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raplinesmoon · 3 months

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Alone With You In The Aether (KSJ x GN!Reader)

pairing: lunar deity!Seokjin! x reader (no specified pronouns) genre(s): angst… i’m sorry, a tiny glimmer of fluff at the end au(s): some kind of mythology mixed with dystopian mixed with post-apocalyptic au word count: 2.1k warnings: implied character d*aths (non-graphic), mentions of blood, lots of sad thoughts rating: 18+

summary: Seokjin thinks he's hard to remember, but your faith leaves him surprised every time.

a/n: if i had a nickel for everytime I wrote Seokjin in a strange apocalyptic, dystopian au, I'd have two nickels. It's weird that it happened twice. Also why do the most gut-wrenching, angsty ideas come to me for Seokjin (give this man a break)! Consider this my long overdue bday gift for him. This fic draws on this prompt, the song 134340 (of course), the book by Olivie Blake (for the title and angsty vibes) and the films Sunshine (2007) and Snowpiercer (2013). It's wildly experimental and may be slightly bad considering I haven't written for Jin in so long, but I hope you give it a chance <;3

Seokjin was used to the dark. He looked out upon the night sky every night, a vast sea of midnight black as far as the eye could see, lit up by tiny specks of stars and satellites, with him at the center of it, perched on the crescent moon, mesmerized by the world below.

The humans were fascinated by him, and Seokjin by them. Every night, they’d look up at the sky, pointing and exclaiming at the bright white orb that lit everything up. They’d offer their prayers and make their sacrifices – for peace, and prosperity, for good fortune to enter their homes and bless their families. And Seokjin would always deliver – whether it was through abundant crops, or the blessing of another child to the human race.

He was the gentle, all-giving light in their eyes, shielding them from the harshness of their day-to-day lives, ruled by his much more tempestuous counterpart, Hoseok, otherwise known as the sun.

Until the day everything crumbled into dust.

The gods had never expected Hoseok to lose the battle against the malevolent demon that tormented the world, evil at its very core. Eternity had been promised to them as the Earth’s caretakers, tending to and sowing the seeds for humans to thrive. The devastation was profound at the loss of their beloved companion, none of them able to do anything as they watched the ichor leech out of his being, plunging the world into an eternal winter.

Paralyzed by shock and grief, they’d called a tribunal, lost on how to move forward without their beloved sun. Seokjin offered up his palace in the heavens, the deafening silence at his marble table proof that none of them had been expecting any of this to come to fruition.

Yoongi, the keeper of time, was the first to speak up.

“It’ll happen to all of us,” his voice is gruff, leading to wide-eyed stares and gasps of shock and confusion around the table. “The humans grew weary of Hoseok, and the light that he provided. They destroyed the earth that he sowed, built buildings tall enough to block out his light, and retreated deeper and deeper into the underground and the shadows. They stopped believing.”

Seokjin ponders over Yoongi’s words, a pit growing in his stomach when he realized Yoongi was right. In the eons that he’d been tasked with being the caretaker of the moon, humans had always sought to conquer the land they’d been bestowed. He welcomed them when they tried to explore his dominion up above, lips twisting in amusement at their curiosity. But as he watched them grow more and more intelligent, fueled by Namjoon’s gifts as the god of knowledge, with that intelligence came greed, and its horrifying consequences.

“They’ll lose faith in all of us, one by one. As the earth begins to crumble without its sun, their faith too, will weaken. And when the last person stops believing, we too will vanish alongside them.”

And Seokjin, who’d always been docile and kind to the humans, realized that with the advent of this new chapter in the universe, that he’d likely be the first to die, the humans’ faith in him as temperamental as the waxing and waning of the moon they searched for in the sky every night. A moon they could no longer see.

If Seokjin had lungs, the dust would cling to them, burning up his insides, stealing the very breath from him. He couldn’t remember how long it’d been since the death of the sun, whether it was decades, centuries, or even millennia. The dust clouded everything, rising up into the atmosphere, washing away the oceans, and Jungkook, the sea god, along with it.

One by one, the gods fell out of favour, helpless against the hopelessness which had begun to thrive amongst the humans. Seokjin wondered how any of them were alive at all, continuing to cling onto the fragile threads of life when everything that sustained it disappeared around them.

Most of all, he wondered how he’d managed to make it so long, his faint light present despite the cloud of dust. How people believed in a moon they could no longer see, one that could no longer promise hope of fertility in a barren land, where people picked at the dirt for food, where children stopped being a blessing and turned into a distant hope that evolved into a curse.

Who was left to believe in him, the weakest of all deities, powerless without the help of others?

And yet, Seokjin persisted. He watched the Earth freeze over, and what was left of the remaining humans crowd onto an old locomotive that traveled alongside whatever light remained of the fallen sun.

There were no more prayers for peace, for serenity. The prayers turned vengeful, resentful, all the gods left cowering in fear at how the tables had turned.

Seokjin stayed away from it all. He became listless, numb inside, just waiting for the day that he too, would vanish.

But that day never came.

Dust. Dust as far as the eye could see. It was all that you could make out in the cloudy sky as you gazed out of the train, clinging to rocks, to the snow and ice that surrounded you.

You remembered the day the sun died. It’d been like any other day. Except you hadn’t been able to fall asleep. Restless on the scratchy sheets of your bed, you’d wrapped your blanket around you, staring out the window at the calming light of the moon. For as long as you remembered, you’d been obsessed with the gentle object in the sky, in awe of the radiant yet serene light it brought to the world, how it changed in relation to the passage of time. It was silly, but you’d always imagined there was someone up there taking care of the moon in the sky, fueled by stories your mother would tell you as a child.

Lulled to bed by it, you awoke to start your day as normal, remembering to give your mother a goodbye kiss before work. Nearly five hours later, while you were staring at your computer screen, the whole world exploded into darkness.

All you could hear were the screams of panic, objects clattering to the floor as people scrambled to rush outside, only to find that the darkness was everywhere, the once bright sun now a dull but sinister shade of crimson. Like the colour of blood.

Your first instinct was to rush home, to check on your parents. Pulling up the light of your phone, you prayed the little battery you had left would be enough to sustain you. Instead, you came upon an empty building, shattered objects strewn about, and no sign of your parents anywhere.

It took nearly a week to learn of how many humans had actually perished in the panic surrounding the sun’s death, and even longer to come to terms with the fact that you’d never be able to navigate the darkness to come by.

You looked up at the smoke rising through the sky, creating the beginnings of the fine cloud of dust that would come to dominate the atmosphere, and saw it.

The faint glow of the moon, still there, still persisting. And so would you.

From that day, the moon became your comfort, your protector. Even as the sky became more hazy, its presence in the night sky always kept you at ease.

Even when you boarded the train, knowing it was your only hope for survival in the increasingly harsh and hostile world, you never stopped looking out the window every night, imagining its soft light behind your eyes.

“I know you’re there,” you whispered into the darkness. “It’s crazy, but even though I can’t see you, Moon, just imagining you still up there, in the sky like always, makes everything seem okay. It reminds me of why I treasure this world, why I want to keep holding on.”

. . .

Seokjin is jolted out of his haze by the words — he hadn’t heard anyone speak to him in so long. He knew by the fact that he was still around meant that there was someone who still believed, but their faith had always been silent. Until today.

Seokjin feels warmth wash over him, warmth he hadn’t felt in a long time.

And so, into the aether, he talks back, taken aback by the conviction in his voice.

“I’ll always be here.”

Yoongi was the only one nowadays who wasted his time visiting Seokjin’s domain. The once lavish palace, with its halls of marble as bright as the moon itself, filled with jewels that sparkled like stars, now became decrepit, a mirror of Seokjin’s own hollowness.

Seokjin envied Yoongi, his immortal status nearly untouchable. Because while time became harder to track for the humans on the locomotive, none of them could deny its existence. None of them could stop the passage of time. There would always be people who believed in Yoongi.

“I never realized how lonely our existence was until we lost Hoseok,” Yoongi sits next to him on the staircase. “How foolish we were to think that we held power over the humans, when really, their faith was all that held together our fragile state of being.”

“I know you’re lonely, hyung,” the name surprises Seokjin. Yoongi hadn’t called him that in such a long time. “But haven’t you always been that way, even before we lost Hoseok?”

Seokjin ponders on Yoongi’s words, thinking back to the eternity he’d spent as caretaker of the night sky, watching humans sleep under his care. He’d yearned for a long time to connect with them, to spend time with them like the other gods did with their subjects, but they’d always forget about him come the dawn, the day and its promises far more alluring in their eyes.

“Who could be foolish enough to still believe in someone, something they can’t see?” Seokjin spits out. “I can offer no warmth or protection to the world. Some times I think it would be better for them to just let go, whoever it is. So we could both move on.”

Yoongi pauses for a moment, taking in the distressed look on Seokjin’s face.

“I’ve seen them, you know,” Seokjin blinks at Yoongi, a smirk twisting on his brother’s lips. “They’re very beautiful.”

Yoongi puts a hand on his shoulder, his all-knowing eyes twinkling with something magical.

“Don’t let go just yet.”

“You’re all I have,” you whisper into your pillow, eyes heavy with sleep, but also with the weight of continuing to live this half-life. “I feel your absence everywhere.”

Seokjin wishes he could comb through the aether, resist the dust and smoke, weather the frigid ice, lay a hand on his shoulder to tell you he’s here. He’s here because of you, because while you believe you’re nothing, you’re everything. You’re the only thing he has left too.

He wonders how different it would have been if he’d met you in a past life, one where the tether between you two wasn’t something that could snap at any moment. Where the red string wasn’t frayed and splitting into pieces. Maybe you would have been a daring explorer, or a regal ruler. Maybe you would have been able to see Seokjin properly, to touch him, press your lips to his.

But maybe you were always destined to fall in love in this cruel, lonely way.

Seokjin doesn’t even notice the aether vanishing around him one day, until the moon, once his noble perch, gives out from underneath him, and he’s falling, tumbling through the endless vortex that is the universe.

That’s how he knows there’s no one left to believe anymore. That you’re gone.

His heart races, and he calls out for Yoongi, for someone, anyone to stop the madness, closing his eyes.

All of a sudden, he halts, a gentle hand reaching out to clasp his own. Seokjin blinks open his eyes, and he sees you.

But you’re not you. Not as he’d known you. You’re glowing, a soft aura to match his own, a faint smile on your face.

“I never stopped believing.”

The void shifts around the two of you, spinning until Seokjin recognizes the heavens, the bright twinkling of stars in the sky. The two of you are in his palace.

Seokjin understands the moment he looks out onto the horizon, seeing the green of forests and the blue of oceans, the earth healing before him.

It’s you. A new star born from a dying one. A new dawn, one neither of you has to face alone.

a/n pt. 2: The lore for this honestly goes crazyyy, I could have taken it in so many different directions. But in case you're confused, OC is reborn as the new sun (rip Hoseok, gone but never forgotten), and also Seokjin's consort so they will live happily ever after for eternity. And those pesky humans get a second chance too! As always, any feedback or comments are much appreciated, but I appreciate you all anyway. Lots of love, Isi 💜

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olivieblake · 1 year

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I, my dagger, and my beloved Edinburgh sweater return to chat in reply to asks/reviews/comments in a series of boldly shameless rambles wherein I, Olivie Blake, am not writing. Today's topics include some BTS of the ALONE WITH YOU IN THE ETHER audiobook (3:35), a few rambles about publishing's capitalism problem (8:48), the paradox of a "progressive" royal (18:28), and whether to break up or stay together through distance and romantic dissonance (22:48).

#olivie blake is not writing #let’s talk about love baby #alone with you in the ether #Youtube

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aphrogeneias · 2 years

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tag 10 people you wanna know better

thank you @dirtychocolatechai @botanicalbarnes for the tag, babes! ❣️

relationship status: single (as if that wasn't painfully obvious)

favorite color(s): every color between blue and green, like the ocean

favorite food: tacos 🌮

song stuck in my head: despechá - rosalía

last thing you googled: jennifer love hewitt imdb (because i was trying to remember the name of this show i used to watch with my mom and she played the main character, turns out it was ghost whisperer)

time: 11:27pm

dream trip: a backpack through south america or summer near the mediterranean

last thing you read: the atlas six, by olivie blake (actually i'm still currently reading it)

last thing you enjoyed reading: a good girl's guide to murder, by holly jackson

last thing you hated reading: hate is a strong word but i couldn't finish the idiot, by elif batuman. i know this book is beloved by many but the pacing wasn't for me, though i wanna give it another try and actually finish it this time

favorite thing to cook/bake: i love baking brownies and cookies, i think i'm pretty great at making those! as for cooking, i can do it but honestly i'd rather eat anything else than my own food lmao it doesn't taste as good

favorite craft to do in your free time: i'm not a craft kind of girl, i wish i was though

most niche dislike: mono recordings, people who use correct ponctuation on social media, red apples

opinion on circuses: i don't think i have a strong opinion regarding circuses, i guess the ones that don't use animals as attractions are okay

do you have any sense of direction?: no, i'm adhd and a pisces, i never know where i am

tell us about your dnd character: the last character i played was a chaotic neutral, tickery cleric/assassin rogue (shoutout to my dm for letting me multiclass) human. her name was livia and she was very much fun to play <3 i am however trying my hand at being a dm myself, which has been a little crazy because the responsibility is big but i love storytelling and i love a challenge so here we are!!

tagging (and no pressure, my loves): @foreverindreamlandd @intrepidacious @imaginearyparties @noushbitesback @rae-gar-targaryen @atlaese @fluffyprettykitty @cocoamoonmalfoy

#tag game

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saint--claire · 1 year

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@monkiedude tagged me in this - thank you Monkie! I like getting to do these.

3 ships

My favourite three ships at any one time depend on the phase of the moon and how intense the hyperfixations have been lately. Current three favourite ships?

1 - Hangman/Rooster - a dearly beloved dynamic: I have a strong emotion so I’m going to call it rage; I fucking hate you but you’re important to me, you piece of shit. How dare you put yourself in danger! Come back home to me.

You can explore basically any trope with them and it works, the whole universe is an outstanding sandpit. The TG:M movie snapped me out of a years long writing de-motivation funk; and I was actually having fun writing and drafting out fic plots for the first time in ages, which was really special. It also led me to Discord, and I got to make some new friends, which was equally if not more exciting.

2 - Gideon/Harrow - Look. Writing it down is forcing me to observe some trends here. These two have the world’s most dysfunctional relationship with horrifically beautiful level of co-dependency and I love that for them. Also, not a ship but I adore all of the platonic/familiar/antagonist relationships in the whole of the locked tomb - I really like the way Tamsyn writes characters in relation to each other. Nona? J’adore elle.

3 - Nie Huisang/Jiang Cheng - Softly sweet and incompetent shell hiding a no-fuck’s given fully-fledged mastermind who’s playing grandmaster’s level chess on 12 boards in three different realms. Paired with Jiang outwardly-rage-and-lightning while an utter marshmallow loves-his-nephew-and-all-dogs on the inside Cheng.

First ship

Oh god it will have been something from Harry Potter.

Actually, it might have been Faro and Sapphire from the Ingo Series, if I’m getting specific.

Last movie

Fast 9! I like the Fast and Furious movies, and I enjoy them getting more and more absurd the more time goes on. And the very final scene of F9 where they’re sitting around the table and Brian’s car zips up to the drive makes me tear up.

Last song

Bummerland by AJR - blasted music all the way home in the car from the beach and I like singing to it. I am WAITING IMPATIENTLY for AJR’s new album to come out. We went to one of their shows where they let the crowd do a call and response they recorded live to be part of the new album and it was really exciting.

Currently reading

What aren’t I reading. There’s an insane number of tabs open atm. Most of them Top Gun.

In the middle of The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake - love it. Everyone in this book has a royally fucked up relationship with everyone else and I love it. Found family except the whole family either hates each other or are having philosophical discussions while they fuck. Slowly - (glacially slowly) moving towards friendlier connections with each other, couldn’t and wouldn’t disband if they wanted to.

Currently watching

Just started Kaleidoscope, that’s cool. I’m being boring and watching in the order they’re on Netflix, so if anyone has better suggestions hit me up.

Currently consuming

I have just eaten dumplings with a mound of shredded carrot on top + a small dish of grated cheese because I can.

Currently craving

Ice cream.

Nobody feel obligated, I am going to tag @blackidyll @tikaaninightshade @ishipallthings @thaffyreblogseverything and literally anyone else who wants to do it - open invite.

#Heidi not this #SaintClaire speaks #thank you Monkie!#Everyone out here building sandcastles in the TG universe #and I love them all #I'm not kidding there's a ridiculous number of Ao3 tabs up

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mythbearer · 2 years

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got any recs for those ancient haunting stories?

Oh yes! Full disclaimer: I only read poetry and fantasy. What haunts me is often the complex relationships between characters rather than the plot itself (character driven books my beloved), because I am averse to horror. Ancient for me means a certain writing style, fairytale-like and poetic in nature. Now, let's get into it, shall we?

The Cobweb Bride by Vera Nazarian. The first in a trilogy. It feels so cold and ancient to me, and the premise is haunting (death is stayed). I love the writing style.

The Orphan's Tales by Catherynne Valente. Ancient and fantastical and so beautiful.

The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid. A tale of outcasts and woods and monsters with religious influences. There's also Juniper and Thorn but I haven't read it because I do not do outright horror.

Deathless by Catherynne Valente. It's hard to get through, but when you do, it haunts you. Also the style is beautiful.

Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne Valente. This book is tricky, especially where race is concerned, but objectively, I liked it. Snow White's relationship with Mrs. H is just... Something and I cannot stop thinking about it.

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen. A story full of stories, each one of them alive. Like rings on a tree.

The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo. This is the only book I've really read from this author, but Amaya and the Thorn Wood will always be one of my favorite stories Ever.

One for My Enemy by Olivie Blake. One of my favorite books. It's a retelling of Romeo and Juliet that isn't as ancient. Family, duty, love, hate, oldest children and sacrifice etc etc. Personally, Masha and Dima haunt me.

This is How You Lose the Time War. Ancient and yet not. One thing about me is that I love a good time travel, but Blue and Red haunt me until this day. They write love letters into the rings of trees.... It is hard to get through at times, but after you read it once and go back, it means so much more. I adore this book endlessly.

Special mention: Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. This was the book that got me into fantasy and shaped the kind of material I read and what I write. It will always have a place in my heart.

#the trees whisper of tenderness #hope you enjoy my little rec!#i love a good story with some ancient woods. i read uprooted not too long ago and while i wasn't fond of the book i loved the Wood.

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bex-pendragon · 2 years

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Bex's Book Corner #19 - Part 1

It's time for another roundup of recent reads! As I did last month, I will be dividing my reviews by genre. Let's get things started with fantasy:

1. The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

It's always tough when you read a beloved book and it doesn't quite work for you. I’m not going to belabor the point. It’s my own fault I didn’t totally love this. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator didn’t do it for me. I should’ve tried to read it instead.

This epic fantasy series starter had a lot of elements that I usually love: adventure, magic, a whole gang of characters to love. I can see why this series has such a following.

I’m going to try watching the TV series at some point because Moiraine seems like my kind of woman.

Popsugar Reading Challenge: A book about or set in a non patriarchal society

Similar Books: The LOTR trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Content Warnings: fantasy violence

2. Castles in their Bones by Laura Sebastian

Hello court intrigue my old friend. I’m always here for a classic princess story and with CITB, I got 3.

I loved the premise of this story so much. The triplet princesses of Bessemia were raised by their intimidating mother - the empress - with a plan. They were to marry into the royal families of the neighbouring countries. Their mission was to cause unrest and conflict, leaving the kingdoms vulnerable for their mother’s empire to take over. Naturally the girls run into all manner of complications to the plot - and secrets that their mother has kept from them.

I absolutely devoured this book. The princesses - Beatriz, Sophronia, and Daphne - all had their own area of expertise and their own challenges to overcome. I loved all three of them equally.

And that ending! WOW. I need the next book ASAP!!

Popsugar Reading Challenge: A book with a misleading title

Similar Books: Three Dark Crowns series by Kendare Blake

Content Warnings: fantasy violence, character death

3. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

One of the prettiest covers I’ve seen this year - and the story is even more beautiful.

Based on the Tale of Shim Cheong, this story follows Mina. Every year in her village, a chosen bride is given to the sea as a sacrifice to appease the sea god. It is believed that the true bride of the sea god will put an end to the storms that have wrecked the land for the last century. This year’s chosen bride, Shim Cheong, is the beloved of Mina’s brother Joon. Mina makes the choice to throw herself into the sea instead. But when she gets to the sea god’s kingdom, she discovers there’s more to the legend than she ever knew.

This book was a gorgeous fairy tale that drew me in from the first chapter and didn’t let go until the final page.

Popsugar Reading Challenge: A book featuring a parallel reality

Similar Books: Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

Content Warnings: fantasy violence, blood and injuries, miscarriage/death of a child

4. The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

Hold onto your hats, it’s unpopular opinion time.

This book was definitely interesting. 6 students competing for a spot in a secret society - it’s a solid concept. But… I also have no idea what to make of the story, or the characters. I’m not sure if this is a problem with me, or a problem with the book. It's definitely a bit pretentious.

I get why the book is popular - it has admirable qualities - but… idk, man. It’s been several days and I’m still perplexed. Not sure if the hype was too much or if it was simply not for me.

However, I recently learned that the author is an ethnically ambiguous biracial girl like me, so even if the book didn’t work for me personally, I’m rooting for her.

Popsugar Reading Challenge: A #booktok recommendation

Similar Books: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Content Warnings: suicidal ideation, death and murder, sexual content

#Bex's book corner

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alt-air · 19 days

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March 2024 Reading Roundup

Hello to March and all the madness that comes with it. Gunna be real with you guys March started off strong with some great reads and the start of my favorite time of year (Ramadan my beloved) and ended with probably the worst day I've had in 2024. Lowkey I will say I did not finish these books before Ramadan started so I definitely had to sneak some books in there but oh well. We are in the last ten days of Ramadan so I am trying to just focus on finishing well and getting the most out of these days. Also I got to see a friend I haven't seen in six years as well as other friends I haven't seen since November so I was very happy about that. On another note, I decided to start keeping a journal so I'll check in in April and see how that will go. Eid Mubarak everyone ✨✨

Favorite of the Month: The Atlas Complex

Standalones

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Employees by Olga Ravn: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman (trans. By Ros Schwartz): ⭐⭐⭐

Series

The Atlas Complex by Olivie Blake ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Teach the Torches to Burn: A Romeo and Juliet Remix by Caleb Roehrig ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Labyrinth's Heart by M.A. Carrick ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher ⭐⭐⭐⭐

System Collapse by Martha Wells: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

#ilyasreadsbooks #reading roundup #march2024readingroundup

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rg060295 · 8 months

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This list includes a list of 5 anthologies coming out between now, and the end of the year! I am based in the UK and therefore all dates and relevant links I have found reflect this!

In These Hallowed Halls: A Dark Academia Anthology

Published by Titian Books on September 12th

Look I have not really enjoyed any dark academia I have read, nor have read from any of these authors so this is a risky choice. However, this is the season for dark academia and I am intrigued. This collection of 12 stories includes well known authors of the genre (sub genre?) Olivie Blake & M.L. Rio as well as David Bell, Susie Yang, Layne Fargo, J.T. Ellison, James Tate Hill, Kelly Andrew, Phoebe Qynne, Kate Weinberg, Helen Grant & Tori Bovalino.

Goodreads // Storygraph // Amazon //

Peach Pit

Published by Dzanc Books on September 12th

A collection of 16 stories about and following unlikeable, unhinged and monstrous women. Which basically sums up some of my favourite types of short story collections. With story description makes it sound similar to other collections such as Out There with a bit of Cursed Bunny. Edited by Molly Llewllyn and Kristel Buckly featuring stories from; Lauren Groff, Deesha Philyaw, K-Ming Chang, Megan Giddings, Sarah Rose Etter, Chaya Bhuvaneswar, Alicia Elliott, Chana Porter, Alice Ash, Maisy Card, Vanessa Chan, Chantal V. Johnson, Amada Leduc, Alison Rumfitt, Yah Yah Scholfield & Aliya Whitely.

Goodreads // Storygraph // Amazon //

Mermaids Never Drown

Published by Titian Press (UK) / Feiwel & Friends (US) on September 26th

From the team behind Vampires Never Get Old (which you may know about from the Story ‘First Kill’ which became a Netflix show) comes a second Young Adult collection exploring mermaids. Edited again by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker and featuring many well known and beloved YA authors such as Darcie Little Badger, Kalynn Bayron, Preeti Chhibber, Rebecca Coffindaffer, Julie C. Dao, Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Adriana Herrera, June Hur, Katherine Locke, Kerri Maniscalco, Julie Murphy, Gretchen Schreiber, and Julian Winters. I am particularly excited to see Darcie Little Badger who I have loved both their long work (Elatose) and their short fiction (in Love Beyond Body Space and Time) and also I am intrigued by June Hur who I have only read Historical mystery work from so this will be a different spin.

Goodreads // Storygraph // Amazon //

Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror

Published by Random House on October 3rd

An anthology I surprisingly only found out about when putting together this list. Out There Screaming is a collection of stories edited by writer and director Jordan Peele. It is an anthology of ‘all-new stories of Black horror, exploring not only the terrors of the supernatural but the chilling reality of injustice that haunts our nation. Alongside an introduction from Jordan Peele it also features stories by Erin E. Adams, Violet Allen, Lesley Nneka Arimah, Maurice Broaddus, Chesya Burke, P. Djèlí Clark, Ezra Claytan Daniels, Tananarive Due, Nalo Hopkinson, N.K. Jemisin, Justin C. Key, L.D. Lewis, Nnedi Okorafor, Tochi Onyebuchi, Rebecca Roanhorse, Nicole D. Sconiers, Rion Amilcar Scott, Terence Taylor, and Cadwell Turnbull.

Goodreads // Storygraph // Amazon // Libro.fm //

The Book of Witches

Published by HarperVoyager on August 1st (US) and October 26th (UK)

Edited by Jonathan Strahan the editor from The Book of Dragons and featuring art from artist Alyssa Winans throughout This is large collection focusing around witches featuring 29 stories and poems from well known contemporary SFF authors; Linda Addison, C.L. Clark, P Djeli Clark, Indrapramit Das, Amal El Mohtar, Andrea Hairston, Millie Ho, Saad Hossain, Kathleen Jennings, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Cassandra Khaw, Fonda Lee, Darcie Little Badger, Ken Liu, Usman T. Malik, Maureen F. McHugh, Premee Mohamed, Garth Nix, Tobi Ogundiran, Tochi Onyebuchi, Miyuki Jane Pinckard, Kelly Robson, Angela Slatter, Andrea Stewart, Emily Teng, Sheree Renée Thomas, Tade Thompson, and E. Lily Yu. This is a must pick up for me for two reasons, I enjoyed reading The Book of Dragons last year, and found some new favourite short stories, and two it includes some of my favourite authors. So even if I only enjoy their stories this would be a win for me!

Goodreads // Storygraph // Amazon // Libro.fm //

#my posts #my tbr

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mumaugh · 8 months

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olivie blake u have done it to me again…..cunty nicky and his sweet sunshine husband my beloved

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moonys-bf · 2 years

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[ 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 ] 🥮🌙

welcome to my books rec list <33

vicious + vengeful by v.e. schwab — science fiction, thriller, a duology. this book literally had me hooked from the very first sentence until the very last. victor vale and eli ever my beloveds

the atlas six by olivie blake — science fiction, magic-based world. this is a long book and sometimes it can be confusing but the characters are my everything, each n every one of them. i’m also pretty sure the author has a tumblr!

the poppy war by r.f. kuang — dystopian, high fantasy, war themes, super gory and dark and i seriously wasn’t expecting the turn it took but it’s so good. it’s about the opium wars in ancient china.

radio silence by alice oseman — coming of age (??) it’s basically about this boy with an overbearing mother, a best friend and a podcast. one of my favorite books of all time. anyone i know will know how much i fucking love this book

pride and prejudice by jane austen — what i consider to be one of the og love stories. a classic. chefs kiss. some of the themes and quotes of this book are the loves of my life.

i’m glad my mom died by jennette mccurdy — memoir, dark humour and some dark themes. i found it to be heavily relatable, refreshing and healing.

the handmaid’s tale by margaret atwood — dystopian, dark. it’s a creepy book, i will not lie. it’s super dark and chilling and it really opens your eyes to society. i believe everyone should read this at least once.

i was born for this by alice oseman — it’s about a boy band and their overwhelming fans, i believe everyone in a fan base should read this at least once. it also has great trans and poc rep.

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books · 2 years

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Writer Spotlight: Olivie Blake

Olivie Blake (@olivieblake) is the pseudonym of the writer Alexene Farol Follmuth, author of multiple novels, anthologies, graphic novels, and film scripts, many of which involve the fantastic, the paranormal, or the supernatural. Her works revolve around the collective experience, what it means to be human (or not), and the endlessly interesting complexities of life and love. Cult-favorite The Atlas Six was re-released in a revised hardcover edition last month with Tor Books. A sequel in October and a live-action series are forthcoming. Alexene lives and works in Los Angeles with her husband and new baby, where she is generally tolerated by her rescue pit bull.

Read on for Olivie’s favored medeian specialty, lessons learned from writing fanfic, her take on dark academia, and the process of self-publishing books people love.

Not to spoil anything for the three and a half people who maybe haven’t yet read The Atlas Six, but can you tell us a bit about the world of the series?

First of all, I appreciate the wording of this question. Thank you for that. Secondly, The Atlas Six is about the six uniquely talented magicians vying for initiation to the Alexandrian Society, a secret society of caretakers who protect and contribute to the archives of “lost” knowledge from the Library of Alexandria and throughout history. In the book’s contemporary setting, the question of how to combat climate change is answered politically and economically with magic, so the characters exist openly in a world where magicians, called medeians, are university-educated and contribute to a system of capitalism much like ours. These particular six candidates each have a rare magical specialty and a myriad of personal motivations for pursuing the Society’s promise of wealth, power, and knowledge—which drives their tendency to want to kiss or kill any of the others at any given moment. (Two of them already hate each other, and the rest are about to.) And there is obviously a catch to this extraordinary opportunity: only five of the six are guaranteed initiation.

What’s the journey been like writing, self-publishing, and re-releasing The Atlas Six?

This is absolutely the weirdest timeline. I don’t know of any better way to put it. I wrote this book when I was starting to think that publishing wasn’t going to happen for me. I’ve always split myself in two, writing manuscripts to cold query to agents while also self-publishing the stories I wanted to tell that I didn’t feel were a good fit for the market. Basically, I was self-publishing for the handful of beloved weirdos willing to follow me wherever I went. (Find your flock, they say. Good advice.)

I knew from my initial concept that this book wasn’t right for publishing en masse—it was too hard to explain in a quick pitch to an agent without sounding derivative. It was too character-driven for genre standards. It had a familiar setting and hook but with a very unconventional execution. There was no hero or villain. Every character was 100% sexually fluid. It was too quiet for spec fic. I was in a really think-y place, trying to figure out whether it was responsible to bring a baby into a world where it’s impossible to be ethical. In the end, I figured I could just write it for myself, exactly as I wanted to write it, while nobody cared enough about me to say no.

So I wrote it. Released it. People seemed to like it, but it wasn’t doing numbers. Within a few months, I had finished another manuscript and finally gotten an agent for a completely separate project—my young adult rom-com, My Mechanical Romance. I figured, okay, I guess I’m a YA author now, at least until those obligations are fulfilled, so Atlas will have to wait. But, I reasoned, thankfully, only a few people were waiting.

Then I got pregnant. I wrote another YA manuscript. Something weird happened on Twitter. (A very “somehow, Palpatine returned” situation.) People started talking about the book. I gave birth to my son. Something weirder happened on TikTok. A LOT of people started talking about the book. Suddenly my book that had absolutely no commercial appeal was...commercially appealing? I signed with Tor to finish out the trilogy (!). Then…producers wanted to meet with me? So I was like? Okay? In between my baby’s naps, I wrote the sequel and optioned the book for TV. I…got on the NYT bestseller list? I went on tour in two countries? At this point, it all dissolves into a fever dream. Is this real? I really don’t know. I haven’t slept more than two consecutive hours in almost a year.

On a serious note, revising The Atlas Six was such an incredible opportunity. I went from being a one-woman show (with the help of one or two friends and, of course, my beloved collaborator @littlechmura) to suddenly having the resources to actually make the book into what I wanted it to be. I got to stretch out a little, narratively speaking, and take up more space. New illustrations! New cover! New feedback! New ways to reach a new audience! Suddenly the book of my mind became the book of many minds and was all the better for it. It was then, and is now, a product of some kind of magic. For five years, I wrote ten to twelve hours a day, posting millions and millions of words for free, purely because I loved it—loved it to the point where it broke my heart to think of doing anything else. And now?

Well, now I have imposter syndrome, of course. But my god, what a beautiful con.

Do you have a favorite character among the six? Why? What does their Tumblr look like?

I don’t have a favorite character—I personally think it’s detrimental for the author to have a favorite when creating an ensemble cast that relies so heavily on changing POVs for the narration—BUT I do feel strongly that Libby and Nico would be the most active on Tumblr. Libby writes poems and carefully curates her aesthetic. I sense a little cottagecore in her. Probably a lot of melancholy art, too. Nico definitely runs an absolute chaosphere of a blog depending on whatever his fixation is at the time. He’s one of those mutuals where you followed him five years ago and can’t remember why because he’s changed fandoms several times, but at least the GIF sets he reblogs are entertaining.

This reissue includes illustrations from your longtime collaborator, illustrator Little Chmura (@littlechmura). What draws you to this kind of collaboration?

If you were fortunate enough to become friends with a brilliant artist, wouldn’t you try to lure them in, any chance you got? I love art. I love storytelling as an art and writing as an art. I love the adrenaline rush of creativity I get from working with other artists who are equally passionate about their craft. Sometimes, brainstorming an illustration with Little Chmura makes me feel inspiration in its purest form. The incendiary kind. All of my books contain art from her because it just contributes that much more to the story. Or, at the very least, it helps the story vibe properly.

You got your start writing Dramione fanfic. What did writing fanfic teach you about writing?

Okay, random start here, but go with me: I really loved this Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again oral history on Vulture where they said that the film was referred to as a crowd-pleaser in a way that was meant to be an insult. A crowd-pleaser, how meaningless. But the producers posed a critically important question: do you know how hard it is to please a crowd? Fanfic authors do. There is no other medium as dependent on audience enjoyment as fanfic. The entire medium is reliant on characterization and emotional beats. Imperfect plot or disrupted pacing can be forgiven if something sweet or hot happens along the way, but failing to be true to a character’s narrative arc or committing to a cheap bit like gratuitous character death is grounds for the proverbial guillotine.

The number one thing I learned as a fanfic author is always to keep one eye on the audience’s heart. Should it be racing? Fluttering? Aching? Should it, dare I say it, break? Pleasing (or devastating) a crowd is best learned via the fanfic structure: episodic and evolving with constant feedback. Learning how to make someone keysmash in your reviews is a carefully honed skill.

You’re very active online, with copious amounts of asks answered on your Tumblr and a video series on Youtube. Do you have a favorite fan interaction?

I have been more active in the past—this is a very busy year, what with the chaos goblin I birthed, a slightly unhinged production schedule, and three book releases! I’m feeling very guilty about my untended inbox, but I do love Tumblr. There, I said it! I love Tumblr! I love the multimedia curation! The possibility of long-form communication! The ads that do not, in any way, appear to be stealing my data! Anyway, no, I don’t think I could pick a favorite. There have been too many beautiful interactions, especially from people who’ve been reading my stuff for years.

Well, I guess one that stands out is a seemingly small series of events: I wrote a short friends-to-lovers fic about two engineers. It sparked a conversation on Tumblr between women who were pushed out of STEM at an early age and women in STEM fields who had never seen themselves in fiction before. It led to my YA book, My Mechanical Romance, especially after one user told me she wished she’d had my writing when she was younger. I thought, okay, well, good point, I should tell a story specifically for our younger selves. And now here we are.

What would your specialty be if you were a medeian, and why?

Telepathy. I’m incredibly nosy. I’d love to have a more nuanced reason, but that’s honestly it.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve received?

Potentially a bit overused, but the thing that has helped me most is the “you can edit a bad page, but you can’t edit a blank page” quote that Google is currently telling me comes from Jodi Picoult (I obviously first heard it on Tumblr). I have always been a pantser, meaning I fly by the seat of my pants when I write (fanfic is very conducive for such things), and I really had to learn to love revision. It doesn’t matter if you get the first draft right. The first draft is just the skeleton. To everyone who struggles with anxiety or creative blocks, I typically think it helps to tell yourself the first draft is allowed to suck. It’s kind of supposed to suck! Don’t romanticize this idea that writing is when the muse hands you the perfect words in perfect sequence. The craft of writing isn’t about the first draft. It’s about everything you do to bring the story to life.

What fuels your interest in dark academia? Do you have a favorite dark academia book/film/series/game?

To me, The Atlas Six is true academia—very The Secret History in terms of having long philosophical discussions about the meaning of art and beauty, except I did it with physics and psychology. It’s dark, of course, because of all the gray morality and institutional rot and inadvisable sexual tension. That’s a feature, not a bug, and I love when authors get a little weird with it. I love Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas, Bunny by Mona Awad, Plain Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth. Academia is weird and messed up by most standards, so the outsiders (BIPOC and queer authors) really do some fascinating work handling its darkness.

The Atlas Paradox comes out in October. Is there anything you can tell us about it?

I personally think it is funnier in the way things are funny when the characters have all begun existentially melting. (I’m an empath, she says chaotically.) People who have read it tell me it’s better than the first book. My publishers tell me hearts will be broken. But I leave all that for others to determine, of course…

Thanks @olivieblake! The Atlas Six is now available everywhere you can get books!

#writer spotlight #booklr #writers on tumblr #olivie blake #the atlas six #my mechanical romance #elisabeth thomas #mona awad #emily danforth #dark academia #fanfic #dramione #dramione fanfic #sff books #reading room #reading recs #tbr #long post

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