how Obi went from shooting at Shirayuki to being Zen’s retainer, and it does a lovely job of it! I absolutely adore this story, and the writing of it is beautiful. I took the time to reread it, and Obi’s perspective is spot on in it, and it gives amazing behind the scenes looks at what is happening, mostly over how he came to work for Zen. But, it also includes the scene where Obi catches Shirayuki for the first time, all told through Obi’s perspective, and his thought process is absolutely perfect. His thoughts read very much like the canon ones, that we are sometimes shown, and it feels like it really does contain the missing scene from canon. It’s an amazing read, and definitely worth your time. https://archiveofourown.org/works/4386368 I’m going to cheat again here. (Who knows? These times I feel like I’m cheating, may actually be fair.) But, I don’t know what tropes, I like or whether I’ve read Trope Reversals, but I was going back through ObiYukiFiteNite and ObiYukiMadness on the community, and stumbled upon a story that I read ages ago, that fits kind of well with my Mukaze headcanons, and is goofy enough that I could see him acting that way. It does turn a trope over on its head, too. For Favorite Trope Reversal, I’m going to mention Mukaze’s Gift (Only One Bed) by HideTheRemote. The debate over whether Mukaze supports ObiYuki in it is rather amusing, and the gift, itself, is rather funny as a wedding gift to his daughter and son-in-law. It’s a delightful read that certainly surprised me. (I’d also never seen the One Bed Trope with a married couple before, so that was an added bonus.) I imagine that when he has grandkids one day; he’ll realize that his gift wasn’t used as intended. (Poor delivery guy, who had to know what kind of bed he was delivering, based off of the sheer awkwardness of the situation.) https://hidetheremote.tumblr.com/post/172338198868/mukazes-gift-only-one-bed For Gen Fic, I’m going to go with Shirayuki’s Laugh by otomiya-tickles. This is a multichapter story, and not every chapter is actually gen. (There’s onesided ObiYuki and established ZenYuki at parts.) It’s literally a story where Shirayuki’s friends find out she’s ticklish slowly, and each one gets to tickle her. It takes place within various parts of canon, and is a really fun read. I’m pretty sure that I laughed every time she did. (Even though I probably shouldn’t admit that, since I wasn’t being tickled.) It’s a blast from start to finish, and I ended up reading all of the chapters in one go. Most of it’s just friendship. (Ooh, my favorite chapter is probably the Raji one. Shh…) Also, it gives a reason as to why Shirayuki chose not to ride on Mitsuhide’s horse, after her first time riding on a horse with him. (It’s just an absolute treat, and I never knew tickle fics could be this fun!) I highly recommend it. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11861915/1/Shirayuki-s-Laugh I’ve included so many stories already with some of my favorite headcanons and ones that feel canon, but I realized I still had a story to share with that category. So the story That Contains My Favorite Headcanon is Bittersweet Heart by DemonHeart42. It’s actually a new fic, and a onesided ObiYuki story. (Like canon, there’s established ZenYuki.) It’s sort of post canon, as it shows Obi and Shirayuki’s friendship after Shirayuki and Zen are married. It flows like canon, and the writing is beautiful. The headcanon bit that strikes me is earlier in the one shot, Obi’s reasons for never calling Shirayuki by her name are addressed, and it hits I’m pretty sure all of my Obi headcanons for that, but not only that, but there’s thought behind how long Obi’s loved her, which he can not trace back to a particular moment, since he feels that he’s always loved her, though he certainly knows he didn’t fall for her the first time he saw her. (It matches my headcanons for Obi’s feelings to a T, pretty much.) It’s a lovely read, and the only Akagami No Shirayuki-Hime story that DemonHeart42 has written. (It does make me long to read more stories by DemonHeart42, and I undoubtedly will, if another Akagami No Shirayuki-Hime fanfic gets posted online by this writer.) I’m just really happy that I found a spot to include this story; it’s one of the few new ObiYuki related fanfics on fanfiction, so I don’t think many people have read it. And it’s one of the best that I’ve read for them. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13687412/1/Bittersweet-Heart Since I am a major ZenYuki shipper as well as ObiYuki shipper, I don’t know if I should include this as the canon divergent fic, but I absolutely love so many scenes in it. Fragments by happybubbles is what I initially put for Canon Divergence, so most of the description will express that, but I’m going to say that it’s a story that that made me Weep Real Tears. As a quick explanation, I don’t care for ZenYuki breakup fics for the most part, but I love this one. (And I read way too many of them to complain too much, I guess. I still read them, because I love ObiYuki about as much as I love ZenYuki, and the breakup fics obviously can be incredible, like the part in Fragments where the breakup happens.) (I really hope that I explained this right, because I know obviously this type of canon divergence is popular and really well loved, so I know that those AUs are good in a lot of ways. I’ve read many of them, with varying levels of interest, and I don’t know how to explain it, because I’m not trying to knock an AU.) This is where shipping ZenYuki makes it hard sometimes to ship ObiYuki, plus my love of Zen often gets in the way, and it pains me pretty bad to read breakups for Zen and Shirayuki. So, this particular story is the breakup scene, I remember, where Shirayuki broke up with Zen, and she’s still dealing with the emotional fallout of it. She’s not numb, and though she feels correct in breaking up with Zen, it hurts like she wouldn’t believe. And seeing Shirayuki in so much pain, while dealing with a ZenYuki breakup to boot, really hurts me. I cried alongside her, and Obi takes the time to comfort her and spend time with her. Everyone else that day gives Obi the turnaround and won’t explain what happened to Shirayuki, because Obi hasn’t seen her. Just, this scene hurts me so much. (I love the ObiYuki developed in the story, and Zen was written pretty well from what I remember, so it’s definitely worth a read.) Also, I’m in the camp with people that only ship ZenYuki, as in I think if canon broke up ZenYuki, I’d be broken, even if it established ObiYuki or RajiYuki or something else I ship or am partial too. This is the only clarification that I have that makes me wonder if ZenYuki is my true OTP. I have a tendency of reading a ton of ObiYuki fanfics, because that’s my go to for ObiYuki, especially AUs. I love AUs a ton, regardless, but ObiYuki AUs hold an extra special place in my heart. (My favorite ObiYuki AU, is the Obi meets Shirayuki first ones; they are all so different and so, so good!) (Also, if anyone knows the name or author of the ObiYuki story, where Obi consumes poison and almost dies, that one made me cry as well and is also really good!) I remember so many of the scenes and often forget that they are all in the same story. (I loved the parents day chapter, where Ryuu cooked for Obi and Shirayuki. I adore the first chapter of the fic, where Obi’s caught napping.) (It diverges from canon through ZenYuki breaking up, by the way.) There are probably other scenes within it as well that I absolutely adore. I’ve either read all of the chapters or most of them, even though it goes way further through canon than I’m currently at. I just love the story, and all the beautiful scenes that Bubbles writes, that I couldn’t just not read more. https://archiveofourown.org/works/8031781/chapters/18392416 For Favorite Trope, even though it’s probably not my favorite trope, just a trope led fanfic that is really, really good, it’s the Harry Potter AU, I talked about up above! I finally found it, and realized I could stick it here! Welcome to Hogwarts, the School of Social Anxiety and Crushing Expectations (and also Highly Illegal Soul Bond Spells) by Hymn. I’ve never been a fan of Harry Potter, but somehow this story sucked me in from the get go, and I really love the kind of slow burn ObiYuki in it, the longing for the other that they are pretty sure is either from the spell or unrequited, despite being requited, and all of the trying to balance school life with being accidentally soul bonded together, and just even the background references to ZenYuki are really good. The scenes within the story are absolutely adorable to a bit awkward for Obi and Shirayuki, and I think I read this oneshot at least five times so far. Mostly from the original Tumblr post, before I discovered that it was on AO3. Since then, I’ve read it on AO3. I have no idea how this story has gripped me so much, but it has. It is a hundred percent worth your time. You really should read it. (It’s inspired off of the Accidental Soul Bond Trope, which led to the amazing Star Wars AU by someone else, a lovely Soul Bond focused AU that is also really good, and I can’t remember what else. Maybe I do have a soft spot for this particular trope that I never really knew about before discovering the older event that they were written for.) https://archiveofourown.org/works/18772360/chapters/44535142 I know this is technically not a fight scene, but for Action-Packed Fight Scene, I’m going to choose the car chase scene in At Her Not-So-Secret Service by infinitelystrangemachine_old. I don’t read a lot of action packed stories in general, but I definitely don’t read many action packed stories for ANS. (And I’m pretty sure if I named any myriad of Chuck fanfics, that wouldn’t count. Shh…) So, I’m sticking with this story, because it came to mind when I remember action packed scenes, and the writing here is brilliant. (I obviously love the car chase scene and the aftermath of that, where Obi’s sitting in the car with her.) There’s a touch of humor every now and again, and the writing style, itself, is very beautiful. I really, really hope that this story gets updated some time in the future. There’s something about a Modern AU, Bodyguard AU, for ObiYuki that is so good! (Or any Modern AU Bodyguard fics in general, because there’s one for Chuck that is so, so good. I know I should just talk about ANS here, but oh, my gosh, I seem to really like Bodyguard AUs lately. Shh…) So, even though there’s no fight scene here, and there’s no attack or even portrayal of her kidnapping prior, At Her Not-So-Secret Service is really, really good. (I really like how easily Obi seems to get along with everyone Shirayuki knows, the description in chapter one of the difference between Zen and Izana talking to Obi, the balister scene, which should sort of count as an action scene too. Either way, the writing here is really good and the scenes are very memorable.) (I think about the car chase the most, followed by the balister scene the second most.) (I had to look up this story just to find it again for this. It’s so good!) It’s a lovely story to read, with a lot of action-y tension, some complicated feelings, and a great mixture of emotion. Also, the humor is pretty great too! So, it’s well worth a read. https://archiveofourown.org/works/9837023/chapters/22080446 For my new Canon Divergent fic, I’m going to include Yours, Truly by Eclectic80. It’s canon divergent also due to a ZenYuki breakup, as well as a pen pal correspondence. I love the pen pal basis of it, Shirayuki and Obi not knowing who they are writing to, the whole slowly falling in love and coming to understand each other better through it. The picnic date thing, just the whole premise of the fic is so good. It’s an outstanding ObiYuki fic, and I’m absolutely in love with the idea of pen pals in fanfics, which this is the first that I’ve seen of pen pals within fanfics, I think, but it’s so good. The comfortable anonymity, that draws them closer, the hint of budding feelings, the advice Obi gives, or ideas he shares. The fact that they both know that the other is similar to someone they know, but are pretty positive that it can’t be the other. It’s a blast to read and so, so much fun! I highly recommend it. https://archiveofourown.org/works/21943480/chapters/52370371 Oh, my gosh! I found the poison story! It’s also the story with the kiss scene that comes to mind for me and so many others. Okay, for Steamiest Kiss, I’m going to go with And That’s The Reason We Need Lips So Much by Sabraeal. Okay, this story is absolutely amazing on so many levels. The almost death scene for Obi is so painful to read, and I cried pretty much from the very beginning of this fic, despite not knowing who several of the characters are, whoops. I’m still terribly behind in the manga, but the plot was so good, the writing was beautiful, and I loved it. Also, I loved the teasing and playfulness that goes on when Obi retells the story of Shirayuki saving his life, and of course, the way that Shirayuki gets him back for that. I love the silliness of the first time that he tells the story, where Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki are his main audience. It’s silly, and sounds so fairy tale-esque and romantic, that Obi’s surprised me, and it fits so well! Then, there’s the way Kiki joins in the banter. (She’s great in general!) The way Mitsuhide reacts and of course Zen’s silence. Then, there’s the later on, Shirayuki getting Obi back, Obi being unable to handle the teasing, and the loss of his good reputation, the way she gives in and finally asks him to kiss her. The way the whole kiss goes. Ryuu showing up, after having dealt with two other people refusing to work. (That decided kissing was better than work, much to Ryuu’s disappointment.) Ryuu’s support of Obi and Shirayuki; I feel so bad for Ryuu here, and yet, I’m pretty sure that when I finally get far enough in the manga to meet the other two characters caught kissing, I think I’ll ship them, though I’m not positive yet. The way they restore Obi’s reputation and the applause that they’re met with. It’s funny, full of banter, great characterization, and so much more! I just love this story, and I’m so glad that I managed to refind it. (I’d forgotten that all of these amazing moments were in one fic. Sabraeal wrote this absolutely amazingly!) Please do go read it! I’m positive that it’s one of my favorite oneshots. https://archiveofourown.org/works/8705884 I don’t know if MitsuKiki counts as enough of a rarepair, but there are not a lot of fics out there for them, so I’m including this here. For Rare Pair, The Five Stages Of Partnership by geneee. It was the first MitsuKiki story to come to mind for me by the way, and I love this side pairing so much. And this story does a very lovely job of expressing Kiki’s feelings and going through the years, starting with when she first met Mitsuhide and carrying on throughout all of the time getting to know him. (Aww, I could have counted it in Canon Compliant as well, but oh well.) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12365055/1/The-Five-Stages-of-Partnership I probably should flip this and the Rare Pair slot, but I’m not going to. This one is a gem of a story as well; it’s a beautiful MitsuKiki story told from Mitsuhide’s perspective. (I was going to include a different MitsuKiki story by this same author, but I seen the summary for this one and remembered being blown away by it, so I took the time to reread it just now.) Silver by fiesa is the story I picked for Canon Compliant. It can take place in a few different spots in canon, but it really doesn’t sway the story into canon divergence. It’s a beautiful, very poetic MitsuKiki story, that captures Mitsuhide’s feelings beautifully, both towards Kiki and swordfighting in general. It’s an absolutely gorgeous fic. (It’s also just seven words over one thousand.) You really should read this story by fiesa; it’s one of my favorites by this particular writer and one of my favorite MitsuKiki stories. Also, check out more by fiesa; fiesa’s an absolutely incredible MitsuKiki writer! (Writes mostly MitsuKiki, but there are stories that fiesa’s written that aren’t MitsuKiki as well.) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7801925/1/Silver Okay, I mentioned this story once before, but didn’t give you the title. (Also, on a quick side note, I will probably be posting a short fic rec right after this, with a few other fics, that I sort of teased by not listing the names of before up above and one additional one.) (Also, any writer I mentioned is worth reading as much of their work as you can, because they’re all so good!) Okay, so here is that Star Wars AU, I mentioned being absolutely in love with. Starlines by infinitelystrangemachine_old. So, this Star Wars AU absolutely blew me away, the first time that I stumbled upon it. It’s beautiful, and it ties back into the accidental soul bond trope, and I actually did ask people who know Star Wars way better than me, if this was possible within Star Wars, and yes, yes, it is! Shirayuki and Obi end up soul bonded and see each other randomly in places where technically the other one isn’t. Like a personalized hologram, I guess, since only they see each other. The first time they see each other is awkward for them both, and they don’t initially know what’s going on. (It’s great! Plus, they are on different sides of the war.) So, slowly they become friends and fall in love. It’s a premise I hadn’t seen before, and had me asking various Star Wars inspired questions, since it is so good! This I’m using for the Free Space on the board, the Apple. It’s an absolute delight to read. https://archiveofourown.org/works/14404602/chapters/33266145

#ansficbingo #fic rec #sctwilightvampwolfgal #submission

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