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zabberzim · 2 months

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Fic ideas for the LanDot nation

The many LanDot ideas I have but never got to write (it’s midterms now ;-;)

I’ll classify this into spoilers and non spoilers for the manga so anyone can read this :3

No Spoilers fanwork ideas

Dot gets told that his love life will flourish by a prophet and he is HYPED

Based off the official fan book info where he spends his pocket money on monthly prophet magazines.

Astrology guy x Astronomy guy

Shenanigans ensue

Dot has a nightmare where he is surrounded by Anna dolls

The dolls tell him to confess/make sense of his feelings like the Christmas ghost of the past, the future and the present

Could be a reoccurring nightmare or just a one time thing, both give Dot a sense of “???huh???” But being a little bit of a believer, he really thinks about it and what it could mean.

Feelings realisation with the help of a little girl he’s never personally met

Lance makes merch for Anna and made one of Dot to get back at him

It was funny until it wasn’t, Lance feels like he has to make it look perfect and struggles on how none of the pictures he had does Dot justice. Some of them are goofy in a dorky way, some others are just him being angry, and there are just some that he can’t bring himself to make merch of…

A little bit of feelings realisation, as a treat

And or he can try to get a good photo

Established relationship, Dot and Lance try to keep it low, but their matching earrings/accessories gave it away…

and it’s prequel

Established relationship, the origin of the matching accessories

I HC Lance to show affection through gifts or materialistic means more than Dot (see. His merch collection)

Early in the relationship, a pair of matching accessories catch Lance’s attention. He buys it for himself and Dot to wear together.

Dot was initially a bit bashful but gives in.

Their friends begin to notice this and starts to wonder what’s going on between the two.

There’s a little cut out of Dot in the lower right corner of Lance’s pendant now

RPG AU (based off of light novel/choose your own adventure books 2&3) Dot has his tummy exposed, Lance dotes him on it

On the cover of the 2nd LN/CYOA book, Dot, presumably with the class barbarian, doesn’t have his clothes cover him properly. Being the older brother that he is, Lance dotes on him.

An exposed tummy leaves one with a higher chance of being sick , Lance offers Dot his cape.

Dot is flattered by this but ends up getting sick anyway

Established/Developing relationship: meeting the family

Either Dot brings Lance to meet his family to get semi-interrogated by Malta (Dot’s grandma and mother watch from the sidelines, his grandma is also surprisingly capable of being intimidating)

Or Lance gets Dot to meet Anna, Dot gets seriously interrogated by a 12 year old over tea.

The gang gets an invite to Macaron’s Orchestra when Dot gets to perform as the violinist, Lance is surprised and slightly moved by the music

Dot is good at the violin, of course he should perform.

Lance wasn’t there at the scene where he was playing, so I want him to be the only one slightly surprised at this reveal and very surprised that Dot can actually play well.

Fantasy AU: knights and dragons( Dot is the knight and Lance is the Dragon)

In this fantasy AU, princesses being locked in towers is still something that happens, albeit somewhat rare.

Due to her age and politics of her kingdom, Princess Anna was sent to escape with her brother when their kingdom was under attack. Lance can transform into a dragon because of some potion he took in order to better protect Anna. He keeps her in the tower most of the time for safety, but Anna still gets lonely, so she makes paper airplanes and flies them out to try to find people occasionally (Despite her brother’s disapproval, she does it while he isn’t looking)

Aspiring young knight of a nearby kingdom, who wishes nothing more to find a princess of his own stumbles upon one of these planes (after many attempts to save tower princesses and proposing to girls, royalty or not)

When reaching the tower while Lance was away, it was clear Anna isn’t the princess he’s looking for, but he still plays with her before her brother comes back. (Big scare)

Semi-domestic fluff: Since Anna isn’t the right princess, maybe her brother is ?

Demon AU: Demon Dot and Human Lance

Dot, a demon, accidentally gets summoned when Lance, a human, wanted to summon a guardian Angel for his sister.

With no real return button, Dot’s just stuck there I guess. Lance makes Dot act as Anna’s guardian Angel despite knowing the fact that he’s a demon

(Angels, demons, similar spell; this Demon that he summoned is the best he can get atm, and he technically still has to fulfil his wish of keeping his sister safe. Plus, he’s got some little bits of feathers on his wings, it’s like a discounted Angel at worst)

Other people can see Dot, not his wings, tail or horns though

More details here hehe

(WINGS WINGS WINGS

Hi, I was a Destiel fan , can you tell?)

Excessive use of the Ira Kruez makes Dot ill, team mom Lance is here to help

Sick fic! Using Ira Kruez in the rain causes Dot to have a magical burnout. Lance takes care of him in a sick fic way

Alternatively:

Dot falls from the fucking sky because of a broom mishap, Lance takes care of him with bad pick up lines and more

Mash gets challenged by Lloyd Cavill’s goons and Dot takes up the challenge for his friend. The competition was rigged and a broom mishap happened half way through, leaving Dot badly injured.

Lance is the only one who can take care of him periodically because 1. He’s good with class so he can skip skip sometimes 2. He’s the most capable at take care of people amongst their group of friends.

The bad pick up line part came from “laughter is the best medicine”, it’s advice the others gave to Lance when Dot is still in a magic coma, amongst many other dumb suggestions.

“Did it hurt?”

“Huh??”

“When you fell out of the sky and got a concussion “

A little more display of affection, Dot eating it up.

They are both dumb

Modern AU: Doctor Lance and less successful/ failing musician Dot; And they were roommates

Years after graduation, the gang goes their separate ways. Mash becomes an unconventional cream puff baker, Finn becomes a public servant, Lemon works in her family’s bookshop suspiciously close to Mash’s bakery. Lance works at a high paying job as a successful doctor, and no one really knows what Dot is up to…

A chance meeting after work leads Lance to find out (fuck around, find out)

Lance bumps into Dot at a convenience store. It wasn’t a route he passed by much, so it was a surprise to see the spiky red haired boy there, handing in… something and looking dejected.

Upon meeting Lance’s eyes, Dot hopped over with faux-familiarity and an air of awkwardness when he offered to grab dinner, dragging him by the elbow to leave.

Over some fried rice with a few cups of beer, Dot vents his troubles in finding work after his ambitions to start a band failed; he got kicked out from his last apartment for late rent and his sister is starting to nag him to move out of hers. Lance just pats Dot’s back as he wails shitfaced. In the end, Lance brings Dot home so he can rest.

Naturally, Lance paid for that meal.

In this AU, the gang are all adults, so I HC Anna to be in junior/high school.

Anna obviously would live with Lance. Idk if i should make Anna’s illness a thing in this AU.

The Crown family is middle high class, fairly influential,

Despite Lance’s success, they cut ties with him (homophobia? )

Anyways that my idea

TBC

Spoilers to manga)

Lance has difficulty balancing work as a new DV, Dot offers to help out as his assistant DV

Between Anna, school work and DV work, life has been hard to handle as of late. Shortly after a chat with Orter Madl, unlikely help appears in the form of Dot Barrett!

Dot’s reason for volunteering as his assistant :

It’d look good on his CV

He can spend more time at the Bureau of Magic, maybe the three of them can get lunch tgt more often

It’s a good opportunity to poke fun at Lance

Established relationship: PTSD or nightmares of the final battle

The scene was so all too familiar to him: Lance rushing forward to block the projectiles before he could even react; his warm body slumping down on his as the smell of iron, the liquidy feeling of warm blood seeps through the cape into his palms, now stained red. What if Lance died that day? Why is he always putting himself in danger?

Memories of the final battle twist into nightmares in Dot’s mind

Dot finds a pin with his face on it among the many other Anna pins

Short and sweet, possible sequel to Lance making Dot merch fic idea.

Remember the sea of Anna pins that acted as chain mail for Lance? Imagine Lance changing it every once in a while.

As roommates, Dot might notice something special when Lance leaves his cloak on his bed one day

Lance and Dot buy back to school products for Anna

As a newly enrolled student of Easton Academy, it’s necessary to buy new things to get ready for this brand new school life.

After no one else being willing to go, Lance drags Dot along with him with the promise of treating him to something nice

It turns into a shopping date

Future AU :they get married

They get married and boom Ira kreuz

TBC

*funny thing is that I’ve written the start to some of these already, I’ve just never gotten around to finishing them…

#mashle #dot barrett #lance crown #lancedot #landot #fic ideas #lance x dot #mashle muscle and magic #I’m so tired rn this took a day to write

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nightbringer24 · 5 months

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New core boxes for Old World, each one at roughly 1250 points worth of models.

Tomb Kings box contains 93 models:

Lich Priest/Tomb King on Bone Dragon, with the option to take the other rider as a foot choice.

40 Skeleton Warriors

32 Skeleton Archers

16 Skeleton Horsemen

3 Skeleton Chariots

Bretonnian box has 76 models:

Lord on Royal Pegasus, to be built as either Duke or Baron

12 Bretonnian Knights of the Realm (which I imagine can be either done as Knights of the Realm or Knights Errant)

36 Bretonnian Men-at-Arms

24 Peasant Bowmen with stakes

3 Pegasus Knights

And a transfer sheet

Can't say if I was wrong or not about the numbers of cavalry in a single box since these are a singular rmy box, not a unit box.

Each box will come with a rulebook, which will obviously be separately sold later.

Armies are split into the two groups: Forces of Fantasy (Good) and Ravening Hordes (Evil), with the former including the Empire of Man, Bretonnia, Dwarfs, Wood Elves and High Elves, while latter has Warriors of Chaos, Beasts of Chaos, Orcs & Goblins, and Tomb Kings. These books are just the army books, essentially, with unit profiles, Grand Army lists, galleries, special rules, magical items and unique spells for each army.

The Arcane Journals cover the lore-side of things but also rules for Armies of Infamy, such as Errantry Crusades for Bretonnia and Mortuary Cults for Tomb Kings. They're just add-ons if you want extra gameplay options for your armies.

Bretonnian and Tomb Kings will be included in their respective boxes, while the other factions will follow next year.

Tomb Kings are having nice new models:

Nekaph, Emissary of Settra

Battle Standard Bearer

Tomb Swarm, which are good deal more dynamic than the OG Tomb Swarm below

But yeah.. this looks cool.

#warhammer old world #old world

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dayscapism · 29 days

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Read this instead of Harry Potter - part 2/ 3:

Middle grade/children's books recommendations under the cut:

Part 1 - Adult books

Part 3 - Young Adult (YA) books

★ Greenglass House by Kate Milford: Mystery set in a cosy inn on a mountain only accessible by a cable car. The innkeeper's adopted son, Milo, wants nothing but to relax during the winter holiday, but guests start arriving earlier than expected. Each guest comes with a strange story connected to the house, and when objects start going missing, Milo must decipher clues and untangle the web of deepening secrets and ghosts the old house and the guests hide.

When You Trap A Tiger by Tae Keller (middle grade, standalone, magical realism): When a girl named Lily moves in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger out of Korean folktales suddenly arrives and Lily unravels a secret family history. Full of magical artefacts, magical deals, and courage.

Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi (series): Aru Shah is the daughter of an archaeologist and lives in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art. She is dared by her classmates one day to light a lamp that is said to be cursed, and she gets herself tangled in an adventure of ancient demons, antiquities, gods and time. Mythology, adventure, Riordan's #OwnVoices line.

Paola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia (trilogy): Paola's mother is constantly warning her about La Llorona, the wailing ghost woman who wanders the river banks at night, looking for people to drag into the waters. She and her friends know to avoid the river, but one night they set a meeting in the river to watch the stars, and a paranormal adventure ensues. Full of Mexican folktales, science, and magic. Part of Riordan's #OwnVoices line.

Amari and The Night Brothers by B.B. Alston (trilogy): Amari can't understand why his brother's disappearance isn't all over the news, why no one seems to care, why is this being so easily dismissed? Then one day she discovers a briefcase in her brother's closet, through which she discovers a secretive magic organization. She enters a competition to join the organization, so she can find out what really happened to his brother, but every department hides another secret. For this, she must learn about all sorts of magical creatures like mermaids, dwarves, magicians, yetis and weredragons, even though she only just learned about their existence. Meanwhile, an evil magician threatens the entire world. Mystery, secret agency, black author & black representation, middle-grade version of Men in Black. A ton of people recommend this one.

The Girl Who Drank The Moon by Kelly Barnhill (standalone): Every year, the people a baby for the witch of the forest as a sacrifice, an act that will keep her from terrorizing them. The witch, however, is actually kind and gentle, and confused about these babies. She rescues them and delivers them to families on the other side of the forest. But one year, she accidentally feeds a baby moonlight, filling the child with extraordinary magic. So she raises her instead as her own. The years pass and the people of the town are set on killing the witch, and the now 13-year-old magic girl must protect those who protected her. There's a swamp monster, a tiny dragon, and lots of magic.

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly (duology): A 12-yo mourns the death of his mother, high in his attic bedroom, surrounded only by his books. But the books have begun to whisper to him, and he listens. Taking refuge in his imagination, fantasy and reality begin to melt together, and soon he finds himself in a world of monsters and heroes, ruled by a king who keeps secrets in a mysterious book. Autumnal, horror, fairy tales, coming-of-age & loss of childhood innocence. Often recommended for fans of Over The Garden Wall.

Hedgewitch by Skye McKenna (quintet, British): Cassie Morgan hasn't seen her mother in seven years. Cassie is left trapped in a dreary boarding school, she spends her time hiding from the school bully and reading forbidden story books about the faerie world. She is determined to find her mother though, so one day she runs away from school. She is chased by a pack of goblins, and with the help of a flying broom, she escapes and finds herself in a cosy, magical village full of witches, who protect the country from the dangerous faeries and where she discovers the real history of her family.

Every Heart a Doorway (The Wayward Children Series) by Seanan McGuire (novellas, mystery, urban fantasy, LGBTQ+ rep): A school for children who have at one time slipped into magical worlds found in the back of wardrobes or under the bed, through rabbit holes and wells, but who have returned to the magic-less world and now seek a way back to that fantasy land. But it's not so easy when there's darkness lurking around each corner...

Shady Hollow Water by Juneau Black (children's, series, mystery, cosy): In this village, woodland creatures live together in harmony, until a curmudgeonly toad turns up dead and the local reporter has to solve the case.

Nightbooks by J.A. White (duology): A boy is imprisoned by a witch in a library, and must tell her a new scary story each night to stay alive.

The Frost Fair by Natasha Hastings (historical fiction): This is about a girl who makes a dangerous wish at the Frost Fair in order to bring her brother back from the dead. But the fair is not what it seems... Set in the 1680s in London, with Christmas vibes, and adventure. It's a heartwarming story. For fans of the Hogwarts founders era.

Seraphina and The Black Cloak by Robert Beatty (series, historical fiction, mystery): Serafina is part of the downstairs people of a grand estate. She must always be careful to not be seen by the rich folks upstairs. But then children at the estate begin disappearing, and only she sees the culprit. She will have to forge an alliance with one of the rich kids to uncover the identity of the culprit before it's too late. Dark forest setting and magic legacy.

There's a Ghost in This House (children's, picture book, short). "Hello, come in. Maybe you can help me?" Ghosts, Halloween, humour.

The Enchanted Castle, Five Children and It by E. Nesbit, illustrated by H.R. Millar (children's, middle grade, classics, British): Tales about magical adventures in the everyday world. In the first tale, children dig in a sandpit and find a bad-tempered fairy who grants one wish per day. In the second tale, three children stumble over a mysterious house and discover an invisible princess and a magic ring.

If you want something really nostalgic, here are books that came out before or are contemporary to the Harry Potter books:

★ The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin (YA, series): Yeah, I know this obvious recommendation as this series was a direct inspiration for HP. It has a wizard school setting, a coming-of-age narrative, discussions of how gender plays into access to wizard education, ancient artefacts, shadow monsters, good triumphs over evil, and much more. Plus Le Guin was a raging feminist and anti-capitalist, a powerhouse of her time, and she is a wonderful example of someone who had internalized biases and even wrote them into her books but eventually grew as a person and became an advocate.

★ Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan (middle grade/YA, series). Another obvious recommendation. Anything by Rick Riordan has that very classic middle-grade adventurous vibe. His characters are really well done too, particularly the protagonists; great ADHD/neurodivergent representation and you'll learn a lot about mythology (Riordan is a teacher, after all). The first books can have some dated stuff in them (like having the obligatory coming out storyline for the gay character, plus some problematic racial and ethnic stereotyping with characters in the Heros of Olympus series), but he has grown as a person and writer since. I'm told his later books (Magnus Chase, Trials of Apollo) are much better written. Most of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians hold up pretty well though, and the series is literally about a marginalized group of kids battling to dismantle the system that oppresses them. There's also a magical school/camp these kids go to, lots of mythological creatures, riddles, prophecy, epic battles and more. Riodsn launched an Own Voices initiative to highlight middle-grade books written by authors of diverse cultures. Great for fans of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them too.

★ Howl's Moving Castle (YA, trilogy) & Chrestomanci (children, series) by Diana Wynne Jones. Howl's Moving Castle is wizards but makes it banter and is so cosy and quirky, you will not miss Hogwarts or the four Houses' common rooms at all with this one. And the Chrestomanci series is literally about wizard bureaucracy.

Kiki's Delivery Service, written by Eiko Kadono and illustrated by Akiko Hayashi (childrens/middle grade): You've watched or heard of the excellent Ghibli film, right? Well, this is the book it's based on. It's a coming-of-age story about a little witch who ventures into the world and opens a delivery little business in a small town. It's cosy and cute and a little bittersweet. It's about growing up, about work, about mundane things with a touch of magic.

★ Coraline, Neverwhere, The Graveyard Book, Good Omens, The Ocean at the End of The Lane, and anything by Neil Gaiman. One of the great writers of our time. With this author we often get themes of death and mortality, found family, discussions about growing up, literature, good vs evil and so much more. (Highly recommend the TV show adaptations of his works too.)

★ Anne of Green Gables by M.L. Montgomery (childrens/middle grade): A traumatized, orphan redhead girl accidentally gets adopted by a family of two old siblings who live on a farm on Prince Edward Island in Canada. It doesn't have magic or a magic school but it is very cosy and atmospheric and we do spend time at a day school. The protagonist is some type of neurodivergent, is feisty and a little feral, and obsessed with stories and magic. This book is mostly about growing up, childhood and love. (Also, highly recommend the Anne with an E adaptation.)

★ The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black (childrens/YA, series, illustrated): Plot: three siblings find a mysterious field guide in the attic of an old mansion they've just moved into. Through this discovery, they find a magical and dangerous parallel world of faeries. If you love the herbology and care for magic creatures classes of Harry Potter, or the dark forest of Hogwarts, this is great for you. Great for fans of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them too.

★ Bridge to Terabithya by Katherine Paterson (childrens/YA, standalone): Childhood whimsy, magic, castles, monsters, etc. Discussions of grief & death, friendship & family. Warning: this is a sad book. Best to go in without knowing much about it.

★ Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket and Brett Helquist (childrens, series, illustrated): Three recently orphaned kids, the Baudelaire, have the unluckiest stream of adoptions when his greedy uncle gets rid of each of the possible adopters. Full of trauma discussion, children's resilience and resourcefulness, and a nastily evil but fun antagonist.

The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials trilogy) by Phillip Pullman: Ok, this author has been accused of sending mixed messages to the trans community on Twitter. He basically said that he supports trans rights but he's also against people coming after Rowling on Twitter. There's not much news about his current stance and support, but he has since shown support for banning conversion therapy for gender and not just sexual orientation (which the UK has been trying to do). So I think we're good with him? If you know more, please share! With that out of the way, these books are about Lyra, a little liar feral girl who lives in a parallel world to ours where your soul takes the physical shape of an animal. She embarks on a journey to the cold far North, to save one of her friends, getting tangled in a religious war. The world-building in this series is excellent. It's set partially in Oxford and our world too, and although it's not a perfect series, it has some interesting ideas and magical artefacts. I can't judge if the representation of Romani people in these books is problematic or not (there's an analogous fictional ethnic group in the books), but it's also something to consider.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (middle grade/YA, series): If you like Draco and wish his character was done justice by the author and the narrative, this could be your new favourite protagonist. A brilliant criminal mastermind, Artemis Fowl kidnaps a fairy, a dangerous magical creature, which thrusts him into a riveting adventure of a hidden faerie world. Great for fans of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini (YA, series): For fans of Charley Weasley or Newt Scamander, this book is about a chosen-one farmer boy who finds a dragon egg in the forest and is thrust into a plot of destiny, magic, legendary swords, power, and dragon-riding.

Larklight by Phillip Reeve (middle grade/YA, trilogy, sci-fi, steampunk): In a magic house orbiting beyond the Moon, a mysterious guest arrives and adventure ensues.

★Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (YA/middle grade, quartet, illustrated): What if the characters could literally walk out of the book you're reading? The adventure! Well, that's exactly what happens to the protagonist of this book when her father reads her a book. This is about the magic of books, imagination & stories. The antagonist is the same archetype as Voldemort.

Magyk by Angie Sage (YA/middle grade, series, illustrated, British): Orphan kid, quirky characters, clever charms, potions and spells, and uncovering a mystery.

Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce (YA, series): Daine's knack with horses gets her a job helping the royal horsemistress. But Daine's talent is downright magical; horses and other animals not only obey but listen to her words. Adventure, high fantasy, great for fans of Hagrid & Newt Scamander.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (YA/childrens, quintet series): A strange visitor comes to Murry House and beckons three kids into the most dangerous and extraordinary adventure.

Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy by Douglas Adams (middle grade/YA, series, sci-fi): A dynamic pair begin a journey through space in a galaxy full of eccentric fellow travellers aided only by a sarcastic field guide. Full of British humour.

★ Books I've read and personally recommend for the similarities and reminiscences with Harry Potter.

Disclaimer: I'm just one person/reader, I haven't checked the political or moral views of all these authors or if they're a shitty person. Anything I know or majorly problematic stuff is considered and accounted for, but it's not realistic for me to deep-check each author I ever read. But anyone is welcome to chime in if you know of something we should be aware of about these books/authors.

Always remember to check for trigger warnings (TW), especially for adult books.

Happy reading!

Supporting Sources:

https://www.aspiraldance.com/middle-grade-and-young-adult-books-to-read-instead-of-harry-potter/

https://missprint.wordpress.com/2022/09/01/back-to-magic-school-harry-potter-alternatives-booklist/

Goodreads for synopsis.

#anti harry potter #harry potter #nostalgia #anti jkr #anti jk rowling #joanne karen rowling #please grow up harry potter isnt even that good #jk rowling #fantasy #books #book recommendation #book recs #alternatives to harry potter #save this for later #book recommendations #middle grade books #fantasy books

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briar--rising · 2 months

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Something that I've definitely mentioned occasionally on my old blog, but never talked about in depth, is that I was very very into medieval fantasy as a kid. I had a number of different interests; fairies and Greek Mythology were probably the two other biggest ones, and those both started around age 5. Oh, and dragons (esp the Dragonology book), but that was probably around 7. And, also when I was 7, my babysitter started reading Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce with me. From there, I read almost every book she'd written over the course of a few years. I got very, very, very into magic and (her version of) knights, and from there also got into real life medieval history and reading about Feudalism and what life was like for medieval women, from serfs to queens, and I had a period of being very obsessed with Eleanor of Aquitaine (Shout out to the book A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver, and to my parents for showing me A Lion in Winter when I was arguably too young for it. Still one of my all time favorite plays and movies). And I was into dragons and fairy tales and Arthurian legend and learning about illumination and tapestry weaving and anything else aesthetically connected to the 11th-15th centuries. While I still engaged with some other interests, stuff related to Tamora Pierce and/or the Middle Ages was my primary interest from probably 7-12. And even after it was no longer my primary thing, I was still very into it. I reread at least a few of her books every year, my favorite place on earth was the Cloisters museum, etc.

That love has never gone away, but it took a bit of a backseat in the last 10 years. Oh, I've still reread various Tamora Pierce books in that time, I still loved A Lion in Winter and illuminated manuscripts. But it wasn't as defining a character trait, and it wasn't something I'd think about every single day like I did as a child.

But lately, with Allora and the way our inner landscape is shifting, I've been reconnecting with a lot of things that brought me joy as a child. And fairies, dragons, and Tamora Pierce and medieval stuff are the things we're reconnecting with most strongly. And it's so fun, and so lovely, and feels like coming home. So on this account I started following a lot of people who post more medieval and fairy and fantasy aesthetic stuff, and there will likely be more of that sort of content on this blog than there was on honeysuckle-venom. So I guess I made this post to kind of explain that? There will probably be a lot of like, knightcore content and stuff, which I didn't post before, but it's not a new interest. It's actually a very, very old one, and it's nice to be getting back in touch with the things I loved so much when I was younger.

#text post #my post #was the coherent? idk. normally I reread posts and make sure they make sense before posting #but i'm too tired rn #i'm posting this and going to bed

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bookcub · 3 months

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Books I Read for My SFF Class Rated from Worst to Best

clearly this is the most objective list ever obviously (jk this is based on how much I got from reading the text to how useful it was in context)

also while this syllabus included movies and tv shows, I am focusing on the books cause this is a book blog

19. Islands at the End of the World by Austin Aslan- The worst of the worst. Contains racist ideology and a magic system that makes no sense. This is a book clearly written by a white outsider about Hawai'i. I am also far too old for dystopias. One upside is that there were no random romances and it was about familial love.

18. Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson- Despite agreeing with the ideology of this book, this was truly a horrible reading experience. Poorly written, annoying and bland characters, and very inconsistent.

17. Blazewrath Games by - You wouldn't guess that a book that's essentially The World Cup with Dragons could be boring, but you'd be wrong. Nothing significant in this text rip.

16. Peter Pan by J M Barrie- Unfortunately, this book makes sense being included in this context of children's SFF so I can’t say it shouldn't be included, but this book was agonizing to read. Beautiful writing. And yet, some of the most racist and sexist content I have ever read in my life!

15. Charlotte's Web by EB White- Pretty painless to read and interesting to discuss in the context of sff literature cause uh, not generally a book I would categorize as such. I didn’t think our discussions were particularly notable and I would have preferred another text.

14. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline- *sighs* There are some incredibly important concepts in this text but woof. Again, I am too old for dystopias but unexpectedly I had a real problem with the way women were written in this.

13. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum- Again, this is helpful in context of a children's fantasy class and it was fun to read in context as a Wicked fan. If I didn't know it from related media, this would be super forgettable.

12. Bunnicula by Deborah Howe and James Howe- Fun, and a fantastic audio but there wasn't much to talk about here in our class but there's potential. Very funny.

11. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling- I am dreading the class on this but I am very excited for the critical readings and it was exciting to re examine the text as an adult with the knowledge I have now. I do think that we could have done a magic school section with books responding to HP instead. Again, interesting in the context of the genre.

10. The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen- One of my classmates had a lot of issues with the portrayal of Judaism in this text, so ideally this would be replaced with a text written by an author who did more research.

9. Feed by MT Anderson- I did NOT like this but incredibly relevant and scary to think this was written about 20 years ago. Good for the syllabus, not good for me!

8. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien- I didn't mind listening to this and it was another sensible inclusion. Occasionally boring but I'm supportive.

7. Haroun and the Sea of Stories by - I liked the perspective this book provided and it was a pretty fun read. I think this would work best as a readaloud text. It was also beneficial to read a book written by an author who wasn't American or British for comparison to the other texts.

6. A Wrinkle in Time by - Another classic that makes a lot of sense in its inclusion in the syllabus. Sparked really good conversations about the definition of genre. I enjoyed resisting this text as well, incredibly nostalgic for me.

5. Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova- A lot of fun! I love portal fantasies and this had a classic adventure but didn't feel trite at all. I actually enjoyed the love triangle and will consider reading the books later in the series.

4. American Born Chinese by Gene Luan Yang- This was a difficult book to read but it was incredibly rewarding. I had to sit with it a lot to process and I think the author asks really interesting questions. I would recommend this to most people.

3. Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo- Shockingly, the adult novel ranks 3 on my list. .. hmmm . . this was largely both because I loved it and hated many of the other books. Absolutely stunning as a novel, engaging, and downright magical. I love books centering family and slowly finding how much I enjoy multigenerational novels. However, it is interesting considering this class is about children's lit. . . I would highly recommend this to readers who want a story that isn't afraid to challenge normal.

2. Kindred (graphic novel) by Octavia Butler- I love Kindred and if this was the novel and not the graphic, it would be #1. An amazing book that does not stray from intense topics and makes history very accessible. The only time travel book I love. I adored presenting on this book and still believe Kindred is one of the best books I have read. Such a good inclusion on this syllabus.

1. Nimona by ND Stevenson- NIMONA MY BELOVED what is there to say. This is perfect for this class. It is certainly marketed to young adults, and uses elements of scifi and fantasy masterfully. Challenges conventions of the genre, asks the age old question of who is a monster and who is human. . .beautiful found family. . .funny as hell. Perfect.

#lolll i forgot i made this #grad school #this is from last semester #book rec #kind of

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jewishdragon · 2 months

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For Yonah and/or Sophia:

1, 3, 13, and 19!

you got it!

Was your OC influenced or inspired by any particular fictional character(s) when you made them?

Ok so both Yonah and Sophia are explicitly based on characters from The Enchanted Forest Chronicles

Princess Sophia started off as basically a clone of Princess Cimorene except instead of tall and pale skinned she's short and dark skinned. The only difference was Sophia liked being a princess (though i made it better to be one), she was just not good at it, acted out, etc (turned out i gave her The Autism and ADHD without realizing it). sophia's personality has developed a lot since her inception and she's no longer a cimorene clone but that is how she started.

She's also based on the prince from EFC book 1 who was cursed to be a half-stone statue. basically he was made of stone but could still move. Sophia has a similar curse but it turns her into glass (they have figured out a way to temporarily disable this for about 4hrs at a time)

and instead of being kidnapped by a dragon she's kidnapped by a giant wizard.

which brings us to Yonah! the giant wizard! He is not an as much of a clone of an enchanted forest chronicles character as sophia was... but he's REALLY similar to Brandel the fire witch who lives in a tower in a swamp. wants to be left alone (very shrek vibes )

as Yonah is a half-giant half-fire witch who lives in a tower in a magical forest. also got some shrek vibes. remember one of the firsts scene in shrek? where he tells a group of soldiers that he's not a giant so he doesnt grind bones into bread, but had a bunch of other specific threats involved turning body parts into food? yonah also wouldnt do that but only bc that's too much work but uhhh he aint above biting of limbs >.> he is an EVIL giant after all! Hire him to pillage a town or something :D

3. What genre would your OC do badly in but it would be hilarious or interesting to watch?

My OCs being designed to be genre savvy would probably be hilarious in most genres since ideally they'd be adapted to be savvy for them! But let's say they arent savvy in other genres. Their source genre is farcical fairytale/fantasy so they'd not be great at horror or romance XD they'd be ok in SciFi. 13. What Pokémon would be on your OC’s team and/or what would be their preferred type?

I HAVE SOMETHING BETTER THAN LISTS I HAVE ART OF THIS

Yonah and sophia as gym leaders/elite four/frontier brains. art by @fedoraqueen

Sophia's team is Forest Themed: the largest lycanroc (her starter), Trevenant, Shamin (does not battle), Shroomish, Usaring, Stantler

Yonah's team is Mage/magic themed (sort of): Mismagius, Bewear, Aloan Marowak (shiny), Alakazam, and Snivvy (his starter, who he named Sophia, does not fight)

his Bewear is NOT short, yonah is FUCKING TALL.

19. If your OC was in Star Trek’s Starfleet, what would be their role/position? Or, if that doesn’t really fit your OC: why would they get kicked out of Starfleet? Yonah is Science and Sophia would basically be asexual!beckett mariner from lower decks (parents are an admiral/captain and while she willingly joined starfleet she was forced to go into command and there are high expectations and she CANNOT get kicked out even if she acts reckless and disobeys orders)

Also in most AUs/alt versions of these characters taht arent in a fairytale world, Yonah was Sophia's babysitter rather than her evil captor. (they still are obviously best friends tho, yonah would have been like 12 when he started babysitting a 5 year old sophia, so once Sophia is an adult they are besties)

#OC asks #OC ask meme #ask meme #speaking from the dead #i remember that was MY OLD ASK TAG OMG

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average-joseph · 1 year

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make a poets as ya fantasy book novels list i dare you!!!

This one looks fun!!! Thank you!!!

Pitts. - Claws. I personally like to block this book out of my mind. It's basically about this 12 year old girl who meets a cult of talking cats and essentially becomes their leader. She grows fur and everything. Worst book I ever read. But I think it's weird enough to fit strange and awkward Pitts.

Charlie. - Ace of shades. Nothing but the most dramatic and obscure novels for him. And like... it's about crimes, gambling, and alcohol. It's perfect for him.

Cameron. - The Hobbit. Big words, lots of detail. Everything is explained there's nothing left for interpretation.

Todd - Eragon. It has such a wonderfully crafted story where everything is poetic and beautifully placed. The characters have such depth and the scenery and the dragon is described nicely. Good for a deep person like Todd.

Neil. - Twilight. I'm not sorry. Neil is a dramatic girlie who lives for romance novels and crappy rom coms so why not make him into the worst ya series ever.

Meeks. - The Hunger Games. Lots of suspense. A very interesting story where you have to figure out what's going on. Lots of mechanics and science in this one.

Knox. - The lightning theif. The goofiest of ya novels. Knox is clumsy so I can only see him as a book that makes me laugh a lot.

#They don't know I haven't read a book in years.#dead poets society #neil perry #todd anderson #charlie dalton #dead poets headcanons #steven meeks #knox overstreet #gerard pitts #richard cameron #my life's work on display

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wild-ride-to-headcanons · 1 year

Text

So I’ve been inactive for a tad second, honestly How To Train your Dragon caught my eye and I’ve left TFP on the drying rack for a week or two. So to keep myself active and get back in the transformers mood, I’ve come up with some stuff about the kids. Their home life, some Headcanons, and just about them.

So let’s learn about the kids!!

Jack Darby is up first! Jack is the oldest of the teens, though he’s yet to hit even his young adult years. He’s a 17 year old teen. Tall and lanky, he stands around 6’7. At this point taller than his mom and even Fowler. Kids at his school often joke that he is emo, due to his tendencies to wear darker and baggier clothes. Also there’s the fact that he hasn’t cut his hair for awhile and it grew out. For the longest time he’d let his hair just fall over his face, only recently did he start pulling it back into a bun. He’s considered the quiet kid at school and around town. He doesn’t talk much, tends to stay home when he can, and rarely does he allow his emotions to show. He’s quite to a point that most kids at his school thinks he’s mute, only a few people know he’s not.

•Jack doesn’t have a dead beat dad, he just has a dead one.

•He likes drawing, he and Miko bond over it. He prefers realism, and neutral colors

• he has a thing for short more rounded women (hint at how Sierra’s gonna look ;)

•He’s interested in history and has an extreme curiosity that cannot be quenched!

•Jack has tendency’s to panic over those around him, always stressed about someone.

•unfortunately he’s also dealing with some mental issues (ones that we’ll have to learn about on the way.)

Miko Nakadi is up next! Miko is a young Japanese teen, she’s eccentric and loud. Standing at only 5 feet, and is 16 years old. Nothing seems to bother her, and she’s seems to have distaste for authority. This is due to her life in Japan. Miko grew up on a boat, raised by fishermen. They weren’t her bio family, though they still took her in. For most of her life in Japan she was raised on the water, not even going to a public school. These fishermen influenced most of who she is. They’re loud and enthusiastic, always encouraging her to be her real self. That combined with her little interaction with those her own age and others that lived in Japan, she has no fear to show herself. Unfortunately due to an accident on the sea, Miko got injured, permanently leaving some health issues. Due to this accident the local authorities deemed that she wasn’t raised in a safe environment and took her away, this left a bad taste of authority’s in her mouth. Eventually she managed to get enrolled in a exchange student program and was sent to America.

•She has no idea who her bio family is and doesn’t want to know.

•like Jack she loves drawing, though she prefers a more fantasy setting with bunches of colors.

•she has yet to know her type, though seems to be very open when it comes to sexuality.

•she struggles when it comes to understanding danger, as she’s been introduced to a considerably large amount of it since she was young. She also struggles understanding people and their emotions, due to not being around many.

•other than her health issue, Miko was diagnosed with Autism at a young age, and she believes that she has some ADHD.

•She loves music, especially rock and metal. If it’s loud, it’s fun. (She’s mostly deaf, having to wear hearing aids) she loves to play instruments, and has an easy time picking up on how to learn them.

Rafael Esquivel is our final one of the main trio. At 12 years old he’s only 4 1/2 feet. He’s a child prodigy, practically skipping middle school and most of elementary school. Soon it’s believed he’ll be able to go to college. He’s from a Hispanic family, a large one, having 10 siblings. Raf is from a family of geniuses, his parent both being engineers, and his sibling all aiming for high grades and phd’s. Since he was young, Raf loved to absorb knowledge. He read as many books as he could, took a lot of notes, always asked his siblings to teach him all they know. So his older sister taught him coding, while her twin taught him how to hack. One of his older brothers showed him how to start in the engineering field, often giving him little projects to build and learn from. His other siblings will teach him about biology and chemistry, despite him not being as interested in those fields. Then theirs his eldest brother, he makes sure everyone is taken care of in their parents place, always making sure that a break is taken. He also make sure that Raf keeps an open mind.

•His parents are rarely home, always on the job and making sure their family has enough to live a comfortable life. Their eldest son became the primary caretaker of the house, after Raf’s Abuela passed.

•He doesn’t show much interest in doing art like the other two, but he does enjoy the beauty of it. Especially since one of his aunt’s constantly shows him the beauty of the world.

•He’s too young and too into his education to even think about sexuality and romance. Even though one of his brothers is into psychology and sociology and is especially all about romance.

•Since he’s been so focused on learning and not socializing, his only friends are his siblings, he moved too quick through school too actually get to know kids his age. Sure the older kids treat him well in school, but they’ve never been friendly.

•His family believes that he has autism (I know a stereotype) but they’ve never diagnosed him or put him on any medications.

•other than his love for engineering, computers, and science, Raf has shown to be interested in a few other things. He loves reptiles and other little critters. He especially loves gaming and racing in games or with toy cars. He’s also shown an interest in archeology, especially since his uncle is an Archeologist, and gave him a necklace with a claw fossil attached to it.

That’s all I’m going to share for now, I feel like it’s best to learn about them as we go through the story. I also wanna mention that Jasper will be much more alive, bringing in more human characters and rounding out the few we get to see. Jack and Vince will still be rivals (it’s mostly one sided, Vince can’t handle Jack’s quite self.) sierra will have more to her than just being Jack’s small crush. Her friend will go through a race change and will have a twin, her family will also be the one fostering Miko. There will also be more characters introduced, you will just have to wait to meet them.

#transformers #tfp #tf au #tfp au #transformers prime #jack darby #miko nakadai #tfp jack #tfp miko #rafael esquivel #tfp raf #tfp vince #maccadam

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horizon-verizon · 1 year

Text

I just thought of something else about HotD. *EDITED POST*

One explanation for having the Velaryons be uniquely black (as in throughout their house, there are only black members and they are the only exclusively black Westerosi house shown in HotD thus far) was to make it so that Rhaenyra's first three kids were so "obviously" not Laenor's.

And one justification that I think Ryan Condal and some green stans who have read the book would use to explain the switch up from:

Rhaenyra was the one to wear a dress that silently announced her new self-determination against a harassing opponent

-> the Alicent doing the same but in green

is because it is "obvious" how Rhaenyra's faction got to be called the "blacks". Since the Targ colors are black and red, and she came out, in the book, in black and red at the marriage anniversary tourney held for Alicent and Viserys. (The same one where Daemon entered via circling dragon from the Stepstones.)

Ironically Condal though it more worthwhile to show how Rhaenyra's kids aren't Laenors over how and why the blacksa came to be called the "blacks".

There is this peculiar pattern of apparentness of features used as the justification for superficial and bigoted changes concerning character identification and development that troubles me, which also concerns the casting of the Velaryons.

Why is it so important to "make it obvious" that Rhaenyra's sons are not Laenor's in the show, why even cite that as a good reason to make the Velaryons black? Why not just say that we want inclusive casting and center black actors more in fantasy media?

So it's unimportant that we see Rhaenyra assert herself, but:

it is important that Alicent (the woman with the internalized misogyny and the usurper against another woman having power) assert herself?

it is important it's made "obvious" that Rhaenyra's 1st 3 kids are not Laenor's?

The math aint mathing.

A) There is already the absurd narrative trope of the "test" of white female infidelity through the color of the baby's skin in Western media. Such a trope reveals and affirms white male anxiety over the control over white female bodies and perceived competition with black men AND bestialization of the same black men. Cheating is wrong, (and I define cheating as when the partners got into an exclusive relationship and one/both/all look for others) but the fixation on the color of the skin and using that to "catch" infidelity centers the white man's need for control more than anything.

With the Velaryons and their own family not really displayed as a family, with all its love and care, devotion, and conflicts already (what did Laena feel when she discovered her parents wanted to marry her off at 12 to a 30-year-old? Corlys and Laenor's interactions, before and after Laenor revealed his sexuality? Him and Laena and Rhaenys listening to Corlys' adventures and how they met? Rhaenys, how do she and Corlys rule Driftmark and Hight Tide together or separately? How did Laenor meet Joffrey or better, how did the 'rents take this, what did that look like? We know Laenor loved his sister and mourned her so much as to stand in the sea, but can we see happier moments between them?) It reduces the Velaryons (esp Corlys) further as their own unit and makes Corlys, now black, look closer to this stern black dad who is only interested in his kids selfishly with no softness or concern for their well-being.

Where and who are the Velaryons a little apart from Corlys' political plotting and goals?

Simultaneously, it also makes the Velaryons' political interest in the Targs seem...superficial isn't the right word, more like it comes out of nowhere maybe?

This all while grouped with and related to the misogynoir (lagosbratzdoll).

It makes it as if the most important thing or the primary thing is that Rhaenyra's adultery was unique or something to point out as wrong. That she flagrantly causes her own doom instead of her doom presaged by Jaehaerys I's misogyny (ozymalek's youtube video), again, his misogyny (my post), Alicent's ambition, and Andal patriarchy. I wrote how even Viserys is the actual origin of her plight HERE.

Rhaenyra's black/red dress moment wasn't just about her declaring for her house. It was also about her own self-determination against the harassment implied in the original canon. Here is what mononijikayu to had to say in a reblog:

equally so, the removal of important aspects of rhaenyra's vindication against alicent like the dress reveal scene was also something that can be questionable. because that serves an important purpose of showing us that she just didnt sit there and take the beating. she developed a desire to stand up for herself and not let herself dive down to surrender. that was the establishment of her will to lead her faction against alicent's greens. and yet somehow that seems less important or that was not feminist enough. that rhaenyra stood up for herself and survived that toxic environment. that she was ready to assert her stance against it.

The book does enough of the "it's obvious that Rhaenyra's kids are not Laenor's", which we were supposed to take as misogynist propaganda means to twist us against Rhaenyra and see her having children out of wedlock as the "true" issue anyway:

The features the Velaryon boys had is also meant to subtly insert the idea of them still Laenor's, as his mother, Rhaenys, had dark hair and "violet" eyes. Taking the teased ambiguity out of the parentage and then flattening it to "obviousness through race" (at least when it's promoted as a good reason --primary or not -- to hire black actors) further tries to make the audience feel that rhaenyra had more control over the lineage/house and others than she really did, instead of making do a lot.

It normalizes the unfairness of women being discouraged from thinking of their own needs or happiness or autonomy in favor of the status quo's compulsion for them to sexually reserve their bodies for their husband's (despite that not being reciprocated at all) instead of encouraging the audience to really feel she's owed more, that the rules she's compelled to follow follow are absurdly impractical AND unfair towards her and any woman. Very anti-feminist.

And that idea of legitimacy = cradle-bonding stuff needs to stop.

Conclusion

If you needed (as you do) to introduce black characters and put them into higher positions of power, wealth, and prestige (as the Velaryons had in canon), do not under any circumstance make the troubling aspect of racial paternity "tests" a good thing. I admit that audiences would be bringing this up and using it as a gotcha moment against Rhaenyra, saying that it was "obvious" those kids weren't hers. My point is that it didn't matter, the show bts made it matter more on the producers and marketing end, and the show steers away from misogyny as the central issue, not adultery.

Not only does the show wrongly identify the source of wrongdoing through that green dress moment, but the show also exposes its antipathy and disfavor for a side where white/EU patriarchal mores against female autonomy, leadership, and centrism go to die. Or get as choked out as Rhaenyra was by Daemon in episode 10.

*Yes, the first picture is there for jokes and to mark this post as unique on my activity page.*

#alicent hightower #rhaenyra targaryen #rhaenyra vs alicent #rhaenyra and alicent #book vs tv comparisons #hotd comment #fire and blood comment #hotd misogyny #hotd racism #hotd race #hotd critical #house of the dragon #hotd #fire and blood

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kathrinesnow · 5 months

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WIP Title Game

ALRIGHT! I got tagged by @spacedimentio for WIP titles! RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs. I'll start with the WIPs currently being worked on and go from there. List of WIPs

1. Little Rag and the Faywood's Cap - What has turned into a three-book children's series about toys protecting children from the fay. 2. DEFUSE - A scifi whodunit about a crew of alien researches trapped on a crippled space ship. 3. Frog and Stoat - A subverted gritty detective story. Think if Redwall met gangsters. 4. Concerning Bycatch - A Luigi's Mansion re-telling. Part of the "Super Mario Disaster" project. Projects for future: 5. My Mommy the Fire Spirit - A eastern mythology inspired fantasy about a fire spirit who finds a two-year-old child at her shrine and adopts him. 6. Bangles of Dizam - The story of a weaver who's paid for his services with a magical bangle. He learns that if he collects the rest of the set he'll unleash a genie that will fulfill his wildest dreams 7. Slender Man choose your own adventure - That sure is a thing I have in here. A group of goofs see slender man and have to figure out how to get it before it gets them. 8. The Counseling Club - Pro bono counseling for the restless dead 9. Fantasy LPA - The backyard fantasy adventure of a neighborhood of children told dead-seriously in high fantasy style. 10. Aunt Lira's Stuffy - A bit up-tight child is given a stuffed animal named Oliver. Calvin and Hobbs style adventure. 11. The Adventures of not-Princess Elaine - A lady in waiting gets kidnapped by a dragon. 12. Armor of Lychtenstine - An ambassador gets turned into an enchanted suit of armor and he has to team up with his wife and a retired knight to save their kingdom. 13 - Space Rescue Team - An episodic set of adventures about a ex-SWOT officer and his private search and rescue force. Same world as DEFUSE Those are all the ones I can explain easily, so I'll stop there. As for the pings: @bobobkins @swords-and-skateboards @monsteristeething @blue-oleander @sm-baby @sweevanna @radiojamming @lexialxiii @jupiterlandings @punkinspice @foureyedowl @modmad (please forgive the tag. I'm genuinely curious about your WIP list.) (Participation optional, of course. If anyone don't feel like sharing your WIPs no pressure.)

#writeblr #writebrl #writeblogging #wip title game

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thiefbird · 7 days

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Top 5 books!

Okay so. Gonna cheat just a lil and give my top 5 books OR series(and my fave book in each series)

In no particular order:

1) The Aubrey-Maturin Series

This should shock no one who follows my tumblr: I have talked about little else for the last five months. These characters invade almost my every waking thought; the few thoughts that aren't about them are about related subjects like Temeraire or Hornblower. Patrick O'Brian's writing style has permanently changed my own. I think probably my favourite book in the series is HMS Surprise. Patrick O'Brian has gotten fully into the swing of things, he knows his characters inside and out. Diana is there. And unlike some of my other favourites, the story in Surprise is self contained - as opposed to Desolation Island/Fortune of War/Surgeon's Mate, which are all the same arc.

2) Dragonriders of Pern

I read these books way, way too young (they are not in any way meant for an eight year old) and they changed my neurochemistry. Dragonriders of Pern is why I loved Eragon, and why I love Temeraire. There is a more age-appropriate series, the Harper Hall books, but that's not all that I read. I think my favourite book in the series is probably Dragon's Dawn, which is the book that explains the sci-fi connection to what starts off as feeling purely fantasy. It does such a good job of explaining how we get to where the series ends up in the first books, and also confirms the Anne McCaffery super-universe is alive and well(if you read any of her sci-fi series, there are always little references to show that they're all in the same universe, though they may be centuries or millennia apart). Do not give these books to your eight year old. Maybe not even your twelve year old. Sixteen is probably good.

3) Septimus Heap

For all you people who want to introduce your kids/your sibling's kids/your friend's kids to reading, but don't know what to recommend to little kids who like fantasy now that Terfwizardry is a no go, let me introduce the better Special Boy Learns Magic Books! Septimus Heap is the seventh son of a seventh son, but he doesn't know that at first. These books have a fascinating magic system that actually makes sense, an entirely separate from real life setting, and actually healthy family relationships! I don't have a specific favourite book, but even though they're very much aimed at younger kids, I reread them recently and they hold up! They're cute and sweet and heartwarming and also the cover art is excellent. If you have kids age 5-12 in your life and you want them to enjoy books, but don't want to recommend Percy Jackson for the billionth time? Give them Septimus Heap! (Or Gregor the Overlander, my personal favourite Suzanne Collins series; it might actually be more depressing as an adult than The Hunger Games, and it is written for late elementary/middle school kids. Give your kids a really weird but good experience and opportunity to talk about the horrors of both war and capitalism, all surrounded by giant rats and bats and cockroaches who are your friends.)

4) Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre

Are these the same series? Not really, but they are in my heart; the Brontë's books in my mind are so intertwined that they can share a space. Its what they would have wanted probably. I am a miserable Gothic bitch at heart. Highschool Birb read these books pretty much on repeat, with occasional breaks for Jane Austen or Mary Shelley. In terms of a favourite, my heart lands just a little on the side of Wuthering Heights; I am a sucker for parallels and inescapable fates.

5) Madeleine L'Engle (cheating again)

There's quite a bit of JV/YA fic on this list; I think there are some brilliant books that are ignored because they were written specifically for children, and anything by Madeleine L'Engle is absolutely included in that list. A Wrinkle In Time, and the rest of the books about the Murry-O'Keefe's(The Kairos series), are the reason high school Birb bought three nonfiction but not textbook books on string theory, and another textbook. They are almost entirely the reason I have a grasp on Christianity - Madeleine L'Engle's particular flavour of faith is a beautiful thing, and she ties it so perfectly into an intensely sci-fi and scientific series. Her more slice of life series, the Chronos series, is definitively but obscurely tied into the more sci-fi Kairos, in ways that are wonderful to think about. As a high schooler, and even after coming out as trans, both Meg Murry and Vickie Austin really spoke to me, but I think my favourite book of all of them is A Swiftly Tilting Planet. There is something heartbreakingly hopeful in all of L'Engle's writing, but especially in the scenes of the Murry's waiting at home, together, hoping that they'll see the morning, and then doing so.

#thiefbird speaks #once again i did not answer the question but i did say a lot of bullshit #anyways shoutout to books i didnt get to put on here!#Artemis Fowl my beloved #His Dark Materials my beloved

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icescrabblerjerky · 7 months

Text

twenty questions for fic writers

tagged by @senseandaccountability THANK YOU!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 200 exactly! I did not know this until I just went and checked.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 1,222,468 - I too have been at it for a long time, about fifteen years (and there is more of it on other sites lol)

3. What fandoms do you write for? Rusty Quill Gaming, Baldur's Gate 3, SWTOR (and other star wars related fandoms), Dragon Age, The Magnus Archives, Final Fantasy XIV, uh... and lots of little one offs for books and tiny podcast fandoms.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

The Mbmbam Archives (mbmbam/magnus crossover) with 949 (this still makes me laugh so much)

Seven Days (RQGaming, Zolf/Oscar) at 458

Sex, Death and Plants or: Four Seasons Total Landscaping (RQGaming AU, Zolf/Oscar/Grizzop) at 425

Willing to Wait for It (RQGaming, genfic) at 394

and

A Little Help (RQGaming, again Zoscar) at 384

Rusty Quill Gaming folks are super super supportive and awesome and I'm forever grateful they went on my dumb journeys with these characters with me.

5. Do you respond to comments? Always! I hope! I know sometimes I miss them when I'm away from my computer but they are definitely always read.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Mmmm, angsty-est?? I'm not one really for angsty endings, although I like angst in all the other bits. Probably the fic I wrote where Zolf is mourning Oscar. I honestly can't remember what it was called.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Sex Death and Plants ends in a massive polycule and the take down of a fascist asshole billionaire so I think it deffo qualifies as the happiest of my endings :D.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm LOL. Never directly. I have reports of people who dislike what I write but they never tell me to my face for some reason, it always gets around to me, usually about two years later, on the underground.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I do. I love writing smut. I don't write very graphic smut as a general rule but most of my fics will have one or two scenes in it and I've done a couple of kinktobers. Love it.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I've got a couple. One Dragon Age/Lucifer crossover that I wrote specifically for a friend. One aborted Firefly/Dragon Age Crossover that lives on FF.net I think if that site hasn't destroyed itself.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? I've had enquiries about translating some into Russian but I've never actually seen if they followed through.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes! Quite a few actually. Some of them haven't been published :D.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? I should say Zoscar. So I will. I love them your honour.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? Gods I got a comment on my old Rebels fic "Talking to Strangers" and I read it again and went "this shit's good I should finish it" but that would involve me actually watching the rest of Rebels and I don't really watch TV any more and it just ends up being too hard.

16. What are your writing strengths? Dialogue and character voices, I think - at least for fic. I have a lot of fun trying to make what characters say feel like it could be lifted directly from the source material but isn't.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Description. Fucken' hate it. I'll do it but I'll moan about it for every single sentence.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? Very risky IMO and not something I'll do any more although I used to when I first started out. These days I'll write it in English but indicate which language it should be in in other ways.

19. First fandom you wrote for? If we wanna get technical I wrote my first fanfic when I was about ten years old. It was Sherlock Holmes fanfiction (the stories, not the series, since the series didn't come out for another twenty five years lol). Self insert time travel fic. I may still have it somewhere lol.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written? I love all my fanfictions equally (I really don't care for Mbmbam Archives). No that was a joke, I really do love all of them, my favourite tends to be the one I'm writing at the present moment. That said honourable mention should go to The Nature of Crystal (G'raha/WOL smut) because that one just arrived fully formed in my head one morning and tickled me.

I'll tag @feralkwe, @wishflower4, @zombolouge @makesometime and anyone else who would like to do it!

#20 questions for fic writers #fic writer meme

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fyx-ation · 11 months

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A Meandering Ramble on FFXVI

Firstly, if you haven't played the game yet or haven't finished the game yet, I suggest scrolling on. If you want a recommendation to play it, the best I can give you is a 7/10. Worth playing. Not the best thing on the market in the same territory but refreshing (I might use that word a lot going forward) and holds interest very well. Like a page-turner of a book.

That said, the rest of my ramble will be behind the cut to spare spoiling others.

Huh. What a strange little game. I actually just finished it, though I do need to go finish the chronolith things at some point. But I wanted to strike while the iron is hot, so this might be all over the place. I usually try to provide some essay-like structure when I write about a game... But I'm not really feelin' it since I've been working 5am shifts for a while and my brain is fried.

I have not read or watched any other reviews or summaries or impressions of the game. I didn't want my opinion to be tainted by bias because some creator or another loved or hated it.

It is Very Pretty. But perhaps not in a PS5 sort-of rock your eyeballs way. It handles like the Witcher III and Final Fantasy had an off-putting love-child. By that, I mean just the walking around and interacting with things reminds me of Witcher. Casual conversations are overheard from NPCs, and occasionally one that will actually speak to you (Clive) even if they aren't offering a quest or incentive. Facial animations, weather/landscape animations. Very Pretty but maybe a smidge outdated? How is that possible? Everything is lovely! But a little stiff if it's not an important, scripted, you-can't control your character here, sort of scene. The ones that aren't separately rendered cutscenes but still have extra polish? Yeah, not those.

You know what else this game reminds me of? Mass Effect (or Dragon Age). There's no open world to explore. There are pocket maps that you can return to from your Normandy Hideaway, but usually you're just sent there to do a mission quest or hunt or something.

So, let's deconstruct that a little. I think and hope that the producers of this game looked at what has been working and what has landed with the fan-base like a sopping wet diaper. Open world fatigue? Absolutely real. Stamina bars? Fuck right off. Pacing the game out with enormous, unskippable BS like a car ride because the plot is paper thin? Nope!

Does it work for a Final Fantasy game, though? See, this is where the conversation gets choppy. (While I didn't interact with reviews, I did see some plumes of smoke on the horizon in the form of thumbnails and the like). Some people are ride or die "this ain't MY final fantasy." Worse, some are like "this isn't a JRPG q_q."

Personally, I let that ship sail years ago. I loved the old turn-based games, don't get me wrong. I lament there aren't that many on the market anymore. But I've moved on. 16 is probably the biggest departure so far from that. Excluding the online games, they've been moving away from that format since 12. 13 was the last to have party members who you can actually control. (I'm not counting the 7 remake here, either) 16 doesn't have a party system. You can't swap Thane Krios (my space boyfriend) in when you fast travel from your hideaway to the next story beat. It's just the protag and whatever side piece is relevant at the moment, and that side character just does their own thing.

Do I like it? Ehh.... yes and no. Clive doesn't talk to himself or them much, so I feel like a lot more banter was needed. I could see why they left it out on the battle maps ("Hey, Clive, remember when were playing checkers and mom kicked the board because oh hello Mr. Behemoth."). But in city hubs? More banter, please. Even more conversations like the newer God of War games have would be most welcome.

And controlling just Clive? It's fine. I am A-okay with it. Combat's really fun, even when I'm not playing at my best and half-dozing on the couch. It's better than holding down the circle button (15 shaming is my kink). It's all amazingly refreshing in comparison to SE's other departures from turn-based battles. It's the first one so far (again excluding ff7r) to actually succeed at doing something different.

But I would not recommend the game to anyone on that alone. If they were looking for a hack n' slash pew pew magic pew game, I'd suggest the newer God of Wars first.

This is where I'm on the fence about how to judge the game as a whole because it isn't SPECTACULAR. It's good. Combat's good. Story is decent. Side characters are interesting (though some are woefully under-cooked, including Jill, whom I often compared to a piece of cardboard while talking to friends). Pacing a HUGE improvement from previous installments, though the last few hours of the game are weirdly smooshed into sidequests which aren't really sidequests because they are invaluable to the story and the game expects you to do them.

However. The world-building, which is very nice, is padded with lore directories just to clarify shit to people who have no idea what the fuck is going on or who have maybe missed or forgotten details that flesh out the motivations of everyone on the two continents. Did you forget who was fighting who while Clive was was off kicking boxes? Boy, do we have the right solution for that: it's LORE DUMP MAN and his faithful sidekick MAP TIMELINE WOMAN. I'm not saying they are bad things... just... odd. Heavy-handed? I love it when games offer some sort of journal to keep me on track or remind me of things, and yet they feel like they were put in this game because things are a bit blurry for the first third. They throw a lot of names at you, a lot of factions, and a lot of talk of different battles that you don't even witness so the only way to clarify all that is to be given Baby's First Overview. I think that might be indicative of a small failing on the game's part. Lots of telling with little showing often leads to lore dumps in RPGs, because it's critical that you understand for the sake of the story. Weirdly, there actually aren't a lot of exposition dumps in the actual gameplay. I guess they couldn't find a happy medium.

It's late. Gotta get up at 4, so I'll bring this ramble to a close for now. I'll talk about tone and themes later, probably.

Is it worth $70 and satisfying? Mostly. If you like button mashing combat and fantasy, sure. If you're a die-hard FF person, sure, but bolster your expectations as it doesn't really fit that mold. Anyone else that's curious, I'd say wait for a sale or promotion.

TBC

#final fantasy XVI #ffxvi #ff16

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justsomerandomfanfic · 1 year

Text

Beauty And The Beast - Loki Odinson X Female Reader

Title: Once Upon A Time...

Loki Odinson X Female Reader

Additional Characters: Bruce, Tony, Amora (Mentioned), Thor (Mentioned), Odin (Mentioned), and other people (Mentioned)

Beauty And The Beast Retelling Fanfic

WC: 753

Warnings: Mention of beer and pubs, Odin sucks, mention of mean Loki, depression mentioned, old social standards for women, annoying Tony, slight angst, and fluff

Once upon a time, in the hidden heart of Asgard... A handsome young prince... Lived in a beautiful castle. Although he had everything his heart desired... (except his father’s love), the prince was selfish and unkind. While his brother Thor was having fun with his friends, Loki was reading alone. And at Thor’s parties and galas with the most beautiful people, he tried to make himself unnoticeable. Watching the ones around him and silently judging them all.

Then one night... An unexpected intruder arrived at the castle... Seeking shelter from the bitter rainstorm. As a gift, she offered the prince a single rose. Repulsed by her haggard appearance... Loki turned the woman away. But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances. For beauty is found within. When he dismissed her again... The old woman's outward appearance melted away. To reveal... Amora, a beautiful enchantress. Loki cursed at the enchantress, dismissing her once again, not fearing her one bit. The enchantress smirked, she had seen that there was still no love in his heart. (Rightfully so from what Amora did to Loki in the past.) As punishment... She transformed him into a hideous beast. And placed a powerful spell on the castle... And all who lived there.

As days bled into years... The prince, and his servants were forgotten by the world. For the enchantress had erased all memory of them... From the minds of the people they loved. But the rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose. If he could learn to love another (again)... And earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell... The spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed... He fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast?

You were enjoying the morning, reading a good book. It was a fantasy novel. One with princes’, magic spells, and dragons. You had read it a million times before, yet your love for it never changed. It was still your favorite book from your local small books store. You let out a happy sigh as the prince confessed his undying love for the princess. It was a personification of romance. And you only wished your life was like it. But, in the small town of Asgard, the possibility was very low. On the very brink of impossible.

Yet, that didn’t stop you from dreaming. Dreaming of a life of happiness, love; adventure. A life where you were free of the social standards of the world around you. You didn’t want to find a husband just to wait on your hands and knees for them. You didn’t want to have six or seven children with a man who only cared about what you were making for dinner and if there was a good pint of beer around.

You wanted to leave that tiny town, ride off into the sunset, meet a charming and understanding person who loved you for who you were.

“Good morning, Y/N! Wonderful book you have there.” Tony exclaimed, walking up to you as you read on the town’s water fountain.

“Have you read it?” You asked, confused, glancing up at the man briefly.

“Well, not that one.” Tony spoke, shrugging. “But, you know, books... For your dinner table. Shall I join you this evening?” Tony continues, smirking lightly.

“Sorry, not this evening.” You sighed, getting off of the edge of the town’s water fountain. Tony was the most annoying man in town, always flirting with you and many other women around town. Yet, he flirted with you most of the time.

“Busy?” Tony asked, as you rolled your eyes.

“No…” You spoke quickly, before leaving Tony behind.

“So, moving on?” Bruce asked Tony, walking up to stand beside the man of iron.

“No, Bruce. It's the ones who play hard to get that are always the sweetest prey. That's what makes Y/N so appealing. She hasn't made a fool of herself just to gain my favor. What would you call that?” Tony spoke with a smirk as he watched you walk away to his friend’s house.

“Dignity?” Bruce asked, as Tony sighed.

“It's outrageously attractive, isn't it?” Tony asked in a small whisper.

“Don’t you have a wife and child though?” Bruce asked and Tony gave him a confused face.

“If I did, my dear friend, I would remember.” Tony scoffed, before running off to the pub.

____________________________________________________

@meganlpie @lokixryss @violethaze @johnmurphys-sass

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist

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