#i've only read a few that i don't recommend period but i've read a lot of good ones

[ao3commentoftheday]

What would you usually advise for an aspiring writer who just... Doesn't have a wide range of English vocabulary? :( I've never written anything yet but for many times in my life, I've been surrounded by literature and fanfiction that I feel at home with the topic. I have stories in mind for my fandoms that I wish that I can write. But the problem is-- English is not my first language. I worry that my dialogues or storylines may not sound appropriate if I ever write and it reaches audience outside my country. I also worry that my world knowledge and or social awareness may be so small that I may not make things... relatable. Do I need to read a lot before being able to start to write? Because I read somewhere that good writers are also wide readers.

I definitely agree that reading more (and reading broading across genres, cultures, and time periods) is a valuable way for a writer to spend their time. By reading, you become familiar with the components of writing and how to put them together. You get a feel for styles that really resonate with you and you also learn what kinds of writing you just don't really like much at all.

That said, I don't think you need to do all of your reading before you start writing. Watching a lot of youtube videos about swimming isn't going to do much for you until you actually get into a pool. Knowing the theory is only half of the battle. Being able to practice is important too.

Remember, you don't have to do it all in 1 story. You can start by writing things that are within your knowledge and when you're comfortable doing that, you can see if you enjoy researching too. If you do, then great! You've got more potential topics to write about. If you don't, that's great too! You get to dig in deeper on the themes and touchstones that you already know.

There's nothing shameful about getting really good at writing the same few things. No one ever asked Agatha Christie to stop writing about murder because she really should branch out.

Having simpler vocabulary is also nothing to be ashamed of - although based on your ask, I think you don't have anything to be worried about. For this, and for the other worries you've expressed, I recommend asking a friend (either in person or in fandom) to read over your work with you. A beta can be there to help with grammar and spelling, but they can also assist in developing ideas or identifying opportunities you have in your story. They can be a cheer reader or a sensitivity reader too.

When it comes to being relatable, just remember we're all human. We all live. We'll all die. We all feel happy and sad and angry and bored and hungry. A lot of us fall in love. A lot of us have caring families. Some of us are heartbroken for almost all of our lives. The city that we do it in or the workplace or the type of school doesn't matter. It's the experience part that's universal.

I'd love to hear from other authors who write in second (or third, etc) languages about your thoughts on this one. And for everyone else, please feel free to share your thoughts as well.

#asks and answers

[copperbadge]

I was making breakfast and listening to an episode of Just King Things this morning, which is a podcast I do recommend -- two very smart English teachers are reading the books of Stephen King in publication order and discussing them. This could go extremely awry except they're both highly conscious of his failings as well as his skill, so they do really well handling a lot of his less salutatory content.

They've hit the point in King's ouvre (this episode was about Hearts In Atlantis) that follows his recovery from the car accident that very nearly killed him, where he was struck by a van while out walking. One of them pointed out that it seems as though he came back from nearly dying determined to write the wildest shit imaginable and only write what he wanted, which struck a chord in me this time despite having listened to this episode before. Perhaps because I was thinking about my own writing and where it's going in the short term (there are a couple of short stories I want to do that I don't quite have a way into yet). I generally don't think about the drift of my creativity in the long term because when I do I usually draw the wrong conclusions.

I don't really classify my life, the way some people who've had high-impact injuries do, as before-TBI and after-TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury -- the fairly severe concussion I had in January of 2020). For one thing, given I had to cancel a trip to NYC because of it, it may have saved my life; I almost certainly would have caught COVID as someone with known lung issues in New York at the time. For another, the TBI was way scarier to almost everyone else; for me it was just one more dumb injury I gave myself and I didn't even remember most of it so it hardly registered. I used to open the story of it with a joke about waking up not remembering going to bed the night before, but nobody ever found it funny.

It's true that there are changes it wrought in my life, though. Even practical stuff like making sure my living space doesn't have tripping hazards and continuing to wear a fitbit even though I don't really need to (the fitbit told us, the morning after, exactly when the concussion happened, because it registered a heart-rate spike when I fell). For weeks after, I had to move slowly and put off making important decisions because I couldn't trust my physical or intellectual judgement; I didn't even jaywalk in my own neighborhood because I couldn't be sure I was judging the cars' speeds properly. For about a year after I had periodic post-concussion syndrome which basically just slammed me back into concussion space, which wasn't painful or upsetting but was definitely inconvenient.

And it's also undeniable that my writing shifted after the injury. It's not necessarily because of the injury, since my initial recovery from the TBI and the declaration of quarantine happened at roughly the same time, and anyone who tells you that a years-long global pandemic didn't impact their artistic expression is selling you a line. But the last thing I wrote before the TBI was the first draft of Six Harvests, and aside from the Six Harvests publication draft, which had fairly minimal changes, almost all that I've written has been blue-sky, light-hearted, PG-rated romance. It's been on my mind that I've been writing different subject matter from what I used to, but the timing of it didn't strike me until just recently.

I don't mind, really. I love fandom and I support fanfic in whatever expression it comes, but I'm also happy writing my own stories. While I'm aware it's been years since I've meaningfully written fanfic, it doesn't bother me per se, as long as I'm writing. It bothered me much more when I could write fanfic but not original fic, especially in those last few awful months at my last job. I'm proud of the literary and non-genre fiction I've written in the past, but it's also much more trying and frustrating to write at times, so I'm enjoying having a different sort of challenge that feels more fulfilling in the process. I'm sure at some point I'll go back to literary fiction -- there are ways in which it's hard to avoid turning the later Shivadh novels into literary fiction, being honest -- but for now I like what I'm writing, and I'm writing primarily to please myself and without regard to what's necessarily rational or linear.

Just struck me, is all, that it's by far the most noticeable major shift in my work. I do sort of wonder what will be next.

#writing #sam writes

[hedgehog-moss]

Do you have any advice on picking books for readers with limited time? I love to read, but in the past couple years I've been dissatisfied with almost everything I've read and I've purposely been trying to pick a variety: obscure, best-sellers, internet-recs, vintage, recents and I can't seem to pick well. I know the key to finding more good things is to read more quantity, but I've only got so much free time and can only read so fast.

Oh I feel you! There was a whole period of my life when I was desperately trying to find some alchemical formula to ensure that most of the books I read are good-to-great rather than okay-to-good. I had this scientific process where I tried to log a lot of details about the books I read and then look at the numbers year after year to find a common denominator. Is it a matter of reading more, or is it reading more older books vs. recent ones, male vs. female authors, books from my to-read list vs. impulsive reads, books recommended by friends vs. books I find myself? etc. etc. I made line graphs.

In the end the only factor that seemed to correlate with how many good books I read in a year was the number of unfinished reads, so the one piece of advice I have is to not hesitate to give up on a book you're not enjoying. I read multiple books at a time so it's easy to see if there's one that I keep neglecting in favour of the others; and I get most of my books for free or very cheap (from my local library, or OpenLibrary or Zlibrary, or secondhand bookshops where they're like 50cts apiece, or swapping books with friends), the ones I buy new are mostly books I've already read & enjoyed, so I don't have qualms about giving up 20 pages in if I'm not feeling it.

Other than that, I've kind of made my peace with the fact that finding a good book is a mysterious serendipitous process and most of the books I read will be just okay, plus a few bad ones and some great ones.

That said if most books you read end up being unsatisfying rather than at least okay, maybe you're not sure what you're looking for? It helps to identify what you want from a book at a particular time (fun escapism, learning more about a given topic, immersion in a specific atmosphere and if so, which one...) I tend to start a new read with a precise idea of what it would take for this book to be satisfying, e.g. "rn I feel like reading about someone's quiet daily life, maybe a diary or letters, set in a place or context I don't know much about, without turmoil or tragedy" or "a story set in the 17/1800s with flowery prose, interesting female characters, focused on intricate social shenanigans rather than romance or adventure" etc, so it allows me to narrow things down and eliminate potential reads where too many criteria are missing.

And I like to read a few 1-star goodreads reviews—some prefer to focus on 3-star reviews which are more balanced; personally I figure, if the people who hated this book the most cite reasons for disliking it that aren’t dealbreakers for me, that’s a good sign. And if the worst reviews cite stuff I'm actually looking for right now ("too long, too many digressions, long-winded prose, too quiet / not enough action", etc) then it’s a book that comes recommended both by 5-star and 1-star reviewers :)

#ask #(@ la française qui m'a envoyé un message ce weekend; je t'ai fait une réponse assez longue que tumblr a mangée 😭 #c'est stressant pour tout le monde ce qu'il se passe en ce moment; n'hésite pas à m'envoyer un message privé si tu veux discuter <3)

[bonefall]

Hi Bones!! Thank you for you hard work on this project and for sharing it with us!

I've seen your posts about weird representation of society (regarding the "natural order of things") in xenofiction, especially in lion king, so I wanted to ask:

could you recommend any xenofiction media that has all (or most of the) animal species sapient? Or is the only solution to make just one or two species sapient while the others (especially prey) are plain animals?

Really sorry if you've seen this ask from me before - my account had a weird laggy period when I couldn't send or receive messages and asks, so I don't know if you got the previous one! I just know that now it's fixed so I double all the asks sent haha

Honestly I'm not totally sure! If any 3rd person has some good recommendations for "every being is alive" xenofiction types, feel free to weigh in.

If you want to jump in with me though, I am following the webcomic Africa. It updates every Wednesday. Africa is about a mother Leopard on the verge of a great ecological disaster, the relationship between her children and the animals around her, and the strength of both instinct and choice as the characters face an uncertain future.

Since it's ongoing, I still don't know how it's going to end and can't judge it as a full work! But it's absolutely fascinating and I think the author is doing a fantastic job so far. Bonus points for the way it portrays humans, btw.

No more spoilers though, if you're interested, it's on Webtoons.

(I'm also planning to read Oren's Forge soon. Ask me about it again in a few months over on Bonebabbles and I'll give you my thoughts)

As an aside though, funny you mention it because like... ever since I was a kid I've had a story I want to tell with the premise. It's a scintilla I've kept close to me for well over a decade but haven't done anything official with. So this is actually a theme I've thought about a lot.

It's rare to see it done well though because like... its very premise butts heads with reality. The "natural order" that an animal follows is not something it moralizes. A tiger doesn't have the capacity to think about how fucked up it is to kill to stay alive, the deer doesn't know that if its population isn't controlled it will destroy the forest.

They're animals. They don't HAVE that agency. Your dog does not care about being sterilized. A snake doesn't differentiate between a pinky and an adult mouse except in terms of if it will fit in its mouth. But the minute you put human morality in there... they have the ability to reason, create and agree on the rules of a society, make choices about MORALITY.

If nothing is going to change about their world, you just end up putting human arguments about "natural order" in their mouths and, well... start telling a parable justifying this "natural order."

(Genuine) Does what I'm saying make sense? Animals DON'T rationalize or negotiate. HUMANS do.

So the minute you're approaching a world with that logic, like it or not, you are invoking those "arguments from nature." And you're putting them in a being that is not fully an animal or a human, but an anthropomorphic mix which CAN rationalize but WON'T make an effort to change their world.

(Which is why tbh the best examples i know of are works with a theme of "change.")

OH WAIT I also remember another that's interesting!! Leafy: Hen into the Wild actually has a fascinating take on it. It's not interested in "moralizing" or really being about an animal society. It's a very emotional sort of movie, and it's about joys in adversity, the freedom that choice gives you, how bad things are going to happen and you can never completely prevent them.

INTENSE movie emotionally, the ending will wreck you (especially in the English translation which leaves out a really important theme making it feel abrupt x_x) but it's really good. Check that one out.

OH and also You Are Umasou. That one has more pitfalls imo (it does try to moralize a bit) but it's super unique as a movie. And is about dinosaurs.

#Don't take my opinions as gospel tho #There's no ONE RIGHT WAY to tell a story or handle a theme #And every person can have a unique reading of any story #Some stories can even be interpreted super differently by going in with different readings #Media isn't a box you take the lid off of to loot for objectively correct objects #It's more like eating a meal #Examining ingredients/tropes and how they were used #Trying to identify what the author set out to do and if it accomplished it in its current form #And sometimes idk chicken noodle tastes like hot saltwater in one moment but then hits different 2 months later when surrounding-- #--circumstances (like being sick or cold) make it hit different #Point im getting at is that we could objectively say 'they used chicken and noodle' in this dish #But analysis and opinions and expressing them are an art of their own #Bone babble #Anyway prolly gonna be quiet the rest of the day so I can do clanmew prep lads #Media analysis #Xenofiction

[fdelopera]

Hey! Hope you’re doing well amidst everything going on. I saw one of your posts talking about Jewish history and something kind of clicked in my mind… because you’re right. I have never once been taught a single droplet of history about Jews besides the Holocaust. I want to turn that around, and learn more, because I find Judaism really cool and I want to learn more about it.

So, do you know where to begin when reading about Jewish history? I know it’s probably going to be extensive, but history is already extensive, and I wish I got taught more than just Christian ideology. This goes the same for any religion beyond Catholicism and Christianity. I really wish I was taught more about it.

Thank you!! Hope you have a good day :)

Thank you for your kind message. I really appreciate it. And thank you for wanting to learn more about Jewish history.

This past month especially has made me realize just how little most gentiles (non-Jews) know about Jewish history. It's been eye-opening, for sure.

It's also been horrifying to see the amount of white supremacist, antisemitic propaganda that people have been spreading online. Some people have been spreading this Nazi rhetoric intentionally, but many others have been spreading it because they don't have the context to understand that they are repeating Nazi dogwhistles. This month, I've seen more of Richard Spencer's Neo-Nazi talking points here on Tumblr than I ever have before. For context, Richard Spencer is this Nazi who got punched in the face.

In talking to gentiles, I often find that their knowledge of Jewish history extends to a few facts about the Holocaust. Some gentiles who have studied European history and political science may also have a general understanding of Hitler’s rise to power.

But that’s only the past several decades of Jewish history! And it's limited almost entirely to Europe!

Jews are a Levantine people from Judea (the area currently called Israel/Palestine), and our history goes back thousands of years to the Late Bronze Age.

For a good overview of Jewish history, from the Late Bronze Age to the present, I would recommend two YouTube channels. That’s a good place to start. There are many history books on the subject, but a lot of them are quite dense, and the videos from these two historians will give you a good general overview if you want to learn more.

Sam Aronow:

Sam Aronow covers the span of Jewish history, from the Late Bronze Age to modern times. It is an ongoing Jewish history project that he’s been producing for the past three years, and it is in chronological order. He is currently in the early 1900s, and he comes out with a new video every month or so (he's just released a new video this month).

Click here to go to Sam’s YouTube channel, and then you can scroll back to watch his videos from the beginning, or you can decide what time period of Jewish history you’re most interested in learning about first.

Useful Charts:

Matt Baker, PhD runs the YouTube channel "Useful Charts," and he often works with Sam Aronow's channel. He has a PhD in education and religion. Matt has a very interesting story. He converted to Judaism as an adult; when he was a young man, he escaped a Christian doomsday cult, which he was born into. This gives him a unique understanding of Jewish history, especially how the "Old Testament" is often weaponized by Evangelical Christians to advance specific right-wing agendas. (As I explain below, the Old Testament is NOT the Hebrew bible. It is a chopped up, reordered, edited, and mistranslated version of the Hebrew bible.) Matt's videos on the history of Judaism are well-researched, and he breaks down different aspects of Jewish history into easy-to-follow segments.

I) Jewish History series:

Which Bible Characters are Historical.

Kings of Israel & Judah Family Tree.

Maccabees & King Herod Family Tree. (by Sam Aronow)

Classical Rabbis Family Tree.

Judaism and Jewish Denominations Explained.

Jewish Streams (Denominations) Re-Explained. (by Sam Aronow)

II) Who Wrote the Tanakh and the New Testament series:

NOTE: The Tanakh (the Hebrew bible) is an acronym that stands for Torah (Instruction), Nevi'im (Prophets), Ketuvim (Writings). It is NOT the same as the "Old Testament" in the Christian bible. The Christian editors of the "Old Testament" cut up the Tanakh and reordered it in a way that doesn't make any sense for Jewish practice. Many Christian bibles (such as the King James Version) also intentionally mistranslate the Old Testament to advance specific religious, political, and social ideologies of their time.

Who Wrote the Torah.

Who Wrote the Prophets.

Who Wrote the Writings.

I am including links to Matt's series on who wrote the New Testament, because many people who were raised Christian were never given a historical context for the people who wrote the books of the New Testament.

Who Wrote the Apocrypha. (The Apocrypha are later-written Jewish books that are not included in the Tanakh, but do appear in some Christian bibles, like the Catholic bible)

Who Wrote the Epistles. (Paul's Epistles were written before the Gospels, which is why the Epistles are linked first.)

Who Wrote the Gospels and Acts. (The Gospels were all written long AFTER Jesus' lifetime, and AFTER the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. They were NOT written by the people they are attributed to.)

Who Wrote Daniel, and Who Wrote Revelation. (Matt includes Daniel from the Nevi'im [Prophets] as well as Revelation from the New Testament in this video to discuss apocalypticism in Jewish and early Christian tradition.)

#neverkayzat #judaism #jumblr #jewblr #jewish #jewish history #NOTE - I report and block antisemites. If any antisemites comment on this post you will be reported and blocked. You have been warned.

[cursedvibes]

Cursedvibes, what are your favorite Kenjin fanfics/art/comics or just what is your favorite JJK fanfics/art in general

I don't actually read that much jjk fanfiction and most of what I read isn't JinKen, but I still have a few faves I'd like to recommend.

theft of witness by iamsomebody One of the first jjk & Kenjaku fics I ever read and I absolutely loved it. It follows Kenjaku through their transition from Kaori to Geto and gives brief glimpses into their experiences. Partially inspired me to write my own stuff. I absolutely love the writing style and the confrontation scene between Kaorijaku and Wasuke is my favourite. Might be responsible for why I like their dynamic so much. Also, you should check out the art that's linked in the fic notes, it's one of my favourite.

死的静观 by Innersol Jin/Kamojaku, background Jin/Toji (don't ship it, but it also didn't bother me much), sort of a Gothic Modern AU It's in Chinese, but I think with a translator you can still follow very well what's happening and not too much of the prose is lost. Jin is a medical student in his 20s aiming for doctor and Kenjaku (Kamo Noritoshi) is financing his studies, eventually inviting him to live at their house to collaborate at times with their research. It's not specified what exactly Noritoshi does, but you find out that some Death Painting-esque experiment is going on in the background. Since this is a ship fic, Jin and Kenjaku eventually go from studying to fucking. It's not too heavy on the feelings, but Jin does get attached and curious about Kenjaku and over time the same happens to Kenjaku, with them developing a strong wish to have a child with Jin, eventhough that's physically impossible for them in this AU. There's also some brainfuckery going on at some point, Jin just can't keep his fingers to himself. Really love this one for the creepy vibe and because I'm just happy to see more of Kamojaku.

Innersol is also a great artist with some exceptional jjk fanart. You can find them here @karama08 and on Twitter

Complicity by SenZen_Travers My favourite MahiKen fic. Characterization is on point, the atmosphere is calm but also so intense at the same time. I always get a bit dizzy when reading it. The smut is really juicy too and feels natural (I'm always a bit bothered when Kenjaku is shown as overly dominant, and Mahito as this dainty submissive bottom. That's not the case here, they're just having a fun time together)

King's Ascent by Anonymous (registered users only) A SukUme fic with ace Uraume. It takes place during the Nara period and details Sukuna and Uraume's first meeting and how they grew to be partners. The world building here is really good with lots of details to flesh out the setting as well as the characters. Really well written too and the best SukUme fic I've read so far. It has 5 chapters so far, I'm really hoping the author will continue it at some point.

light of a new morning by flyfreebird (@urostakako on tumblr) A Tsumiki Lives AU, mainly revolving around Tsumiki and Yuuji bonding over their past trauma and relationship with Megumi. It's so well written, I want to insert it directly into my brain. Tsumiki's struggle of loving her brother, but also being angry at him for how ignorant he has been of her and her emotions all her life is so well depicted here, makes me wish it were canon. This is the Tsumiki I wanted to see. It feels so satisfying to read this after the disappointment I felt over how her character was handled in canon.

Kissing Strangers by magrealism_conspirology Jin/Kenjaku, fanart not fanfic but since it was posted on AO3 I thought it would make for a good transition to other artists Always love it when Jin interacts with Kenjaku's brain and the pose here makes it look especially good. Very tender, as if he's just giving them a kiss on the cheek (but juicier).

For fanart recommendation, I'm gonna shout out

@trung-roi Currently creating a lot of TenKen art that makes me go absolutely insane. Can also recommend him for Mahito and Sukuna/Uraume fans. His art always manages to make even gore look beautiful and enthralling. I particularly like this Pixiv album. It has a lot of my faves. Kenjaku and Tengen playing Mario, Kenjaku swallowing Tengen, them holding hands, Edo era meeting, Tengen holding Kenjaku's brain (I particularly like this surreal style here) and a Barbie meme.

Twitter Pixiv

Warlock1000 or 1000YEAH Already love this artist for drawing all incarnations of Kenny. I rarely see this much EdoKen and Kamojaku in one place. They also really nail Kenjaku's personality, from the grotesque to silly. Just can't emphasize enough how amazing their art is. You should really check them out. Also have a lot on Sukuna and Uraume.

Lofter weibo

(My two strongest arguments for why you should go check them out right now. I also wanted to give you a glimpse of their art here because I know weibo links in particular can sometimes be difficult to open from overseas or on the phone and I want to encourage you try to seek them out regardless)

reynis var emrace I recently recommended her Kaorijaku (& Geto) art, so here is my call again to give her some more attention. She does a lot of stsg stuff too. What drew me to her was intense gory art. And I mean real gore, guts hanging out and everything. Every time I look at her art, I feel like I can actually smell the blood. Especially for a character like Kenjaku that is very fitting. Not gonna lie, the art where Kenjaku is licking Gojo's ripped out eyeball inspired me quite a lot. I like this one a lot as well.

Most of her older stuff you can find on vk

planetsandmagic I think if you're looking around the fandom here, you will have inevitably come across them, but I still wanted to highlight them. They draw pretty much anything jjk and every piece looks fantastic. Their art often has this melancholic, dark and eery vibe I really like. Recently I fell absolutely in love with their TenKen art (predictable as I am).

Twitter

There are like a dozen more I can think of , plus individual art pieces, but I'm trying to contain it to a manageable list

#asks #jujutsu kaisen #kenjaku #itadori jin #mahito #uraume #fushiguro tsumiki #fic rec #art rec

[maya-chirps]

[ID: a screenshot of a reblog by @/fleurtygurl. It reads: "Omg instant follow! I need more Philippines facts in my life!!! 😭😭😭

If you have any facts about filipino myths? That would be amazing. But also I will literally eat up everything you post!

I'm in desperate need of reconnecting with my roots, but I've been so busy that I haven't had any time to do any extensive research...."

/End ID]

@fleurtygurl Decided to make a whole post based on this because I loooove talking about Filipino mythology and researching more about different mythologies within the country and I also hadn't gone around to looking through the things I want to learn about.

Filipino mythology is a pretty huge umbrella term considering that there are hundreds of cultures in the archipelago that have different beliefs, practices, and traditions and especially before the Spanish colonial period. I won't get too deep into it, but basically if you want to learn about some grander pantheon or some general overarching compendium of beliefs that all precolonial Filipinos believe in, you won't be getting that sine historically, Filipinos were not a unified people, but a bunch of different countries and communities that were placed under one governing body for easy management for the Spanish crown.

With so many Filipino cultures and, by extension, mythologies, the best way with trying to reconnect with your heritage, it might be best to figure out which ethnic group you may have connections too and start researching from there. In my case, for example, I would look up both Tagalog mythology, Bikolano mythology, and Ilokano mythology in order to get a good grasp of the mythology of my roots since I'm mixed Tagalog, Bikolano, and Ilokano, and those three have widely different beliefs and especially with folk religion.

I guess the main issue with this is a lot of sources related to Filipino myths are often difficult to find, are unreliable, or plainly just non-existent. Lots of books are often out of circulation and print, or if they are still in print, they are often only sold by specific retailers and often cost a lot of money. Research papers are locked behind a paywall or are only available through specific e-libraries you can only access if you have an affiliation with a university. Online articles may be unreliable and source places that are hard to fact check. Blogs, honestly including mine to be frank, may parrot wrong information from other websites and articles, with their best feature being the possibility that they may have come from oral sources but those are also very few.

Honestly, I was about to go on a long tangent about discussing at least the Tagalog pantheon and mythology because it had a lot of sources I've seen online, but after hours of research, I've found out that there was also a lot of unreliable sources in terms of information about that so I've decided against rambling on further about it for now.

(I am still going to write about my findings on the Tagalog pantheon later but after what I've found out, I might take some time to look through a lot more primary sources which means colonial era texts and harder to find archived works.)

I will say that a good way to connect with more general Filipino folklore outside of mythology itself is probably consuming media that explores folklore and traditional beliefs. I recommend Trese, a Filipino comic turned series on Netflix if you want to see Filipino cryptids being used in a modern-day story made by Filipinos. There are also other comics that focus on Filipino mythology like The Mythology Class and its sequel The Children of Bathala by Arnold Arre.

There's also series and movies that take inspiration from Filipino folklore and mythology with Dayo: Sa Mundo ng Elementalya (English name Niko: The Journey to Magika) as my go-to suggestion. I had also heard good reviews for Amaya, a series created by GMA 7, but honestly I don't think the series clicked with me.

#mayaposts #mayapino #fleurtygurl #filipino #philippines #filipino mythology #might make posts about specific filipino myths some other time because it's such a big umbrella of stories and legends #outside of the precolonial religion #sorry to make this post so long i'm a give me an inch i'll go a mile kinda person #long post

[demigod-of-the-agni]

any cool desi books/media to recommend??

Okay to be fair I am not the biggest consumer of desi media HOWEVER. I have a few niche favourites (some of them come from my research for my Major Work in my final year in high school but here's a quick list):

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri - god this entire book changed me fundamentally. It was like watching my own life play in fast-forward and getting hit in places I didn't want to be hit. if you are a first-generation desi in a western country, you will be on the ground sobbing

If You See Me, Don't Say Hi by Neel Patel - a collection of short stories that methodically break down some of the most subtle and pervasive stereotypes within desi cultures. I've only ever had time to read the first two stories but I'm hoping to get the full book someday

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhump Lahiri - an anthology I read for my senior year as well. Another one of this heart-wrenching pieces that just resonate with me like damn.

The Aru Shah series by Roshani Chokshi - it's Percy Jackson But Make It Desi and honestly such a fun read!! Reading about the Potatoes (this is what the reincarnated Pandavas call themselves not joking) is always bound to make my day

The Age of Kalki series by Vishwas Mudagal - I read this purely for inspiration on my own original novel, and it was fun to use for comparisons for research and my writing. Also, spy stuff and action and all that

The Spider-Man: India comics - hey, desi stuff is desi stuff, and I enjoy anything that has my boy Pavitr in it (I'll enjoy it even more when @/marvelentertainment hires me to write him a book)

The Ms. Marvel show and comics - in Iman Vellani we trust 🙏 also my girl has such a wonderful variety of comics like. she's so cool. i love her. hoping that Iman does a masterful job as she writes Kamala's newest comic

18 Days by Grant Morrison - listen. there is a 2015 graphic novel and there is a 2010 artbook for the 2015 book. They are both the same thing: a retelling of the Mahabharata but make it electronic/futuristic. Read the graphic novel for the story, but I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend the 2010 artbook as well because my god the ART is just gorgeous. It obviously provides insight on the creation of Morrison's 2015 book but god it is just. so so sooooo good. Mukesh Singh is a beautiful artist I need to have his art tattooed on me

Any desi movies from the 90s-00s - my experience with tamil movies in that time period have always been good ones!! They're chill, they're funny, they're silly, they're romantic, they're thrilling. literally all of my favourite song come from this period (don't disregard movies from later periods either, I watched Brahmastra a few months back and it was lit as fuck).

English translations of popular desi stories - and these stories can be anything. from ye old prevailing Ramayana and Mahabharata to anything written by contemporary desi authors. They've got a lot to share

On a side note me complaining to my desi friends that I want good tamil representation in western media often led to me getting smacked in the face with Never Have I Ever (by my DESI friends! who say it is very good!!) and i just want to say no. don't watch that. as a tamil person living in a western country, i apologise for who Devi Vishwakumar is as a person. i will personally pay for your therapy (has only watched two episodes and was immediately turned off)

I'm giving y'all a whole day to ask me whatever

#agni of wisdom #me when. me when i don't engage with desi stuff outside of funny tamil musicals #you can very much tell that most of the stuff is india-centric. and like. yeah. i'm sorry. i haven't really delved into desi media- #-in other countries aside for some research. india is not the only south asian country and i absolutely recognise the fact that i should- #-probably widen my horizons #MARVEL HIRE ME PLS 🙏🙏🙏 I CAN MAKE PAVITR SOOOO POPULAR YOU HAVE NO IDEA 🤪⚡ (<- delusional) #desi media recs #desi #desi books #desi tumblr #me having no idea what desi tags to use lmfao

[teamsasukes]

Hello, could I trouble you for some sasusaku fic recommendations? I hope you have a good day!

of course :) i picked some of my all-time favourites, and i hope there's enough variety here to keep you satisfied!

go the converse by blue-plums -- this one is not really romantic, but regardless, it's probably the ss fic i come back to the most often. (i'd recommend reading even if you don't dig the pairing! as long as you enjoy both characters ofc) it's a modern college au, and as a bonus, the author integrates a lot of japanese cultural elements to help the characters translate pretty seamlessly. it aces what i love about sasuke and sakura's relationship, particularly for sasuke, and it's just sooo sweet and comforting. it's incomplete but you wouldn't really know it (i only noticed on my third read, haha) -- i think it leaves you with a nice sense of closure. all of this author's fics (on ao3 and ffn) are worth a read.

soft day by catflorist -- another author whose fics are all a must-read if you like ss. this one is your classic blank period fic executed to perfection, and i don't say that lightly. it's hitting all the beats of what i've always wanted to see between sasuke and sakura as they heal and reconcile. in progress.

abattoir by leech -- a oneshot of sasuke and sakura's blank period travels as you've never seen them before. the sakura of this fic is more damaged than canon, but not so much so that you can't recognize her. sasuke is incredibly in-character, like... surprisingly sweet while also doing All Of That. yeah, you kind of just have to read it to see. mind the tags

sunny. zero chance of rain by bby_rabbit -- this is a super fun slice of life fic, still in progress. sasusaku is one of few pairings -- you can check out the tags for the others -- but i'm obsessed with what we do get of them. it's a contrast to the other fics here in that they're already together, so it depicts more domestic struggles. and i really enjoy sasuke and sakura's individual characterizations! sakura, in particular, is a character people tend to write aspirationally, but while she's no less accomplished here, i love love love the emphasis on all her neuroses. the fic does flirt a little bit with sasuhina so keep that in mind, but like. read it!

we're in danger, sleeping with a friend by psallocappella -- this is a oneshot of the early stages of sasuke and sakura's relationship. light and pretty funny. featuring the usual team 7 shenanigans, lady katsuyu, and somehow, shikamaru. would also recommend this author's other work!

#hope u have fun reading these! #sasusaku #asks

[juliette-cai-enthusiast]

Ok Here's my Big Long Rant About Chloe Gong's Books

So I discovered These Violent Delights towards the end of 2021, just before Our Violent Ends came out. My ex-girlfriend recommended it (funny enough she also got me into Taylor Swift. She was super toxic and later cheated on me but she had pretty good taste all around) and I had heard of it before so I decided to give it a shot. I settled into bed that night, planning to read a chapter or two, and three hours later, I had finished the book and probably almost screeched at the cliffhanger, and then began the agonizing wait (it probably wasn't more than a month, but still) for OVE.

The entire time, I could not stop thinking about how much I loved these characters. The relationships seemed authentic and fleshed-out and every character was so unique, and it was just so well-written. I especially remember being completely obsessed with Juliette (hence the username) and loving Benedikt and Marshall, although I was so so worried it was going to be queerbait.

When OVE came out, I got it out of the library and once again read it one night. This time, I was in tears by the end. To this day, only 2 books have made me cry (the other being They Both Die at the End) and OVE is the only one that has made me cry every time. They became my new obsession almost instantaneously, and when Foul Lady Fortune was announced, I was completely ecstatic.

When FLF was released, I went to the book tour and actually got to meet Chloe Gong. I was fangirling out of my entire mind and was probably super embarassing, but she was super funny and down-to-earth. I cried (again) in the parking lot as soon as I stepped outside. A few months later, she announced Last Violent Call, and when I found out that Roma and Juliette were alive, I actually fell on the floor. I went to the Immortal Longings book tour, although I sadly couldn't go to the FHH one, and I'm currently scheming up ways to get tickets for Vilest Things (Miss Chloe, please come to Philly again, I don't know if I can drag my mom to New York twice).

There are so many reasons why this series is so unebelievably important to me. First of all, the queer representation is honestly unlike anything I've ever seen. The queer characters are fully fleshed out and have personalities and arcs outside of their queer identities, but their queerness is also not a footnote or shoved in for "diversity points." When Benmars became canon and got their "Because I love you!" moment I was in complete shock--I honestly hadn't allowed myself to hope for it to happen. As the queer representation carried over into FLF, I just grew more and more overjoyed with this series. These books also came to me right when I needed them. LVC particularly came out during a very difficult and stressful time in my life, where my mental health was very bad. I remember thinking to myself all week, "Just hold on until LVC comes out," and it really helped me push through that period of time.

Chloe Gong was also pretty much a realization of my dreams. I knew I wanted to be an author for a while, but I really had no idea how to get there. I always thought, "Go to college for something you don't entirely hate, get a real job for about 10 years, then you can start publishing books." Seeing someone only a few years older than me with the same dreams as mine succeed in bringing them to life has been almost a lifeline over the years. I'm no longer as scared of what my future holds, or whether or not I'll be happy with my life. I honestly read her blog posts about her publishing journey probably once a month, just to keep myself motivated, because if she can do it, so will I.

So thank you so much @chloegong for this amazing world you have created. These books really mean the world to me and have brought so many amazing people into my life, and I can't imagine who I would be without them. This is way too long and way too personal, but I just reread FHH and was deep in the SS feels, so I had to get it all out there.

#chloe gong #secret shanghai #these books mean the absolute world to me and are my entire personality so yeah #foul lady fortune #foul heart huntsman #these violent delights #our violent ends

[voxofthevoid]

Wait I— WHAT— 500k+ words for JJK? Alone? Oh my god. I’m one of your new readers, and I’m blown away by not only your word count but the wRITING LOGS?? How?? Do you keep track of your WIPs?? Do you write consistently, period?? Do you have any advice for someone who can barely squeak out a paragraph to describe a vision in their brain?? Please bless me with your skills, Vox-sensei 😭🙏

Welcome to my madness 🤣❤️

Okay, in all fairness, I'm usually not this unhinged productive. Last year, for instance, my total word count was only around 250k (iirc). I'm sure I wrote more than that from 2018 to 2020, but my logs from those are divided by fics/chapters or weekly.

... I've, uh, tried a lot of shit over the years.

Which is an important point! I've been posting to ao3 for nearly a decade now (not consistently, but I don't think I was away for more than a year or two), and I've been writing in some capacity for around 15–17 years now. There's been a lot of trial and error over the years, plus changing life circumstances leading to varying energy levels and writing time. The main factor is inspiration; if it's there, I'll write a lot, but if not, I'll be a potato.

So with all that in mind!

Logs

I do keep track of both my word count and my WIPs. I've got color-coded docs and spreadsheets even because I'm a fucking nerd. I've got pictures of it floating somewhere on this blog, but my fic folders tend to be nested, numbered little monstrosities.

WIPs

I call them WIPs sometimes because they're extensively detailed outlines mostly, but the more accurate term is ideas/plot bunniesdemons. I don't work on more than one story at a time. Typically, I start something and write it in narrative order until it's done. There are exceptions—my current fic was started in a post-236 frenzy, and I set aside the PWP I was working on for it. But usually, I only actively write one story at a time while everything else gets developed/outlined as inspiration strikes.

Consistency

You could say I write consistently, yeah! I don't do it every day because I take breaks whenever I finish a chapter (and of course, life throws curve balls sometimes), but typically, I write around 22–25 days a month. I set aside a few hours for it. Average daily word count also varies, but these days, it's 1.5–3k. When I'm really in the zone, it can reach 5–6k.

I'm a hobbyist writer with no aspirations of writing professionally, so my approach to the whole thing has been to wing it and see where it takes me. So I haven't really done anything with the concrete goal of improving. The best (and only) advice I have is very boring and cliche though: read and write.

Read widely if you can and narrow in on the kind of style and genre you like. Note down passages or turns of phrase that struck you and figure out why. You'll absorb a lot automatically, but I've heard people recommend emulating styles on purpose as a writing exercise.

Mainly though, the best and easiest way to improve is to keep writing. Technical rules can be learned pretty easily, especially with how many resources are available online now. Field/subject-specific reference materials are also abundant. But developing your own style and improving the flow of your prose are things that need practice. And it never really stops, especially because your writing will continuously evolve in more ways than one.

This got way longer than I intended. Oops? Thanks for asking though, anon. I did have fun replying!

#i love my anons #anon #I'm typing this while very sleepy so excuse any errors

[pynkhues]

I just finished the scripts for Succession S2 and I think some of your tags indicate you have as well. The finale script left me with two questions I thought you might have a view on. 1. Maybe it's me but I read the "summer of competitive eating disorders" line from Connor as non-literal. Like there was that one summer where everyone was messed up about food (and maybe everyone did have eating disorders) but it wasn't a literal competition. Is that a weird read? I keep seeing fics that are taking it literally so I may have misunderstood. 2. What is up with Logan being so possessive of Kendall? It's there in the episodes but the way he talks to Naomi is crazy in the scripts. I don't think Logan's really interacted like that with Tom or Willa or Tabitha - is it because Naomi is a Pierce or is it another one of those weird Kendall and Logan things?

Yeah, I have only recently finished reading the s2 scripts, and I've just started on s3. I've actually been enjoying reading them pretty slowly and percolating on them, but I was even more slowed down the last couple of weeks because my nephews were staying with me for the school holidays. It's meant most of my reading has been with and for them, haha, but I can highly recommend Mike Lowery's Bug Scouts book series for the five year olds in your life!

But yes! To your questions.

The Summer of Competitive Eating Disorders

I don't think that's a weird reading at all.

I think a lot of people have a tendency to view things mentioned on the show as very literal (the dog pound being probably the most obvious example, but also Roman's comments about being molested and all of the Roy siblings' insistence around things they did or didn't know about cruises / the wolf pack [especially after reading the s2 scripts and starting the s3 scripts, I think it's pretty heavily implied that Shiv and Roman ignore the things that they knew while Kendall does know more than them, yet not as much as he thinks. He postures his insider knowledge when his dad kept him more in the dark than he cares to admit, which of course falls apart over the course of s3).

That said, all four kids do have textual issues with food, and way back in 2022, I talked about the way the show utilises food as a symbol for power, particularly in the sense of who has it and who doesn't, which is something I stand by.

In tha sense, I think you're right - there wasn't a literal Summer of Competitive Eating Disorders, but I think the memory of it as one is probably reflective of a period of time where either Logan was particularly neglectful, or particularly present. Something abnormal that triggered a new way of dealing with food - enough for Connor to notice and remember it - and personally I'd kind of read it as the former? This is of course totally a headcanon, haha, but I could see it as the summer after Logan pushed Caroline out and the kids were left with the lingering aftermath of that.

In other words, I agree with you, haha, but I can absolutely see why it captured people's imaginations too.

Logan's possessiveness of Kendall

I actually have another ask in my inbox that I've been circling for ages on this, so I'm going to try and answer that tonight (finally!), but yes, I do think his possessiveness around Kendall is specific even among his children, and I agree that it was definitely even more explicit in the scripts.

It's an interesting sticking point that Naomi is a Pierce, but I honestly don't think that's entirely an issue - if it was Roman, for instance, I think Logan would think it was a great in or a strategic move for him, and he clearly didn't think anything of Connor's friendship and political partnership with Maxim.

Logan's possessive of all of his kids, of course, but it does feel different with Kendall, and I think there are a few reasons for that which I'll talk about in this other answer (and I'll try and link back here so it's easy to find!), but it really does make me so curious about how Logan was with Rava.

Bad, I imagine, especially because I do think the show wants us to view Rava as canonically Jewish.

#succession meta #i'm also feeling very vindicated with my age difference hat on with that clip of harriet walter saying the golden trio #are spread over five or six years #i really do think they're supposed to be pretty close in age which the summer of competitive eating disorders really lends itself to #in my head at least #and so many fics write jeremy and sarah's age gap as kendall and shiv's #which i just flat out don't think makes sense for their dynamic #but that's neither here nor there haha #hbo succession #kendall roy #shiv roy #roman roy #connor roy #roy siblings #welcome to my ama

[solarishashernoseinabook]

Solaris reviews To Shape a Dragon's Breath, by Moniquill Blackgoose (2023)

*happy stimming*

Summary: Anequs of Masquapaug finds a dragon egg one day, the first her people have found for generations. When the egg hatches, the dragon chooses Anequs to be her companion. Anequs and the dragon, named Kasaqua, are then forced to attend a coloniser-run dragon school, facing prejudice and setbacks as they try to navigate a society that views Anequs as inherently lesser and dragons as merely a tool. Despite these problems, Anequs must do well - for the sake of her people, and the life of her dragon

Content: It was really good! Strong characters, strong worldbuilding, good lore - there's a lot to recommend in this book. Anequs is an active, determined protagonist, calling out racism, condescension, and revisionist history at every turn, and Kasaqua - a baby dragon throughout the course of the book - was a delight to read

Who I think would like it: Anyone interested in dragons, or looking for a good coming of age story

Things it does well: -copy/pastes the entire text of this 500 page book into a tumblr post- Okay, but seriously, this book handles prejudice and conflict with nuance and care, showing plainly how blatant I-hate-you-because-of-your-skin prejudice is merely one part of a larger problem. It has a canonically autistic character, portrayed with more care, accuracy, and attention to detail than I've ever seen in published fiction. The chapter titles were delightful - each was a short phrase describing the content of the chapter that, if you happened to read them all together, would give you a short summary of the novel. The book has a map, periodic table, and pronunciation guide right at the beginning, all of which were easy to follow

Things that could be improved: I had a bit of trouble following the chemistry in the book - the elements are given fantasy names, which fits the worldbuilding, but meant I had a bit of trouble following what was what. I've only got a high school understanding of chemistry, though, so I'm putting this down as a me problem instead of a problem with Blackgoose's writing

My review: This book was a breath of fresh air, especially compared to the last dragon book I reviewed. This was a book with emotional highs and lows, hard-earned happy endings, and a world that seems to leap off the page with how real it is. Definitely give it a try if dragon stories are your thing. Written by Seaconke Wampanoag author Moniquill Blackgoose, To Shape a Dragon's Breath is a masterfully-written dragonrider fantasy

Does this book have…: ✅= yes ❓= not sure ⭕= possibly/mixed ❌= no Romance? ✅ Anequs develops crushes, and her classmate Marta spends a lot of time discussing the importance of marriage to Anglish society and the need to make a good match Sex? ⭕ References are made to sex - mainly from a particular, rather bigoted character - but they're confined to a handful of scenes Racism? ✅ As mentioned above, Anequs must deal with a lot of racism from the colonisers, and it runs the gamut from outright, vile racism (openly calling her people savage or barely human) to ignorant condescension (charitably saying that Anequs's people are not terrible, they can be civilised if only they work at it!) Sexism? ✅ Anglish society is also highly sexist, another thing Anequs struggles to deal with. None of it is worse than you'd get in any other historical fantasy, though LGBTQIA-phobia? ✅ Anglish society is also homophobic, though it's more referenced rather than any characters actually facing violence for it Ableism? ✅ Sander, our autistic character, faces some ableism from his mother (forcing him to speak instead of letting him write, demanding he stop stimming, etc.), though this is countered by Anequs and Sander's sister fully supporting him Swearing? ❓ ⭕ I don't remember any, so if there was it was pretty minor Drug/Alcohol references? ✅ Characters drink and get mildly intoxicated a few times - mainly when celebrating holidays References to or actual violence or suicide? ✅ Yep. There's many references to war, genocide, brawling, executions, and so on. References to or actual animal death or cruelty? ✅ As per Anglish law, dragons who bind themselves to people considered "unsuitable" are put down. The fear of this happening to Kasaqua is one reason Anequs is so motivated to prove herself to the Anglish and succeed at school

Recommended: Yes

#to shape a dragon's breath #moniquill blackgoose #solaris reviews books sometimes #book reviews #book recommendations #books

[coquelicoq]

it's interesting, a few people on my post yesterday about the dandelion dynasty told me they were taking it as a rec for the series, but i didn't actually recommend the series in that post. it's making me think about whether i would rec it to people, a question i hadn't fully considered yet (as it is a very different question from "do i like this book?"). so this is me figuring out the answer to that question. i'll keep it spoiler-free (though i make no promises on brevity).

i just finished book 3 (of 4) and each installment has left me more invested than i was before, but the series started out very slow, and i didn't really get into it until halfway through book 2. i wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people bounce off the first book; i didn't, but only because 1) i almost never give up on a book that i've started (it's a character flaw of mine 😕) and 2) my trust in ken liu is ridiculously high because the other stuff i've read by him is so beloved to me. so my reaction to feeling kind of meh about book 1 was "okay, let's see where he's going with this" rather than "i guess this just isn't my cup of tea."

i should say that the problem might just be my own ignorance/lack of familiarity with the form. i don't read a lot of epic fantasy - in fact, lord of the rings is the one series that i have given up on reading a couple of times because it just left me totally indifferent. so if you like epics, you are starting out way ahead of me and can maybe just ignore the rest of this post lol, but i think i had to adjust to what the form is asking of me and what it's best suited to accomplish before i could get fully on board.

the main thing i struggled with is the writing, like the actual sentence-level mechanics of voice and style. this surprised me, because i usually find his writing very beautiful, or, when not beautiful, i can get a sense of the effect he means to achieve by employing a certain style. but in this series, the writing came across as kind of awkward and one-note to me at first, and i couldn't see a reason for it to be that way.* the dialogue especially - different characters don't really have different ways of speaking, they all feel pretty much the same. this was one of the main things i had to adjust to, but i do get it now. i don't just mean that i got used to the style and it doesn't bother me anymore, though that is true; i mean that i now understand the effect he means to achieve by employing this style, which gives it purpose and inextricably ties it to the story he's telling (this becomes especially clear in book 3, as it's directly related to a major theme of that book). if the style were different, he would be telling a different story; that's the sign of a successful execution, i think.

i said in the tags on yesterday's post that one reason the series doesn't have much of a fandom on here might be that the characters aren't natural blorbos. of course every character is probably the blorbo of somebody somewhere, but i don't know that these characters were designed to be blorbos, if that makes sense. not that they're plot devices either! every single one of them is conflicted and complicated and compelling, and most of them are followed over a period of many years, so we see them develop as people over time. but there is no protagonist, for example. you could also say that every character is a protagonist. the "list of major characters" at the beginning of book 3 is six pages long, and there are stories to be told about each of these characters, and none of them are told in isolation. but in a way, the characters themselves are not the point, or if they are, it's in aggregate - it's in the ways they're all complex, the ways they all have motivations that make sense to them (and that make sense to us, once we get to know them). and it's about power and the roles that the characters play in their society, rather than the roles the characters play in the story. or maybe those are the same thing! because ultimately, the main character of this story is the society. and the plot is the history of this society, rather than the journey or life of a single person or handful of people.**

(sidenote, there will be a period during book 1 when you will think to yourself, "wow, all the women characters are super one-dimensional and the narrative doesn't seem to respect them." this is on purpose. just keep going.)

the plotting is intricate while also feeling very organic. he's got dozens of plates in the air at once, he's maintaining them over a long period (these books are MASSIVE), and he's somehow making it seem like a real history, not like an author pulling strings. i haven't finished it yet, but my guess is that he's going to pull off a very satisfying conclusion that's at the same time very open-ended. definitely looking forward to it.

and the worldbuilding. oh, the worldbuilding. this is some of the most detailed, complex, realistic*** worldbuilding i've ever encountered, and he covers SO much ground. you want linguistic worldbuilding? you got it. philosophy? it's here. psychology of empire? coming right up. the nitty-gritty of everyday governance? buddy, pull up a chair. mechanical engineering? how much time you got?? (it better be enough time to read 3504 physical pages, because that's how long this series is.) and he's drawing on chinese history and cultural narratives rather than slapping lipstick on a tolkien clone (see his comments here, but stop reading at "In this continuation of the series" if you want to avoid spoilers). he WILL go on for a hundred pages about a single invention, but it's SO interesting that he is allowed. this is a story about how technology (including language, and schools of thought, and agriculture, and...) shapes, and is a product of, its time and place and people, so again, this is all to purpose. but it's also just. really cool.

the last thing i'll say, and this is mainly for other ken liu fans, is that one of the things i most love about his short stories is how they tap into emotions i didn't even know i had, as though they're reaching inside of me and drawing to the surface ways of experiencing consciousness and love and mortal life that i had no idea were in there. this series is not causing emotional revelation for me in the way his other stories do, which isn't a bad thing - i don't mean to say the series is not engaging or that it inspires no emotions! i just mean, iykyk. if you've read the paper menagerie and are expecting that experience, you will have a better time here if you leave those expectations at the door. i am invested in this book because it's engaging my intellect, curiosity, sense of wanting to find out what else the characters will learn and what's going to happen next...less because it's turning my heart inside out inside my chest. and like thank goodness, because i don't think i could survive four entire 900-page books' worth of that! but anyway. word to the wise.

tl;dr: yes, i recommend it, especially if you like epic fantasy. if you're a fan of ken liu's other work, this is quite different, so just know that going in!

*this opinion is of course subjective and not universally shared. for instance, see this review of book 3 (full of spoilers, so don't actually read it lol) which says "There's Liu's voice to hold onto, though — beautifully deployed here and fully in command of the language of his imaginary universe." so ymmv. maybe it's an epic fantasy thing.

**this is making me realize that the story is commenting on this very thing through a tension between bureaucracy (founded on interchangeability) and monarchy (informed by a specific personality). dude. that's so meta!

***though sometimes i'm like, "really? you scaled up that invention to use untested on the battlefield in the span of like two weeks? sure, jan." so sometimes he falls down a little on translation of ideas into logistics, but it makes for such a great story that i'll allow it.

#i kind of want to call it epic science fiction rather than epic fantasy #i know the categories are very porous. but if you think of fantasy as having 'magic' and scifi as having 'technology' #this is scifi #there's no magic. unless you count the gods creating weather patterns etc. to help or hinder their favorite mortals #but i don't count that as magic #okay i guess maybe Gitré Üthu is magic...but again that's a god thing. so there's a gray area #the aesthetics are more fantasy than scifi. these terms are meaningless though so just ignore me lol #another thought. it occurs to me that some of the style choices he's making might be related to comments of his that i've read #on translation...and how when he translates a story he tries to retain a sense of it having been written in a different idiom #he likes people reading a chinese story in english to be able to tell that it was not originally written in english #this story was originally written in english irl. but in the world of the story itself they are speaking other languages #like for instance page 1 of book 1 features the lyrics of a song. they read kinda awkwardly. but don't translated lyrics almost always #look like that? because the rhymes and cadence and number of syllables etc. are so dependent on the language of origin? #the dandelion dynasty #ken liu #the grace of kings #the wall of storms #the veiled throne #my posts #links #wow this is NOT how i planned to spend my evening. and yet here we are. time to shower and then start thinking about bedtime #why does everything take me so long???? how are people so fast. ugh. it takes me hours just to have thoughts #and then writing them down? fuhgeddaboutit.

[fdelopera]

reading your response to the ask about Elohim, i found it so fascinating and really wanted to learn more about jewish history. but im kinda scared to try and dive into googling it because like, for obvious reasons there is a lot of antisemitic misinformation out there. where's a good place to start learning about it all from a historical standpoint, aside from taking a college course? i hope this is okay to ask, i really don't want to stumble upon/consume revisionist history out of ignorance

Hi Anon. Thank you for your kind message. I really appreciate it.

I'm glad that you enjoyed my post about the origin of Elohim as one of the names of G-d in Judaism. Studying Jewish history and Jewish religious practice gives profound understanding and context to Abrahamic religions, as well as to the last 3500+ years of history, since at least the Late Bronze Age.

And thank you for wanting to learn more about Jewish history, and for reaching out to a Jewish person to ask about it.

My answer to your Ask is based on this answer about Jewish history, which I posted a few days ago. Not a lot of people saw it, so I feel okay about posting these links here again.

This past month especially has made me realize just how little most gentiles (non-Jews) know about Jewish history. It's been eye-opening, for sure.

And ... you're right, unfortunately. I've seen a metric shit ton of Jew-hatred going around. And so many antisemitic conspiracy theories that originated with the Neo-Nazis and the KKK.

Some people have been spreading this Neo-Nazi rhetoric intentionally, but many others have been spreading it because they don't have the context to understand that they are repeating Nazi dogwhistles.

In talking to gentiles, I often find that their knowledge of Jewish history extends to a few facts about the Holocaust. Some gentiles who have studied European history and political science may also have a general understanding of Hitler’s rise to power.

But that’s only the past several decades of Jewish history! And it's limited almost entirely to Europe!

Jews are a Levantine people. We are indigenous to Judea (the area currently called Israel/Palestine), and our history goes back thousands of years to the Late Bronze Age.

For a good overview of Jewish history, from the Late Bronze Age to the present, I would recommend two YouTube channels. That’s a good place to start. There are many history books on the subject, but a lot of them are quite dense, and the videos from these two historians will give you a good general overview if you want to learn more.

Sam Aronow:

Sam Aronow covers the span of Jewish history, from the Late Bronze Age to modern times. It is an ongoing Jewish history project that he’s been producing for the past three years, and it is in chronological order. He is currently in the early 1900s, and he comes out with a new video every month or so (he's just released a new video this month).

Click here to go to Sam’s YouTube channel, and then you can scroll back to watch his videos from the beginning, or you can decide what time period of Jewish history you’re most interested in learning about first.

Useful Charts:

Matt Baker, PhD runs the YouTube channel "Useful Charts," and he often works with Sam Aronow's channel. He has a PhD in education and religion. Matt has a very interesting story. He converted to Judaism as an adult; when he was a young man, he escaped a Christian doomsday cult, which he was born into. This gives him a unique understanding of Jewish history, especially how the "Old Testament" is often weaponized by Evangelical Christians to advance specific right-wing agendas. (As I explain below, the Old Testament is NOT the Hebrew bible. It is a chopped up, reordered, edited, and mistranslated version of the Hebrew bible.) Matt's videos on the history of Judaism are well-researched, and he breaks down different aspects of Jewish history into easy-to-follow segments.

I) Jewish History series:

Which Bible Characters are Historical.

Kings of Israel & Judah Family Tree.

Maccabees & King Herod Family Tree. (by Sam Aronow)

Classical Rabbis Family Tree.

Judaism and Jewish Denominations Explained.

Jewish Streams (Denominations) Re-Explained. (by Sam Aronow)

II) Who Wrote the Tanakh and the New Testament series:

NOTE: The Tanakh (the Hebrew bible) is an acronym that stands for Torah (Instruction), Nevi'im (Prophets), Ketuvim (Writings). It is NOT the same as the "Old Testament" in the Christian bible. The Christian editors of the "Old Testament" cut up the Tanakh and reordered it in a way that doesn't make any sense for Jewish practice. Many Christian bibles (such as the King James Version) also intentionally mistranslate the Old Testament to advance specific religious, political, and social ideologies of their time.

Who Wrote the Torah.

Who Wrote the Prophets.

Who Wrote the Writings.

I am including links to Matt's series on who wrote the New Testament, because many people who were raised Christian were never given a historical context for the people who wrote the books of the New Testament.

Who Wrote the Apocrypha. (The Apocrypha are later-written Jewish books that are not included in the Tanakh, but do appear in some Christian bibles, like the Catholic bible)

Who Wrote the Epistles. (Paul's Epistles were written before the Gospels, which is why the Epistles are linked first.)

Who Wrote the Gospels and Acts. (The Gospels were all written long AFTER Jesus' lifetime, and AFTER the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. They were NOT written by the people they are attributed to.)

Who Wrote Daniel, and Who Wrote Revelation. (Matt includes Daniel from the Nevi'im [Prophets] as well as Revelation from the New Testament in this video to discuss apocalypticism in Jewish and early Christian tradition.)

#jumblr #judaism #jewblr #jewish history #jewish #NOTE - I report and block antisemites. If any antisemites comment on this post you will be reported and blocked. You have been warned.

[stillwinterair]

Howdy kids

My name is Dee! It's not the name I went by for most of my years on Tumblr, but it's the one everyone knows me as. You might remember my url as nyriad, visovari... I went by a bunch of others too, but those are the only two I seem to remember now 😅

The last time I was on Tumblr, I was in the middle of a very difficult period of my life that I didn't really have the tools or support to navigate. But sometimes you gotta go a lil wacky and make some fresh new regrets so you can grow up a lil bit wiser and sexier

I quit the internet pretty much cold turkey for a while and it was one of the best things I ever did for myself. I spent a year pretty much focusing on nothing but my immediate surroundings, living in my own skin, learning how to love myself. I've gotten a lot more comfortable being myself, and have grown a lot more connected to the earth.

In my time away, I was diagnosed with ADHD, which even just the diagnosis has significantly improved almost every facet of my life. I've gotten so many new tools and so much new language to express myself and my needs. I've stopped feeling like there is something wrong with me and let go of a lot of shame that I held around myself, my work flow, my ability to focus, my needs for rest, etc. As I've met more people with ADHD, I've grown a lot more empowered and confident. I'm still figuring out what medication works for me (Adderall and Concerta are hell incarnate; Ritalin and Vyvanse are the bee's knees). It's been revolutionary and healing, honestly. Reading the book "Driven to Distraction" was an important first step that I recommend to everyone who's ever thought they might have ADHD, or if you were like me, always felt stupid and slow and always wondered why you never could quite get around to doing all the things you want to do.

I am also currently pursuing a diagnosis for Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, as per my doctor's suggestion. I won't get into it too much here, but it is a chronic illness that has made the last year pretty difficult. I have a lot of severe chronic joint pain and lethargy, and it's been... a lot. I'm starting physical therapy soon. This part isn't fun to talk about, but it's becoming an important part of my identity.

I've also met the love of my life, my soon-to-be fiancee, Nathalie! We were inseparable pretty much from the day we met, and spent a year as best friends. And then after that year the sexual tension became too much to handle, and now another year later, here we are, stupidly in love, utterly obsessed with each other, turning every single day into a fun, wacky, new adventure lmao. We've built the most beautiful, trusting, communicative, intimate relationship I've ever experienced and I am so filled with pride and joy and love and happiness every day. We're still best friends -- no force on this earth could ever get us to shut up when we're in the same room. She just fills me with butterflies and glee and light. Nat has this burning desire to create in whatever the most tactile medium she can find is. She loves mechanisms and fibers and all of the ways different materials interact with each other. She inspires me every day to be more open and honest and to pursue whatever creative venture has caught my interest, and I do the same for her. We dance together, create together, and share big emotions and life goals and it's just the most beautiful thing I've ever felt, and this paragraph could go on forever if I don't end it right now

I've also finally started to settle into my writing flow. I've got a space opera that's really beginning to take shape and I'm pretty proud of what it's turning into :) I also have a fantasy saga that's following a few steps behind. Both are things I've been working on for nearly a decade in fits and spurts, but I've done more work on them in the last year than in all previous years combined. I've gotten into more artistic mediums as well: oil painting, photography, beading, and so on. And very into fashion, kind of. Y'all should see my wardrobe these days -- bright colors, crazy patterns, wacky silhouettes. I feel like I finally look like myself. I'm currently rocking a purple mullet and a mustache, so... yeah, I'm having fun with it

I'm not sure how many of my old friends and mutuals are still hanging around, but I wanted to say hey, track a few of you down, and give a little update on how things are going for me post-Tumblr. I am alive, and I'm pretty happy these days. Some days I miss it here, and while I'll never come back in the same capacity as I used to, I wanted to reconnect with some of my old friends that I used to talk to and hang around with every day! I'm gonna poke around over the next while and see who's still around :) honestly I still think about some of y'all on the daily, and I got too curious about how my old friends were doing.

If you want to keep in touch, I'm on Instagram as deehollandaise. I'm on Discord much less often, but if you want to connect there, shoot me a message and I'll share the deets. Warning that I am just straight up not involved in any fandom stuff these days. It's just not for me anymore.

I will be retiring this blog in the new year, setting the whole dang thing to private and probably starting a new one with which to share some of my creative projects. I'll let y'all know about it before that happens.

I don't know, this is all kinda word vomit, I guess I just wanted to let all my old friends know that I'm still here and that I'm finally figuring myself out. I've got a lot to be proud of and grateful for and I've barely scratched the surface, so I'll leave off with some recent photos. Have a hot & sweaty 2024, you sexy things 😘

- Dee