#a whole bunch of books

[bermudianabroad]

2023 Reading Roundup

Everything what I read in 2023

I read a whole bunch.

Heartily Recommend Visceral Bleh Reread *Audiobook*

Fiction

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (where is the fucking humidity in your swamp, Delia??)

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

Lot by Bryan Washington

Mr. Loverman by Bernadine Evaristo

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

Trust by Hernan Diaz

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantell (but everyone is called Thomas)

Verity by Colleen Hoover (awful but wacky and hilariously awful)

Katalin Street by Magda Szabo

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

Animorphs #24 The Suspicion by KA Applegate (a trip)

Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli

The Island of Forgetting by Jasmine Sealy

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

The Trio by Johanna Hedman

At the Bottom of the River by Jamaica Kincaid

The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera

Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge

Silence by Shusaku Endo

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Babel by RF Kuang (was so disappointed by this one)

The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld

Island by Siri Ranva Hjelm Jacobsen

The Gold-Rimmed Spectacles by Giorgio Bassani

Must I Go by Yiyun Li

The 1,000 Year Old Boy by Ross Welford

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker Chan

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

The Singer’s Gun by Emily St. John Mandel

Memphis by Tara M Stringfellow

The Whirlpool by Jane Urquhart

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

A Country of Eternal Light by Paul Dalgarno

Yellowface by RF Kuang

The Country of Others by Leïla Slimani

The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West

The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng

Game Misconduct by Ari Baran

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Uprooted by Naomi Novik (sorry Naomi :/ )

The Foot of the Cherry Tree by Ali Parker

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

Matrix by Lauren Groff

The Twilight World by Werner Herzog

Wild by Kristen Hannah

*The Fraud by Zadie Smith*

The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai

The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

This Other Eden by Paul Harding

The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham (weirdly, one of the best depictions of a marriage I’ve read)

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abdulhawa

North Woods by Daniel Mason

Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather

The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht

Animorphs: The Hork-Bajir Chronicles by KA Applegate

Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri

Animorphs #13 The Change by KA Applegate

Animorphs #14 The Unknown by KA Applegate

Animorphs #20 The Discovery by KA Applegate (snuck in two more under the wire… #20 is when shit REALLY kicks off. From there it gets darker and darker).

Poetry

Black Cat Bone by John Burnside

Women of the Harlen Renaissance (Anthology) by Various

The Analog Sea Review no. 4 by Various

The World’s Wife by Carol Ann Duffy

Non-Fiction

Besieged: Life Under Fire on a Sarajevo Street by Barbara Demick

Atlas of Abandoned Places by Oliver Smith

Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe

Wanderers: A History of Women Walking by Kerri Andrews

City of Laughter: Sex and Satire in Eighteenth Century London by Vic Gatrell

The Lazarus Heist: From Hollywood to High Finance by Geoff White (fully available as a podcast)

The Entangling Net: Alaska’s Commercial Fishing Women Tell Their Stories by Leslie Leyland Fields (very niche but fascinating. Transcribed interviews)

Free: Coming of Age at the End of History by Lea Ypi

Hijab Butch Blues: A Memoir by Lamya H.

Freedom by Margaret Atwood (just excerpts from novels repackaged)

*Born a Crime by Trevor Noah* (Noah’s narration is superb)

The Slavic Myths by Noah Charney and Svetlana Slapšak (was expecting stories, but it was mostly academic essays)

Manga, Comics, Graphic Novels

Safe Area Goražde by Joe Sacco

The Way of the House-Husband, vol. 1 by Kousuke Oono

SAGA vol. 1-6 by Fiona Staples and Brian K Vaughan

Top of the Top:

Born a Crime was probably my favourite non ficition, and most of that probably is due to Trevor Noah's narration skills. It was very entertaining and heartfelt.

Less uplifting but just as gripping in a different way was Empire of Pain. Excellent book that went deep into the why and what and hows of Purdue Pharma. Anger inducing.

Lazarus Heist is great and available as a podcast. The book is more or less the podcast word for word.

Fictionwise: I read Trust at the start of the year and it was a bit soon to declare as favourite of the year, but it's stil made the final cut. Just very imaginative and intriguing. Just my kind of MetaFiction. Clever without being cleverclever.

Demon Copperhead I read right off the back of Empire of Pain so maybe that coloured my experience. I've not read any Dickens so loads of references no doubt flew past me, but the language was acrobatic and zingy. I loved it.

Wrapped up the year on a high with North Woods. That was so unexpected and entertaining. Again with the playful language, memorable characters and a unique approach to tying all the various stories together. One that sticks in the mind and makes the writer in me wonder how I can replicate his style (with my own personal twist of course.)

#a whole bunch of books #reading roundup #Still one day to go but i don't think i'm going to finish anything else #year in books #2023 in books

[rubyleaf]

You know, when I see fictional characters who repress all their emotions, they're usually aloof and very blunt about keeping people at a distance, sometimes to an edgy degree—but what I don't see nearly enough are the emotionally repressed characters who are just…mellow.

Think about it. In real life, the person that's bottling up all their emotions is not the one that's brooding in the corner and snaps at you for trying to befriend them. More often than not, it's that friendly person in your circle who makes easy conversation with you, laughs with you, and listens and gives advice whenever you're upset. But you never see them upset, in fact they seem to have endless patience for you and everything around them—and so you call them their friend, you trust them. And only after months of telling them all your secrets do you realize…

…they've never actually told you anything about themselves.

#i just see it explored so rarely and i think there's a whole bunch of untapped potential here #or else i've been reading the wrong books i dunno #writeblr #writing #character writing #tropes #c: clara hightower #c: elise jamieson #I'm just sayin' #time for ruby's opinion

[somnimagus]

My page for @destinytriofanzine! I drew something about kids always dreaming of far off places

[id in alt!]

#kingdom hearts #kh #ahh this one was so hard to draw; i never know how to combine a bunch of scenes in one picture without it looking cheesy #just threw a bunch of waves and leaves and birds on top and called it a day haha. it might be a bit too busy though #the white line going up the center is supposed to be a trail left behind by the gummi ship! it connects to the ship in the bg at the top #it's kinda meant to evoke little kids dreaming of other places-> getting older and earnestly making the raft to try to reach the dream #->the gummi ship as a premonition of how they'd actually reach the dream in the future. i guess? idk how to explain #and i really wanted to have kairi's expressions be really similar but changing subtly from wonder to worry when she's older #the boys are just max enthusiasm the whole time #but yeah. something something Symbolism and hopefully it's at least kinda pretty if it doesn't make sense #i'm just super proud to have been part of this project! everyone's work is just amazing #the destiny kids give me this soft feeling of kinda lonely nostalgia. it's nice to have a book full of that #very wistful looking through it #fan art #my art #project stuff

[piedpiperart]

I see a lot of posts about Danny seeing Jason and immediately thinking he’s a baby ghost and wanting to adopt him but what if it’s the other way around?

What if Jason sees Danny and is hit with oh my god that’s a baby, who left a baby unattended out on the street?? He needs help, gotta protect him, mine, yeah he’s mine now, I got u lil guy don’t worry

Meanwhile 15 yr old Danny is like um hi?? And promptly gets kidnapped. But he just lets it happen because he’s actually feeling the safest he’s ever felt in his life with this guy, and Danny’s core immediately recognizes Jason as parental figure and just relaxes Danny 100%

Jasons feeling like Danny is a helpless baby while Danny feels safe, protect, calm, safe, relax, and he just lets Jason take him home. Neither are really sure why or what is going on with them but they’re not gonna stop it.

I think it’s because Danny’s own parents kinda suck and any other ghost that he’s interacted with he’s had to fight in some capacity or has been spooked by them. Jason’s the only one who 1) wanted to parent him and 2) has good vibes. Danny’s usually waiting for fights to happen and he’s very stressed. Jason calms him down so much he probably falls asleep before they even get to Jason’s apartment, full trust that Jason will take care of him.

Meanwhile Jason never really connects with his pit side, but really wants to find some way to have a truce. Cue Danny, and both Jason and the Pit turn to protectiveness and so the rage becomes more protection and Jason yk, might be kinda lonely and wanting something to take care of. He was probably thinking about getting a cat and not a kid but he’s not complaining

#Jason asks Alfred how to care for a baby and the whole batfam panics #they think he adopted/had an actual baby human child #they panic buy a bunch of baby stuff and parenting books and make a room for the kid in the manor on the chance that they come over #Bruce is proud but also wanting to know everything about the situation #Alfred is like how old is the child #Jason’s like ‘he’s so small’🥺😭 #Danny is 15 but so very short compared to 6+feet tall Jason #bats storm Jason’s apartment to find a small tired teenager sleeping on the couch with a bunch of blankets #they’re a little disappointed it’s not a baby but still happy for Jason #bats are like that’s not a baby #Jason’s like yes he is 😭❤️ #danny phantom #Jason Todd #dc x dp #undead dad #Jason adopts the ghost king lol #does that make him king and Danny prince?? #I think jason would be older since he died before Danny so he’s been dead longer and this an adult while Danny had only been dead a year #idk how it works but it works okay #dcxdp

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads

The Spider And Her Demons

YA Australian urban fantasy/horror

about a Malaysian-Chinese girl who’s half spider-demon, just trying to keep her head down and survive high school

when she accidentally kills and eats a man in front of the most popular girl at school, they strike up a strange friendship and she starts to learn more about herself and the supernatural world

aroacespec/sapphic ish

#The Spider And Her Demons #Sydney Khoo #loveozya #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #you give me a teenage girl with giant hair spider legs who scuttles across her bedroom wall on page 3 #and then eats a man and i am already sold. #also aus books are always so familiar compared to US books :) #and yes sexuality stuff is ambiguous but basically: a bunch of discussion on relationship hierachies (ie friendship equally/more important) #themes of feeling unlovable bc you're different and different forms of love #multiple times the MC says she has no interest in dating or relationships and also is touch (and maybe sex) repulsed #- but of course that Also has to do with the whole Being A Monster thing #and it definitely shows some kind of attraction to dior - ie looking at her lips/bare skin; blushing; etc #and ends on sort of hand kiss / 'is this something??' vibes #I asked the author and they said they see them as QPR / platonic soulmates but are not at the point where they would know what to call it #which makes total sense to me! #the part of me who wants more obvious aroace YA wishes it was a little more specific #but also I DO love ambiguity and I think it wouldn't be true to the characters #who are clearly not even ready to start figuring that stuff out. #and also. aroacespec sapphics is like. also something i want #also like. I think it's reductive to assume just because 'looks at lips' is a common allo attraction trope....doesn't necessarily mean #it has to be that. yknow. #anyway. i loved it a lot. #gross spidergirl (affectionate)...... #also dior is such an interesting and complex character. like another book could have made her nicer or less fucked up

[fictionadventurer]

The more I learn about Civil War politics, the more I'm convinced that Lincoln's most impressive and useful leadership trait was that he never let his pride get in the way of doing his job.

Other people in Lincoln's position would have come to Washington with something to prove. They'd have resented the insults and tried to disprove them. They'd have tried to seize power and credit, rejected help, spent a lot of time trying to reach a certain level of respect.

Lincoln's response to, "You're just a backwoods lawyer with no executive experience who makes too many dumb jokes," was pretty much always, "Yeah. And?" He had no interest in petty personal power plays. He had a country to run. There was a war on. It didn't matter what people thought of him so long as the job got done.

He was aware of his personal shortcomings and was always willing to accept advice and help from people who had more knowledge and experience in certain areas. He presided over a chaotic Cabinet full of abrasive personalities who thought they were better and smarter than him, but he kept working with them because they could get the job done. For example: Stanton was absolutely horrible to him when they were both working as lawyers. Just incredibly mean on a personal level. But when Lincoln needed someone to replace Cameron, he swallowed his pride and appointed Stanton as Secretary of War, where Stanton proceeded to be mean to everyone in the world, but he whipped that department into shape and kept it running efficiently through a very chaotic war. Pretty much no one except Lincoln would have been able to put up with that. He could put up with people who were personally difficult if they could do the job he needed them to do--which he was only able to do because his own ego didn't get in the way.

Lincoln's example is a prime demonstration of how humility isn't underrating yourself--it's being so secure in your own abilities and identity that you don't need to attack anyone or defend yourself to prove your worth. He knew his shortcomings, but he also knew his strengths. He was willing to give other people credit for successes and take blame upon himself for failures if it kept things running smoothly. He was secure enough in his own power that he could deal generously--but firmly--with people who tried to undermine him. In a city full of huge egos, in a profession that rewards puffed-up pride, that levelheaded humility is an extremely rare trait--which is what made it so impressive and effective.

#history is awesome #presidential talk #so i went to a teeny backwater thrift store today #their tiny history book section just happened to have an old lincoln biography #i opened to the page about the cabinet #which describes the situation like 'seward was calling himself premier and lording it over everyone' #'blair was causing problems everywhere' #'welles was insulting everyone in his diary and especially hated stanton grant and seward' #'and stanton hated absolutely everyone in the whole wide world' #and as i was reading this i was internally kicking my legs with excitement and cackling with glee because this is the good stuff #i don't know why but i love these horrible petty men #they're like a bunch of raccoons fighting over territory in a dumpster fire it's so great #i read the whole chapter right there in the store #and it impressed upon me yet again how impressive lincoln was to put up with all these guys #(the writer was a bit simplistic and made a lot of these guys come off as worse than they were) #(like he made seward sound like a complete incompetent when he was a pretty good secretary of state) #(he had some grandiose ideas but the man deserves a lot of credit for keeping england out of the war) #(but for a one-chapter summary of these guys it wasn't exactly wrong and it was a ton of fun) #i very much did not want another book especially another american history book #but it was only fifty cents and i have a pouch full of spare change #and the writer's style was so much fun that i decided to take the book with me #i don't plan to read the whole thing (i'm sick of lincoln bios) but it's fun to dip into for things like this #and i had to talk to you about it

[atticcreationz]

As someone who is VERY fascinated with adaptation in film (who spent quuuuuuite some time back in college obsessing over it for assignments) and who adores the graphic novel, my biggest takeaway from Nimona is that it is an EXCELLENT adaptation. Especially considering how much that production went through! Like, all of the changes and things they expanded on made sense for the transition from book to movie. My second takeaway is that I love it <3 Please go watch it I beg of you 🙏

#nimona #nimona is one of my favourite stories of all time #and the movie team really did it justice #there are some things i prefer in the book but thats mostly personal taste #i generally prefer a bit more ambiguity (which the graphic novel has in spades) and prefer being dropped into media res #rather than getting backstory forst upfront #but thats just me and i cant complain much and totally understand why those changes were made #in the end the heart of the story stayed the same and thats all that mattered to me #nimona graphic novel dragon design you will always be famous to me #nimona netflix #contender for my favourite film of the year #but it had an unfair advantage (graphic novel my beloved) #person who did a whole dang dissertation and a bunch of scattered essays for her animation degree about adapting books to film

[queenlucythevaliant]

Do you ever get so overwhelmed by all the books that you want to read that you're convinced that one life could never, ever be enough?

#this post was inspired by going through @deadpanwalking's FANTASTIC Russian lit tag #i saw a number of old friends but also a whole bunch of books that I've been meaning to read for ages #but would like to be able to really sit and digest them #AND! books and authors that I don't think I've ever heard of but boy am I ever sold #and now there's this this fizzy feeling in my stomach like if I don't start reading right now I will die #It's almost two go to sleep Leah! #and yet!!! #literature makes us more human #pontifications and creations #also i literally bought two books today including Pasternak's autobiography as a lil treat for having an especially protective morning

[creative-hanyou-girl]

ATTENTION IY AND KAMISAMA KISS FANDOMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ANNETTE MARIE IS HAVING A LIMITED EDITION HARDCOVER COPY OF ALL 3 OF THE RED WINTER TRILOGY BOOKS IN ONE BEING OFFERED!!!!

The Red Winter Trilogy is a masterpiece especially if your into Inuyasha and Kamisama Kiss or Japanese mythology in general. You guys won't be disappointed!!!!!!

Here's some more stuff:

AND I KNEW THIS SERIES WAS INSPIRED BY INUYASHA!!!! I FREAKING CALLED IT!!!!!

I will say that this offer is a big project and that nothing is guaranteed until Annette and her team have reached their pledge goals and have some stuff finalized. Already though, some of their purchasing offers involving this hardcover have been fully met. By the time I got to this, they had only 2 offers for the hardcover open, so this is a limited time thing!!!!!

You guys can go to KickStarter here where Annette Marie is making this offer:

Tags: @serial-doubters-club @intoevernightfanfic @keichanz @clearwillow @disneysooner @inukag @ruddcatha @lavendertwilight89 @chit-a-to @born-for-eachother @sailorbabydoll92 @artistefish @lostinfantasyworlds @stillunderyourbed @katerinu @mamabearcat @swaggingtomboy @zelink-inukag @xfangheartx

#i haven't given up Tumblr btw I've just had my life become a whole lot busier #I'll be back soon though #I've actually spent a couple months drawing a bunch of fanart that I eventually wanna post on here #some of it is for the InuYasha fandom and some of it is for other shows and books #I'll be back tho! don't worry #I just wanted to rant about Red Winter again after I heard about this hardcover offer #i both love and hate this #because I love Red Winter and have been hoping Annette would start doing hardcovers so they last longer #but at the same time I just committed to not buying anything I don't need and then I find out about THIS!!!!!! #I already have the 3 books I really don't need a copy! #but I WANT IT SO BAAAAD!!!!! #the red winter trilogy #red winter trilogy #annette marie #inuyasha #inukag #kamisama kiss #kamisama hajimemashita #inuyasha fandom #kamisama kiss fandom #book recs #book recommendations

[souldagger]

happy trans day of visibility, i wanna share my favourite books i read for the trans rights readathon!

fiction:

fierce femmes and notorious liars: a dangerous trans girl's confabulous memoir by kai cheng thom (magical realism YA - a dark, humorous and surreal subversion of the "trans memoir" genre; trans MC+author)

a lady for a duke by alexis hall (cute historical regency romance; trans MC+genderqueer author)

the brides at high hill by nghi vo (fifth novella in the exquisite singing hills cycle; nonbinary MC; comes out may 7th!)

the salt grows heavy by cassandra khaw (weird (<-complimentary) and gory gothic horror novella about a killer mermaid and a plague doctor; nonbinary love interest+author)

nonfiction:

none of the above: reflections on life outside the binary by travis alabanza

readme.txt: a memoir by chelsea manning

#tdov #trans rights readathon #books #.txt #i'll be real there's a whole bunch of books i didnt get to so i might just keep going lmfao #i rly wanna read the devourers +her majesty's royal coven+the undetectables #and reread a psalm for the wild-built in polish #(i will definitely be normal abt reading a book i loved using nonbinary pronouns for the MC in my native language. for sure.)

[pitske]

"So watch me rise up Open the skies up And take the world by storm I'll flood the dry lands Low and highlands And take the world by storm Every inch of the land, every part of the sky Will be water when I transform it So watch me rise up Open the skies up And take the world by storm"

#dude it has been so long since I've heard a villain song THIS catchy #genuinely I loved this movie so much #the art is amazing and the characters too #I know the story of the Monkey King is an old one but it never gets old to me #I've seen a bunch of executions but I think this one's my favorite #granted it isn't the whole story but try to put the entire thing in one movie #AAAAAAAAAAAAH it is so good! #if you haven't yet check out the Monkey King on Netflix #The Dragon was such a good interesting villain honestly #a little goofy too and yes of course the movie itself's a little goofy but the characterisation and such is resonating to me #by the way can I just say that I am so sad they cut a part from “Take the World by Storm”? it is sooooooo catchy man #and yes granted my drawing here has very little to do with the movie but idc #also this has finally implored me to go out and purchase the book #the monkey king #netflix the monkey king #the dragon king #the monkey king netflix #the monkey king 2023 #the monkey king fanart #pitske’s art #pitskederdoenerhaendler #Spotify #digital art #dragon #dragon art

[chenswire]

i love winning

fellas is it gay to both get summer alters

chummer swummer sweep baby not the matchy flowers and other things and e2 being fuckin day and night yin yang kino im gonna throw up they really are just The Same

I LOVE SHORTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#arknights #after gavial i was so fucking scared of summer alters but hm. well. #(almost) all is forgiven #her design is like a 9.5/10 it's just nitpicks at this point #anyway i told a whole bunch of friends that if she got an alter i would make a book so i guess i have no choice now

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

i find it hilarious that Choji who had like 30 seconds of screentime (half of which was repeat of the same scene with Kisaki) has a birthday but Kakucho still doesn't

Lmao Wakui loved giving the early background guys birthdays! Even Hansen got a birthday and all he did was get beat up by Kazutora and then beat up by Izana.

#I'm convinved that it's because Wakui needed to fill the character book so gave us a whole bunch of random info #tokyo revengers #tokrev

[firstofficerrose]

The platypus plot of The Nutmeg Of Consolation is absolutely unhinged to me. Steven has been wanting to see a platypus for ages. They foreshadow The Platypus. There is banter with Jack about the nature of The Platypus ("It's a mammal!" "Didn't you say it laid eggs?"). Steven and Martin go off looking for The Platypus and do not find it. They're about to leave Australia. At the last moment, there is another chance to go and look for The Platypus.

And then! They find it! Hurrah, a real Platypus! What a cute little guy! Amazing!

And then it stings Steven and he's allergic to Platypus venom and that's where the book ends?!?!?

#the Nutmeg of Consolation #aubreyad #steven maturin #theres a bunch of other things in that book that are wild. we have Brigid! finally! hooray! she's on another continent but she's here! #and the whole thing with Padeen #but the platypus plot is wild to me #also platypus venom is deeply serious business and my guy should not have recovered nearly that quickly #rose reads

[sweetest-honeybee]

Curse the first doom concept art book being $340 >:o

#treating myself to a concept art book bc I’ve been wanting the doom eternal art book #and it’s part of the two books #so I was like oh hell yeah second art book and ITS $340 GOOD LAWD #anyways time to save up- #jkjk but I have a whole list of concept art books I really want and I wanna work on my collection #I want a whole bunch of em so I can fill my shelf #I freaking love concept art books #I wanted the doom eternal one because Emerson tung is actually amazing and also I’m so curious about the thought processes #I’ve seen a bit on ETs portfolio website but having a physical copy would be awesome #his mech work is so inspiring

[dangerous-advantage]

(Image description below 'read more' line.)

[Image ID: A four-by-four alignment chart on a white background with text descriptions to the left and to the top of the squares.

The top left description reads, "seems like they'd be good at parenting." The top right description reads, "seems like they'd be bad at parenting."

Then, from the top down, to the left of the squares, the other set of descriptions reads: "excellent child rearing instincts," and "never trust them with a child in your life."

Each of the four squares contains an image of a different character. At the top left is an image of Lan Wangji of the Mo Dao Zu Shi donghua. He sits between the descriptors "seems like they'd be good at parenting," and "excellent child rearing instincts."

In the top right square sits an image of Wei Wuxian, also of the Mo Dao Zu Shi donghua. He sits between the junction of "seems like they'd be bad at parenting" and "excellent child rearing instincts."

In the bottom left square is an image of Xie Lian from the Tian Guan Ci Fu manhua. He occupies the square with the captions, "seems like they'd be good at parenting" and "never trust them with a child in your life."

Finally, in the bottom left square, sits an image of Hua Cheng from the Tian Guan Ci Fu manhua. He occupies the junction between "seems like they'd be bad at parenting" and "never trust them with a child in your life". /End ID]

#look ok #i see all the cute little fics with xl and hc talking about becoming parents and etc etc #and that's cute! that's adorable!! let them be happy!!! #but. you have to admit ok. hualian need to work through their own problems #like c'mon. xl picks up like AT LEAST three kids in the book and then proceeds to forget about one on his shelf for a while #just kinda. stands judgmentally with his hands on his hips about guzi and qi rong (it's really funny though don't get me wrong) #and after finally re-capturing lang ying he's like 'i'm gonna guardian you!' and then a whole bunch of shit happens and uh well #ly turns out to be the ghost of some kid xl traumatized 800 years ago come back for vengeance (L) #which means xl traumatized him multiple times lmao #we aren't even touching qi rong and lang qianqiu which YES i know the latter wasn't xl's fault and i am fully aware that the situation with #qi rong is and was complicated. BUT. come ON man can these poor kids never catch a break? the one kid he DIDN'T accidentally traumatize #turned out to be obsessively in love with him so like maybe this is for the best? #anyway i also just don't think they'd be... genuinely interested in a commitment like that? like hc would go along with anything xl wants #but he doesn't seem the type to be interested in kids (he's mostly just interested in xl) #xl isn't off the hook either ok #people bring up hc's treatment of e'ming but xl isn't exactly a saint to ruoye. i dont blame the guy he's got a lot on his mind #but he's also very.... absent #plus with the responsibilities of their respective positions all their extra time is like. spent on eachother jk? #this isn't to say xl doesn't *like* kids or anything i just don't think he would want to be a full-time parent lmao #also they DEFINITELY have their own issues with themselves as kids and i'm afraid that might translate into like. parenting #meme #tgcf #mxtx meme #tgcf meme #xie lian #hua cheng #lan wangji #wei wuxian #wei ying #lan zhan