#urban vs epic fantasy

[kadoore]

March 2023 Queer Adult SFF Books!

THE MIMICKING OF KNOWN SUCCESSES by Malka Older 3/7/2023

f/f

gaslamp mystery, but make it Jupiter

platform-livin' on a gas giant

cozy Holmes/Watson vibes

ARCA by G.R. Macallister 3/7/2023

sapphic MCs, pan and nb side characters

picks up where SCORPICA left off

that is, a matriarchical society where politics and magic clash and a fragile peace might soon come undone

THE FAITHLESS by C.L. Clark 3/7/2023

f/f

sequel to THE UNBROKEN

those ARMS

found family vs found my family

the queen might be hot af but she's still trying to conquer your people

it's time for a revolution

PROUD PINK SKY by Redfern Jon Barrett 3/14/2023

m/m

the alt-historical, glittering queer metropolis of Berlin draws two fleeing gays toward (supposed) sanctuary

but even in a queer utopia, there's strife and division amongst the gays

FEED THEM SILENCE by Lee Mandelo 3/14/2023

f/f established couple

hey we can translate wolf speak!

oh, what they're saying is pretty interesting

let's just be wolves

well that escalated quickly

BITTER MEDICINE by Mia Tsai 3/14/2023

bi MCs in a m/f relationship

xianxia-inspired romantic fantasy between a descendant of the Chinese god of medicine and an elf security expert

magical calligraphy, cursed children, & murderous younger brothers

WE DREAM OF GODS by Devin Madson 3/21/2023

m/m, plus bi characters

puts the epic in epic fantasy

necromancy & tasteful beheadings & empire building, yesss

4th & final book in the REBORN EMPIRE, which started with WE RIDE THE STORM

THE BLOOD HOURS by Ann H. Fox 3/21/2023

bi MC

magic-users are marked with how long they're allowed to live before they're hunted by priests as sacrifice

MC got 72 years; his sister only 10

So when his sister enters the hunt, so does he

LOKI'S RING by Stina Leicht 3/28/2023

many queer POV characters

a crisis team of middle-aged folks are stranded on a planet under quarantine

adopted AI children & alien-made solar systems

same universe as PERSEPHONE STATION

BLACKHEART GHOSTS by Laure Eve 3/30/2023

f/f

queer Arthurian urban fantasy with motor bikes?? And illegal magic???

illusionists, betrayal, and half-drowned strangers 🧑‍🍳🤌

sequel to BLACKHEART KNIGHTS

More queer 2023 books: January | February | April

#queer books #get your queer books #queer adult sff books

[parkerlyn]

I love ur characters and world building sm! I really want to try out doing a fantasy story but I'm not sure where to start. Do you have any tips?

Hi! Oh, where to begin haha. I think first of all I'll caveat that I'm no expert and that there's no one-strategy-fits-all. But I can at least give what my experience was at the high-level when starting The Nameless!

I would say the first thing for me is thinking about broad strokes - i.e. theme and tone for the story. Are you writing epic high fantasy? Low fantasy? Urban fantasy? Alternate history? Are there huge, overarching themes you want to write about? Is it a serious, more "mature" adventure or something more whimsical and relaxed (though not to say you can't explore serious themes in those sorts of stories too!) What is the scale of conflict you want to write? Do you want to write a happy ending? A tragedy?

Predictably because I refuse to shut up, this turned into a novel so more under the cut:

Asking these questions doesn't mean you have to have a ten-point bulleted plan for each one, but at least helps to steer you in the direction you want to go. Keeping high level, then, I can say for The Nameless I went into worldbuilding in regards to culture first. In my case, there's a major theme I've always wanted to explore that's [spoilers]. So I knew I wanted to incorporate that and it's been a crucial driving point for the plot. Then I took a lot of inspiration from D&D and fey-related tropes and stories, which led to the thought of how a culture might shift if fey/sheevra deals were a lot more prevalent and well-known vs more mysterious and less-encountered. The world formed after that thought, and I'd definitely recommend looking at some world-building questionnaires or guides out there, even for topics that probably aren't going to be relevant within your writing.

It will almost definitely never be mentioned in the game, but someone asking me about how farmland and agriculture worked in a significantly barren world led to me thinking more about the food culture of each of the four cities, or travel between them i.e. the Crossings vs the river entrances, and more about weather and trade. A lot of random questions here on tumblr have also helped nail down other details! I've also been lucky enough to have a close friend and my SO absolutely pick apart my story and ask random questions which made me think, so don't be afraid to talk through things out loud even when you don't have everything completely fleshed out.

Again - not that I'm expecting to go into a biosphere breakdown or trade laws of each city ever in game, but it did really help to make it more real in my head. More...lived in. And that helps with finding your characters and their motivations too. Obviously having the major goals or alignment of a character are vital for determining who they are at their core. But being asked "What's [character's] favorite meal or drink" or "What is their favorite time of day? memory? person?" or "What does their room look like" really helps to make them come alive for me, at least. I love the grand adventure of fantasy stories, but I love the small moments and details equally and in my opinion they're just as - if not even more - important.

Along that line I will say take notes!!! Write shorts that are smack dab in the middle of the story!!! Jot them down in your phone!! Write them on the back of a receipt!! Even if it's incoherent later (RIP 🤝 ajfdksalj), anything can help jog a memory or an idea, and like any craft, writing takes practice. Re: apps available, I use Scrivener more now to combine both writing and note-taking and it's the easiest for me to switch/sync between my main devices (aside from my base game folder in Visual Studio Code that's synced to my Dropbox, but I can't open that on mobile). But there are lots of wonderful free alternatives like Obsidian and Evernote (Evernote is free on a limited amount of devices, then goes into paid plans), and many more!

There's also another piece of advice I've heard which is to know how your story is going to end before you get too far. I waffle a little on recommending this one because I think half the fun is the journey to get there, and sometimes the end takes a bit to form. I do know how The Nameless is ultimately going to end, but there are still pieces missing in the middle and definitely more I want to finesse. So I'd say at least start with an idea of what sort of ending you want like in those initial questions - this will really help with your direction and determining a goal for the characters - and iron out the details as you go.

General advice outside of writing tools is to not expect or hold yourself to perfection and to not compare too much to other peers. This is so hard to do sometimes because I do want things to come out well written the first time around. But there's no way I'd write something without reading through it again, and that's what editing is for! That's what everyone has to go through! Take advice and do writing practices based on what you like from other author's writings who inspire you, but at the end of the day, your voice is your own.

Lastly the most important piece of advice I have is - at the core of everything - to write the story you want to tell. Write for you. This is also something I think can be hard to hold onto, especially if you do put a WIP out into the black hole of the internet and update it like an IF game.

Yes, if you're trying to make a living off writing or wanting to build a community around a story, the unfortunate reality of it is that that particular "success" criteria can sometimes depend on who likes it or who promotes it or how/how often you promote it, etc, if you're going purely based on interaction or follower counts or what have you. But honestly, there's always going to be someone who likes and even loves your story, and someone who can't stand your story or just can't get through it. And that's perfectly fine! But I mention this because if you try to write the story you think others want, then it'll impact your writing - whether it's not your voice anymore, or less lively or less enjoyable.

Don't get me wrong, there are absolutely times when I want to yell and groan and rip my hair out over something that doesn't sound right in The Nameless, and there's always going to be lows and highs in any pursuit. But at the end of the day, it's worth it because I know this is the story I want to write and share, and I hope it comes across how much I genuinely love this world and its characters.

Anyway! That's my long ramble for the day (and sorry this took so long to respond to). Again, this should definitely not be word of law, but just my experiences so far with writing. I hope it helps and good luck with your story! I'm sure it'll be amazing. 💖

#writing advice #writeblr #parker personal #fantasy

[transmasc-wizard]

Hey so nico I realise now that I copied way too many options from the ask game my apologies

If you have any, what are your special interests?

What are your most common stims?

Do you headcanon any characters as autistic? If you want, tell us why you headcanon them as autistic.

Do you find it easier to get along with other autistic people?

What kinds of things are sensory hell for you?

Are your friends and/or family accepting of your autism?

Do you enjoy hugs? Or are they sensory hell?

Tell us something about your special interest.

If you could have any item related to your special interest what would it be?

Are you generally a loud or quiet person?

What's something you find hard to do because of autism?

no problem i like to Answer Questions

what are you special interests:

i have two!!! the long-running one (ive had since i was 10 or so) is just like. fantasy stories? in general? epic fantasy first and foremost but it also bleeds into urban fantasy and more fantastical horror. this manifests mostly in writing, because the mechanisms of fantasy stories in particular capitivate me, so. writing them is fun. i am less unhinged about this one but still unhinged

the second one, which i am EXTREMELY unhinged over, is the magnus archives!!!!!!!! this special interest really only started to develop a few months ago but i know it will have its hooks in me for a very, very long time kjdhkdfg

most common stims:

listening to really loud music with a lot of Noises in it, sort of like shaking in place, hand flapping, making the motion to snap but like with all my fingers at once

headcanons:

jonathan sims, head archivist of the magnus institute, london !!!!!!! reasons: he canonically had a tendency to run away as a child (eloping), preferred books to making friends, has a very specific sense of humour others dont always get, often doesn't realize other people are joking, tends to show signs of low empathy but high compassion (not realizing people are upset, not knowing why they're upset, but wanting to help them Not Be Upset), likes things to be ordered & logical, tends to have rather black and white thinking at times/a strict (if admittedly... very strange) moral compass, and, most importantly: he is my skrunkly and i say so

i also hc Gansey from the raven cycle and Katniss from the hunger games as autistic! gansey mostly bc of vibes and parallels (the way he acts around most ppl vs his friends reminds me a lot of masking), and katniss bc of her horrible social skills, one-track mind, and. also vibes

do you find it easier to get along with other autistic people?

yes and no. other autistic people tend to be more understanding of the way i think and act, and we often share a lot of more Odd(TM) traits. but also. like . i have lived with an autistic person for over a decade (my brother). and i love him, he is my brother, but our needs as people are so incredibly clashing that it is hell to spend more than a few hours with him at a time. so yeah sometimes the answer is "yes" and sometimes it is "no" skdhfksdskdjf

sensory hell:

most noises? aksjhkdshf. just. yeah. most noises. also very light touches, they actively hurt. i also dont like the texture of velvet or anything with a strong smell.

are your friends/family accepting:

hmmm lets separate "friends" and "family" into 2 separate boxes there

friends: mostly ! sometimes they say/do stupid things abt it (like when my one friend got upset at me for losing speech and made it about her) but for the most part theyre fine.

family: dad? great. he and i think the exact same way (tbh hes probably autistic too). mom? ... sort of. only when my traits are convenient for her. rest of family? yeah mostly. they dont actually Know i dont think (except my cousin) bc no one's bothered to tell them, but theyre like "oh haha thats our nico, hes just really weird but it's fine".

hugs:

i am like a cat in that my preferences on any sort of touch change randomly at all times, but i ALWAYS need to be the one initiating it. if i want a hug, theyre great. if someone else tries to hug me without permission, i am going to bite them

tell us something about your special interest:

when season 5 of the magnus archives was begining production, it was the start of the pandemic and a bunch of people were starting up podcasts since they were bored. Alexander Newell (voice of martin, a soundscaper, and the director) was like "oh shit the microphones i need might get sold out, this is bad" (bc he had to get multiple microphones to every actor in season 5, needed backups, etc) so. he just. went (in person or online) to every single store in the country that sold them and bought EVERY SINGLE MICROPHONE OF THAT BRAND. like, he owned every single microphone of that brand in England except the ones people had previously bought. people were asking on podcasting forums "hey do you know where you can get these mics???" and he would read those and just be like. ha. hahahahahaha

if you could have anything related to your special interest, what would it be:

the official Rusty Quill "The Spiral" themed spiral notebook. 1 because i love the spiral, 2 because haha spiral themed spiral notebook, 3 because its so pretty, 4 because i have a notebook problem <3

also maybe the spiral or eye hoodie, the What The Ghost hoodie, the extended sounds of brutal pipe murder shirt, or the ex altiora shirt !! those all slap. but theyre more expensive skdhfksdfj

are you a loud or quiet person:

around new people? quiet as hell. when i'm tired? also quiet as hell. when im comfortable and not tired? pretty loud skdjfhkdhf

what's something you find hard to do:

remembering to do shit like brushing my teeth and eating 3 meels a day. also, stuff like making friends, knowing how to interact with people in what way, comforting people, etc.

#asks #will/lee #ask game #autism ask game

[micamaconceptart]

Creating Concepts:

Project 2: Human vs Inhuman

For my next assignment, I wanted to take a different path away from environment concepts and utilised my skills to come up with a character design. This assignment was flexible in allowing me to create a different edge from my usual works.

I grew up with many media products depicting fantasy worlds inspired by mythology and cultural urban legends. Popularised lores have now become common knowledge of 'inhuman' or 'humanoid' creative concepts (to name a few: vampires, werewolves, mermaids, fairies).

Considering the endless possibilities of creating inhuman concepts, I used this opportunity to trace back to my national origins and base my concept around Thai culture. This led me to focusing on creating a character that is representative of Buddhist mythology.

I went ahead and studied about a national epic that has been a major focus in Thai literature, art and drama. Ramakien (Thai: รามเกียรติ์) is a famous telling of the original Sanskrit Ramayana epic.

The story depicts a journey of conflicts, as Prah Ram travels through the world overcoming many hurdles and transformations - one of which who he must defeat is the giant King of demons, Thotsakan (Ravana).

Thotsakan (ทศกัณฐ์) is the famous villain in the epic, who has been the main depiction of giants in Buddhist mythology. These depictions are seen as statues guarding many Buddhist temples in Thailand; the most well-known example being the Wat Arun temple ("Temple of Dawn"), where the most popular Thotsakan statue is.

Thus, I went ahead and further studied the Yak giants by understanding their build and exploring their shape language. I want to show their abnormal height and structure into my character creation, by indicating that while humanoid, they are far from human.

In one of our workshops, my tutor went through utilising shape language within character design, which consists of three simple shapes: triangle, square and circle.

Certain shapes indicate certain traits - whether it be to communicate a physical attribute of a character or their personality: Triangles are seen as hasty, dangerous and agile. Squares compliment sturdiness and strength. Circles imply youthfulness and delicacy.

I went ahead using this on Yak giants and found out how squares and triangles make their designs intimidating and threatening.

This use of shape language is what I want to implement within my character design.

In the bigger scope, I wanted my character concept to not only mix inhuman and human aspects together, but also traditional and modern culture as well, hence the relation to my research. I also wanted to merge Western and Eastern aspects to this assignment as well, to communicate my mixed background. I figured that by representing my underrated culture through this, I could possibly introduce a unique approach to character creations.

A few examples above explain my motive for pursuing a character design idea of inhuman vs human - a contemporary, casual approach of inhuman, old-age lore makes a fun idea to experiment with!

My later post will involve further studies of Yak giants and the first produced idea of my character concept.

Sources:

Beautiful Glitch (2018) Monster Prom [Video game]. Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/743450/Monster_Prom/ (Accessed: 17 January 2024).

[muse-of-meme]

hey you should tell me about those books you like -aawagganon

OKAY OAKY SO MAGIC BITES IS AN EPIC ASS URBAN FANTASY WITH AN AWESOME WORLDBUILDING SYSTEM!

like you know the issue of it alwasy being werewolves vs vampires? well! vampires aren't really a thing! they're mindless bloodhungry bloods that necromancers control! the main character is overpowered but she knows this and makes a point to conceal it! and when she does use one of her overpowered powers she gets FUCKED for it!! and it features, in this order: russian , celtic, hindu, and babylonian mythology! all of them things you probably haven't heard of it you aren't familiar iwth the topic!

also worth mentioning: bisexual werehyenas, gay wererats, attack poodle, using vampire fangs as hole punchers, witty remarks, teenage assholes, witty remarks....

the worst thing about them is their covers

this does not do it justice :(

[meekochan-art]

Books books books!

Fave fiction I own. (And some fave book cover art?) If I haven’t already reread them at least once, then I probably intend to sometime...when I feel like it. Some I haven’t read yet--slow reader here--or am currently in the middle of. *points at fire tablet*

(...again, not a photographer so please excuse my failure at presenting each book’s beauty. And I’m too lazy to arrange a photoshoot.)

Tablet zoom-in under the cut .

#over the years my tastes have slightly changed #but not drastically #began with YA thrillers #switched to fantasy #from standard prophecy good vs evil fantasy #to epic/high fantasy #to fairy tale / romance fantasy now? #btw i was into some paranormal and laurell k hamilton during late teens #blame my HS friends for that >_< #not into shifters and vampires much now #very not into urban settings (but not against it if author can pull me in) #my mind automatically wanders if the words don't hold my attention #fiction #books

[writingonesdreams]

Informal wip intro

TITLE: Rivers of Stars (3nd version)

GENRE: urban fantasy, superheroes, beginning dystopia, thriller

SETTING: alternate modern times

TROPES AND THEMES: enemies to friends, undercover agents, gang wars, superheroes, found family, bromance, magic mentors, enjoyment vs usefulness, people vs ideals, honesty vs consideration, vulneribility vs pride, propaganda, brainwashing, manipulation

STORY: When the workaholic professional superhero tries to save a powerful but naive teenager from a villianous gang, he slowly uncovers a bigger conspiracy to turn people against their own magic to cause mass panic and supressive measures. He will not only need to win the kid’s trust, but also learn to rely on his estranged friends if he is to get through this with a sound mind.

THE CHARACTERS:

Alistair Nicholson, 25, Blood magic, laid-back but evasive. Cheerful the more painful it gets, which is a lot. Honesty is ugly and pretty lies are the biggest courtesy one can give to people. Uses his blood magic for superhero work despite it’s bad reputation. Badger snake

Raymond "Ray" Calloway, 25, Air magic, tough and temperamental but fair, he likes to act on what he feels and call things as they are, with sarcasm and insulting humor. Daredevil who likes to challenge, pick fights, risk chases, but mainly to enjoy life and stand up for what he beliefs in. Quick to care and devote himself to others. Works undercover as a villian. Snake lion

Solace “Sol” Vlckova, 23, Water magic, shy but headstrong, chasing inspiration but hates letting go of control. Her magic allows her to track things from great distances, making her a bit too removed from the real world. Advocates for magic use outside of superhero work and teaches about it at university.  Lion bird

Jason “Jace” Wicks, 16, Gravity magic, ambitious but devoted, his drive for excellence and power often mislead people from seeing his true desire to belong and be needed. Loyal to a fault, brush and temperamental, he would really like to be able to trust others again. Badger lion

Kaden Crawford, 25, Lightning magic, uptight but nurturing, believes in strict coldness to make people resilient. Means well, even if he glares a lot. Dilligent and disciplined, few people stand him long enough to meet his caring side. Alistair’s roomate and collegue. Bird badger

PLOT AND KETTLE: A world where magical abilities are common and being a superhero is a wide-spread profession. Alistair works at a security agency as a superhero. His only equal in magic, Creative mage Solace, teaches at university about magic as art, which Alistair finds a waste. Kaden can’t get their friend group reconciled until Jace shows up, needy and lost, with loyalties to the wrong people and used as a tool and maybe a key to all of their broken locks. And that’s all before a really rude and stuborn maybe villian maybe hero makes everything even more confusing. 

STUFF THAT IS NIFTY: Action mages of lightning, fire and space-time manipulation channel magic through themselves and physical activity while Creative mages of water, air and earth resonate with magic through different mediums, called upon through singing, meditation and poetry. These two types are quite disdainfull of each other. 

STATUS CHECK: outlining, zero-drafting in Writober

LINKS:

First version - epic fantasy

Second version - urban fantasy

Picrew meta

Character intros

Magic system 

EXCERPTS:

Leave them underground - Jace facing the new dystopian society around him

Different ways to fight - part 2, Alistair provides Jace with comfort and solutions

#writeblr #wip intro #writeblr community #writers on tumblr #wip introduction #my writing #fantasy #my wip #wip: rivers of stars #hurt/comfort #magic

[thelivebookproject]

Talking Books With @songssucculentsandstories!

[What is this and how can I participate?]

Important note: I haven’t changed or edited any of the answers. I’ve only formatted the book titles so they were clearer, but nothing else. Because I’m incapable of shutting up, my comments are between brackets and in italics, so you can distinguish them clearly.

-------------------------------------------------------------

[Image description: a square titled “Know the blogger”. Name & pronouns: El, she/her; country: United States; three adjectives to describe her: caring, loyal & fun /end]

1. What is your favourite (or top three) book series?

My favorite book series is Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas!

2. Last good, I'm-so-glad-I-finally-read-this, book?

Hmm that’s a hard one. I guess The Meaning of Birds by Jaye Robin Brown! It was heartbreaking and cute at the same time!

3. Do you read the script of films you love if/when they get published?

No I don’t. That actually sounds really interesting though!

4. Favourite literary genre (or genre you read a lot of)?

Definitely YA Lit!

5. Urban fantasy vs epic fantasy, both, or neither?

Oh gosh I’d have to say both! They’re both exciting in different ways!

Free space!

For the free space, I guess I’d say that people should check out Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman! I just finished it and really enjoyed it.

You can follow her at @songssucculentsandstories.

---------------------------------

Thank you, El! This was nice.

Next interview: Wednesday, 3rd of March

#talking books with #booklr #thelivebookproject #february 2021

[road-rhythm]

hi! i came here from your ao3 page (i really like your fics!). are there any songs that you associate with wincest, if you have any go-tos or a playlist? and kind of a strange question, but i noticed that you have several tags you use for them, and I was wondering, what are the differences between, for example, your "sam 'n' dean" tag and your "epic love story" tag? just out of curiosity for the thought processes behind them, if you don't mind :)

I procrastinated on answering this for months because there is too. much. music. 😂 Finally I just wanged stuff into two playlists: one that for me vibes more platonic, one that vibes more Wincestuous. But really the thing about both Sam and Dean's canonically queerplatonic (queer as fuck) relationship and the brand of Sam/Dean I mostly prefer and seek out in fanon is that it's really hard to distinguish one vibe from the other sometimes. So I figured I'd go ahead and answer your question about the tags partway by naming the playlists after two of them them:

More canonical gencest/queerplatonic: the epic love story of Sam and Dean

More fanonical Wincest: as in Sam-slash-Dean

There's a fair amount of overlap between these. Tracks have not been niceified by being arranged into any kind of aesthetically or conceptually coherent order.

That isn't all the music I've ever associated with this dumb show, because there's not much I can't make be about these dumb brothers, and sometimes I end up associating songs that have no plausible connection to SPN whatsoever because I happened to listen to them a bunch while I was writing some dumb fic or other. But I think it's enough of a sample. I like my pop music like I like my dark urban fantasy TV shows, overwrought and unapologetic.

As for #Sam 'n' Dean vs #the epic love story of Sam and Dean (#two brothers and a car, which is basically #epic love story with an emphasis on the nomadic/isolated nature of their lives): the former tag is for any content that just has Sam and Dean in it. The latter tag is for content that focuses on their bond.

#asks #tunes #Sam 'n' Dean #as in Sam-slash-Dean #two brothers and a car #the epic love story of Sam and Dean

[kinsey3furry300]

Three awesome post-GoT series I would commission if I owned any of the Big three Streaming platforms.

Yo! Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+, you have a problem: there are nerds like me who want to give you even more of our time and money, but you’re not making the stuff you should be.  Following the hugely disappointing end of “Game of Thrones”  there are a huge number of sci-f and fantasy nerds who are currently not getting our fix of epic adventure, and rather than commission a whole bunch of cool series that are just begging to be made to cash in on this, you’re all just sort of doing your own things. And that’s Cool, I’m loving the Netflix Witcher series and Disney’s Loki, and looking forward to the Amazon Middle Earth series with a mix of hope and trepidation (please be good), there are, however, a whole mass of cool book series that are just begging for release in an episodic fashion, and what’s more, I can think of which series plays to which streaming platforms strengths. And unlike Game of Thrones, there are series where running out of source material to adapt shouldn’t be a problem.

So, three sci-fi or fantasy series that play to the strengths of the big three Streaming services, as suggested by me, a big ol’ nerd. One: Amazon Prime. Strengths: successfully adapting darker comic-book or Urban fantasy works Like Preacher, the Boys, Good Omens and American Gods and making a profit. Weakness: has never successfully pulled of a big Grimdark fantasy series, despite having all the talent to do so because they’re working on the Middle earth series, which doesn’t seem a good fit for their brand image as the place you come for for comically dark works, and all their adaptations are too much of a slow burn, which necessitates padding the source material (look at how little happens in any episode of Preacher or the Boy vs the insanely fast pace of the comics). Solution: Malazan, book of the fallen. A deep, insanely dark, insanely Epic story that would actually lend itself to a slow burn and the grim-dark over the top violence of other Amazon shows, and fill the “Tit’s and monsters” gap left by GoT in many of our hearts. And unlike Tolkien, I have faith that the studio that cast Sweary Karl Urban as Billy Butcher could actually pull this off with the correct tone and feel. This would have the Witcher fans from Netflix defecting in droves, and could also pull in some new viewers who might enjoy the anthropology and political intrigue of this complex, multifaceted world.

 Two: Disney+. Strengths: near infinite money and ambition, the production team behind The Mandalorian and the MCU, great Hollywood clout to draw in big name stars, but willing to cast talented unknowns, the best mix of live action and CG in the business. Weaknesses: It’s Disney, so they can never go full grim-dark: they can imply or infer dark acts, but need to keep what’s shown on screen PG13 to fit their brand, which rules out a lot of modern fantasy. And they have no true fantasy serries in their stable.

Solution: Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, and other Cosmere works.  A rare example of an excellent current fantasy and sci-fi writer who isn’t grimdark as heck, and manages to convey dark and adult themes by implication and hints rather than outright showing them, this is pretty much the only big fantasy series out there that is aimed at and enjoyed by adults but remains consistently PG13. It’s also so epic and super-hero-ish in this various magic systems, that I can’t see anyone other than the team behind the MCU pulling off a live-action version of this that doesn’t suck. In addition to this, the logical starting point for this, Mistborn, is by far the safest and most marketable, coming the closest of any of his works to a standard young-adult plot with Vin as an easily sell-able character to studio brass, being to all intents and purposes Katniss Everdeen with super-powers, which could get a big studio invested  and convinced this is a good idea before we get to all the “lets kill and replace god” stuff. If Mistborn was successful, other Cosmere works could follow, and I could see something like the Stormlight Archives working really well with the MCU effects team behind it, so long as they don’t white-wash it: No one on Roshar is white other than in Shinovar, and half of the cultures are based on either Polynesian or far eastern traditions, so cast Hawaiian, Māori, native American and east-Asian actors, and it could be both a great series, and also the most diverse Disney has ever done. You want a new, easily marketable but epic scale franchise, Disney? It’s right here.

Also for the love of god, do Wax and Wayne. I just need this, okay?

 Three: Netflix. Strengths: good at tapping into the prevailing nostalgia of Millennials and producing works that speak to them on a relatively small budget (see Stanger Things) and good at grabbing the rights to adapt good but slightly obscure works cheaply. Good working relationship with a ton of Japanese Anime rightsholders. Weaknesses: By far the smallest budget of any of the big three. Tends to produce awful live-action adaptations of beloved works (to the point that the Witcher was a pleasant surprise), but has good relationships with lots of animation studios.

Solution: Animorphs, but do what they always should have done and animate it. It boggles my mind that anyone would every try to pull this off in live action, as the transformations, which are the heart of the series, would be so hard to pull off well (look at the 90’s series). And yet, I’m aware they’re making a film, but dear god, why, when K A Applegate said form the get go that this series of books were written specifically as if they were a 90’s Saturday morning cartoon. This was always meant to be adapted as a series, not a long form film. So, don’t try to modernise it, or relate to “The kids” don’t whitewash the cast, don’t edit out the gore and body-horror, but lean into the 90’s and early 2000’s angst of it, and go balls to the walls insane with the concept. What music do you have playing for this scene? Is it Every day is exactly the same by Nine Inch Nails, and if not, why not? Do the transformation sequence genuinely scare you? No?  Then you’re doing it wrong.  Is that a happy ending? Get that the hell out of there. Go for the original time period and concept, and go hard, and if you do it now, you’ll just hit that sweet spot as the rolling 30 year nostalgia cycle moves out of the 80’s and into the 90’s. And as an apology to all the bad live-action Anime you produced, Netflix, get a Japanese studio to animate this: the Animorphs books were popular in Japan, with wonderful hand drawn illustrations throughout. Get Studio Orange on this: Beastars proved they can do flowing, fast-moving combat well, and make animal and other non-human characters look good, and what’s more they’d probably be up for it: Animorphs is basically a western Shōnen,  so the market for an Anime of it would exist in Japan.

 So there we go, the three series I would commission if I ruled the world of streaming sites. As ever, tell me why I’m wrong below, and have a great day!

#animorphs #brandon sanderson #mistborn #malazan #netflix #studio orange #disney plus #disney #MCU #cosmere #k a applegate #steven erikson #sci fi #fantisy #streaming sites #amazon plus

[velkynkarma]

Karma’s Recommended Reading List

Hello, friends!

So the world is a little crazy, and it doesn’t look like it’s gonna get uncrazy any time soon. To that end, I figured I’d throw together a recommended reading list of some of my favorite book series. Because there’s a lot more time for reading when we’re all stuck indoors, right? 

So here’s some of my favorite series, which will hopefully keep you entertained for a good long while! They’re pretty much all fantasy, which is what I adore the most.

Anything by Brandon Sanderson I’ve explained why a hundred times, so I’m not going to go into a ton of details here. I have a whole post explaining why you should read his books, so feel free to check that instead. What I will say here is he has a lot of books, so if you want to be kept busy for a while reading through his collections, you will for sure.

Incryptid Series by Seanan McGuire A fun urban fantasy series that has action, adventure, and of course cryptids. Once upon a time there was a monster hunting society called the Covenant of St. George, who hunted monsters that threatened humanity as a sacred calling. Then a few of its members went, “Wait...monsters are people too. Most of them have an ecological function on Earth and aren’t really trying to hurt anybody. Why are we killing them?” The Covenant didn’t have an answer, so those members ran away to America, and their descendants are now cryptozoologists doing their best to help the cryptid community not get exterminated. Has a clever and punny writing style and features points of view from multiple characters. Currently 9 books in the series, so it will keep you busy for a while. 

The Myth series by Robert Asprin Do you like Terry Pratchett’s Discworld? Then you will probably adore this series as well, since it’s got the same tongue-in-cheek clever humor, just the American version. A surprisingly underrated series that I think really should be more well known. Features a kid named Skeeve who, when apprenticed to a magician, accidentally summons a demon—who promptly adopts him. Also a baby dragon who can only say his own name, trolls who pretend to be idiots but are quite well read, the magical mafia (complete with fairy godfather), a gargoyle who runs a McDonald’s, and dimension hopping to weird places on a regular basis, and more besides! Clever humor and surprisingly good adventure, along with an unexpected huge dollop of found family.

The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix A really excellent young adult series with some wonderful world-building and a more nuanced approach to a traditionally ‘dark’ form of fantasy magic, necromancy. Features summoning and controlling dead and undead monstrosities with specialized, magical bells carried in bandoliers, and one of the most intriguing renditions of the underworld I’ve ready about to date (just check out this gorgeous art for it). The world-building in this series is definitely unique (also, one of the side books to this series features a blatantly asexual character, which was always a big plus for me, an ace reader). 

Garth Nix also has some other great series worth checking out as well. I particularly enjoyed The Seventh Tower series. I’m told the Keys to the Kingdom is excellent as well, although I personally haven’t read it yet myself.

The Epic Series by Conor Kostick Do you play video games—especially MMORPGS? This series will definitely appeal. The first book, Epic, features a fully immersive fantasy MMORPG that the inhabitants of a colonized planet log into every day—because at some point after moving to a new planet, the currency of the game became the currency in real life. Your character dies in the game and loses all their gold? Congrats, you’re now destitute. So people play it safe and never have adventures anymore, until one kid decides to actually have fun with the game and unlocks a whole conspiracy in the process. The rest of the books in the series go into concepts like ‘real’ vs ‘AI’ and how it’s blurred, and what the games are ultimately for. 

The Nursery Crime books by Jasper Fforde I suppose this would be categorized as ‘urban fantasy,’ but I find it hard to fit the Nursery Crime series (which is sadly only 2 books) into any particular niche. Takes place somewhere in England, where most of the world’s nursery rhyme characters seem to live. The Nursery Crime division is responsible for investigating crimes that happen in relation to this particular population. The first book is investigating the murder of Humpty Dumpty; you can probably guess how weird this series gets. It’s clever and fun though, and it makes me chuckle every time I read it. 

Wings of Fire series by Tui T. Sutherland Do you like dragons? Look no further. This book series is all about dragons. A cute young adult series that starts out about a prophecy where five baby dragons will ultimately stop a war amongst all of dragon-kind. It progresses into further stories down the line, once the war storyline is addressed, too. What’s interesting is there’s never a repeat point of view. Each book takes place from the perspective of a different dragon. There are multiple tribes of dragons, each with different physical characteristics that give them strengths in different areas; for example, SeaWings can breathe underwater and see in the dark, and SandWings do well in heat and have poisonous stingers. It’s a cute series, and I had fun with it this past winter.

Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo Do you like heist stories? Six of Crows is one giant heist story, and so is its sequel, Crooked Kingdom. Has a kind of dark, crapsack world kind of mentality, but all the characters are intriguing and have some interesting character development throughout. The world-building is pretty solid; I’m always impressed by the level of detail in this, down to cultural details in clothing or language between characters from different countries. Also features some blatantly non-straight characters which was a nice change of pace. Warning: There’s nothing explicit, but there are a lot of repeated references to sexual assault, or emotional/mental/physical abuse. If that’s something that would make you uncomfortable, you shouldn’t try this series out.

I hope you have an opportunity to try some of these out! Enjoy and stay safe out there :)

#Velkynkarma rambles #books

[fyrapartnersearch]

fantasy fanatic looking for...

Hiya, I’m Rachel, 21, and a female writer who loves fantasy!! This is my first ad search in over 2 years, so it definitely has been a while since I’ve roleplayed and I may be a bit rusty, but I have 5+ years of experience in roleplaying and 10+ years of overall writing experience!! If you’re interested in medieval high fantasy romance, keep reading—

About Me:

I write in a literate, third person POV, 4+ paragraphs (i tend to write a lot so this is a generously low estimate), past tense, novella/novel writing style!!

High fantasy is the genre I enjoy the most and hope to write novels in one day. This applies to roleplaying as well, and I will only write high fantasy / medieval. No urban fantasy, slice of life, sci-fi, or modern day.

I only write with OCs in original fantasy worlds, though I’m more than happy to look to existing media for inspiration that we can rework!!

Mental health is very, very important to me, as is the issue of burnout. If we ever need a break or to go a few days without writing, I’m fully supportive, as long as there’s a heads-up that it’s time for a mental health break. Remember that our happiness and wellbeing comes first!!

I adore making moodboards on Pinterest for characters and stories!! Expect some boards for us to collaborate on if you enjoy that too!!

I love reading and video games, and much of my writing is inspired by both. Though they may be mainstream, I absolutely adore SJ Maas and Leigh Bardugo. As for games, the Dragon Age series, Red Dead Redemption 2, Animal Crossing, and Breath of the Wild are some one of my favorites.

Looking For:

No minors, and no male writers please, it’s a comfort thing!! I do enjoy darker and 18+ themes in my writing, so someone closer to my age (19 - 24) would be preferable.

Someone who can match my writing style, though I understand that sometimes scenes lull and warrant shorter responses, as long as you’re interested in the novel style and enjoy description and character development!!

Someone with a preference for writing one central romance, but I am open to relationships of side characters in a thread if their chemistry works well. Side characters are an absolute must and I’m more than happy with splitting them up between us so we each have a small cast to work with.

A few replies a week at the least, and preferably one or more responses a day from us both, but as I said above I care a lot about keeping us happy and inspired.

Someone who enjoys both MxM / MxF!! These two pairings I have the most experience with, and I’m open to writing either character as I have no gender preference. It is required for me to have someone who doesn’t write exclusives, that way threads can stay fresh for us both.

Limits:

With writing 18+ romance, there are limits I have. Absolutely no incest, no underage/minors, no bathroom-play, no bestiality/furry, no romanticizing abuse, no gore-kink, and no multiple partners. Non-con is something that I refuse to write unless it is a part of a character’s traumatic history, or there needs to be sound reasoning for including it in the thread, though it cannot be between our characters. Bad things happen to people in life, and I do enjoy exploring mental health in my writing, but it needs to not be gratuitous or, as I said, romanticized.

Themes I Enjoy:

Royalty

Fae

Soulmates

Hidden Identity

War Torn Country

Epic Action/Adventure

Dark VS Light

Prophecies/The Chosen One

The Dark Lord

Corrupt Monarchy

Elemental Magic Systems

Rebellion

And many more...

Contact:

I’m in the EST and open to write on either Google Docs or Discord!! Google Docs does offer a better option with writing longer replies (which I can confess I usually write way too much and it can’t fit all in one discord message) but Discord is a lot better for organizing a private server for us to write in!! Either one I’m fine with, but definitely Discord for ooc!!

Discord - feralsong#8868

#Indie rp #multiple paragraph #long term #literate #action #adventure #drama angst #fantasy #original #romance #submission

[thecockerelinn]

Well, even though quarantine and lockdown may slowly open up for many of us, it’s not over yet, and besides one can never have enough means to escape reality, so here are a few book reccomendations.

All books on this list are LGBTQ or at least have (important) characters who are.

The “Classics”:

Wraeththu  - Storm Constantine (how is it no-one’s talking about this anymore? Please do take into account that those books were written in the early 1990s, they were way ahead of their times, and yet there may be some offensive things - it’s been a while that I’ve read them so I can’t come up with any example, but should you find them somewhat un-feminist, wait until the end xD)

The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin (a true classic)

The Last Herald Mage series - Mercedes Lackey (gee yes Vanyel can be a real brat - not quite without reason though, but you’ll come to love him xD And yes we all just pretend that scene in book 3 never happened -_-) (also: influenced the Nightrunner series)

The World of Riverside series - Ellen Kushner (another influence on the Nightrunner series)

The Doctrine of Labyrinths quartet - Sarah Monette (beware, those books are not for everyone, trigger warnings are in order: rape, violence, mental issues, abuse / none of this is ever glorified or belittled, but it’s there, and it is so much a part of the characters’ lifes that it might occasionally seem like it’s not appropriately treated. Speaking of characters: very complex, intriguing characters with very dark sides, but you gotta love ‘em; intricate, complex world building / Nowadays Sarah Monette writes under the pseudonym Katherine Addison) (as far as I know they are unfortunately out of print so you’d have to check second hand book stores)

Historical fiction (with or without the paranormal)

Whyborne and Griffin series - Jordan L. Hawk (lots of paranormal stuff, magic, Lovecraftian creatures, awesome ladies, and so much more - and you will love those boys so much xD)

Magic in Manhattan - Allie Therin (the Roaring 20s, magic, prohibition)

The Collin Pendragon Mysteries - Gregory Harris (imagine Sherlock Holmes and Watson were canon; whodunnit, Victorian England)

Restless Spirits - Jordan L. Hawk  (let’s go ghost hunting: science vs. medium)

A Charm of Magpies - K.J. Charles (magpies - lots of them xP, magic, curses, intrigue, late Victorian England)

At Swim, Two Boys - Jamie O’Neill (set in Dublin around the Easter Uprising 1916; coming-of-age, tragic love story - don’t forget the tissues)

Cambridge Fellows Mysteries - Charlie Cochrane (Edwardian England, mystery, romance; amateur sleuths, found family)

SFF

The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon (epic fantasy, intricate world building, clash of religions, dragons, strong female leads)

The Affair of the Mysterious Letter -  Alexis Hall (fantasy / mystery; Lovecraftian vibes, bizarre and witty retelling of Sherlock Holmes)

The Tarot Sequence - K.D. Edwards (alternative world, Atlantis, magic, god-like beings, found family; trigger warnings: mentions of rape, violence)

The Rifter series - Ginn Hale (fantasy, parallel world; god-like being, magic, religious strife, necromancy (in a way))

Iron Breakers trilogy - Zaya Feli (fantasy; intrigue, cultural differences, battles, fight for a kingdom, romance)

The Icefjord Saga - Zaya Feli (fantasy, Norse inspired world, magic, mythological creatures, battles, curses)

Tales from Verania - TJ Klune (fantasy, comedy, romance; hilariousness galore! - okay sometimes it’s a bit too much, but between all the jokes and sexual innuendoes, the story doesn’t suffer; basically everyone is gay, everyone tries to get into Sam’s trousers ^^;, did I mention the hornless gay unicorn that sweats glitter, and the sexually deviant dragon? xD)

Peter Darling - Austin Chant (fantasy, retelling; very interesting take on Peter Pan, takes place many years after the events in Peter Pan, focused on the relationship between Peter and Hook; the search for a place, for someone to accept you for who you really are)

YA and New Adult

Nevernight Chronicles - Jay Christoff  (sometimes I’m amazed what’s YA nowadays; fantasy; anyway beware of all the blood)

Feverwake duology - Victoria Lee (see above; dystopia; Holy Baby Yoda but these two books are intense! triger warnings: abuse, drug use, violence, mentions of rape, deadly virus outbreak)

Only Mostly Devastated - Sophie Gonzales (contemporary; all the feels: it makes you laugh out loud, it makes you cry; Grease says hello, super sweet quick read)

Timekeeper trilogy - Tara Sim (steampunk - or should it be clockwork punk?; mythology, gods, concept of time, ghosts, cute boys, discourse on colonialism)

The Torch Keeper trilogy - Steven dos Santos (dystopia; betrayal, love between brothers, biological modifications, deadly deadly trials)

Proxy duology - Alex London (dystopia; the rift between rich and poor, unjust society, technology)

The Disasters - M.K. England (sci-fi; band of misfits to the rescue!; Breakfast Club in space - kind of xD)

Magnus Chase & the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan (fantasy, mythology; ahhh Uncle Rick - just got to love the man, seriously; Norse mythology, diverse cast, homelesness, found family, disablitiy) (I’m aware it’s officially labelled Middle Grade, but who cares. It is linked to the Percy Jackson series, but you don’t need to know it to read these books)

The TBR pile (meaning books I haven’t read myself yet, but they certainly are on my tbr list, so perhaps they will be on yours now, too):

The Locked Tomb series - Tamsyn Muir  (fantasy)

The Bloodright trilogy - Emily Skrutskie  (sci-fi, YA)

Wild Sky - Zaya Feli (fantasy)

The Extraordinaries - TJ Klune (romance, superpowers - or not..., YA)

Reverie - Ryan La Sala (fantasy)

Soulbound series - Hailey Turner (urban fantasy, romance)

Cemetery Boys - Aiden Thomas (fantasy, paranormal, romance, YA)

Micah Grey series - Laura Lam (fantasy)

Specials:

A Song for Ghosts - Manja Siber (historical, mid 19th century Dresden) - Don your fanciest dress and fetch the binocular, it’s opera time! Originally inspired by The Phantom of the Opera and Yuri on Ice - see if you can spot the hints xD (as a fellow Watcher, Manja kind of makes the list by default* xP Give it a try, you can find it via epubli or on amazon.de)

*No, this isn’t nepotism, I’m just trying to give the support I wish I had. So if you’re an author and a Watcher and you’re not on this list, it’s because I don’t know about it. Tell me, and I gladly put your book on this or any next rec list.

#Book Recommendations #book rec #that should be enough for now #I'm pretty sure if I spend more time on it I would come up with more but let's keep those for another time #I tried to stick to books that i have not seen a hundred times on other lists already #nightrunner series #Lynn Flewelling #Watchers Reading List

[starstuffandalotofcoffee]

You mentioned earlier that you'd be willing to give book recs? If you still are, what would you recommend for fantasy/sci-fi not about straight white guys? Got a lot of recs for those already.

while I take umbrage with your url, I have many recommendations! In fact, most of the sci fi and fantasy books I have read as of late feature nonwhite and/or LGBT characters and many are not written by straight white guys either, which tends to help. Here’s an incomplete list thereof. Other people looking for recs, this is a pretty broad list ranging from fairly classic fantasy to modern urban fantasy to a couple different forms of sci fi, so you can probably start here.

Currently I’m reading the Foundryside series by Robert Jackson Bennet (I read book 1, I’m mostly through book 2, I don’t think book 3 is out yet) which is best described as cyberpunk, but in an otherwise low-tech fantasy world. The plot and themes are great, the characters are great, the exposition in the first book is a bit heavy-handed like dude we get it you program but the second book is much tighter. Most of the characters are described as being nonwhite, and the main character of the first book (who’s still a major character in the second; it’s just more of an ensemble) is a wlw. Note: I  think these are the only books on this list written by a white guy, so again, look for women and LGBT and nonwhite authors and often they will make characters who are like them.

N. K. Jemisin is a good author not only to read but to follow in that as one of if not the most prominent black sci fi/fantasy authors she makes recommendations of other authors and pushes for recognition (basically, her point is that she did not come in to take Octavia Butler’s seat and you can have more than one black woman writing sci fi). The City We Became is based on a phenomenal short story that she wrote, about the city of New York coming to life through various human avatars; almost all are nonwhite and several are gay, bi, or lesbian (there’s a minor supporting trans character who I hope gets a larger role in the next of the series but the first book just came out). The Broken Earth trilogy is maybe one of my favorite series I’ve read in the last few years; most of the characters are black and a decent number are LGBT.

Speaking of Octavia Butler, most of her characters are black and she’s also just a modern classic sci fi writer for a reason. I’ve only really read short stories (the Bloodchild collection), the Patternist series, and Kindred. She does dip into horror themes at times and I respect if people aren’t into that, but she was a brilliant author. Most of her characters are black and The Patternist series includes shapeshifter characters who have romances with people of various genders.

I was frustrated by the pacing in The Priory of the Orange Tree, but not the characters. The worldbuilding could also stand to be a little better in that it’s clearly like, Europe and Asia of our world circa 1600-ish but with different names for things and also some magic. Plenty of nonwhite characters, some lesbian romance. (Author is Samantha Shannon).

You have probably seen stuff for Gideon The Ninth on Tumblr and for good reason; it’s very good. The tagline on Tumblr is often Lesbian Space Necromancers which is true but also it’s just incredibly funny and dark and well-written. (Author is Tamsyn Muir).

You may have also seen things for the Shades of Magic series on Tumblr; it’s a really cool conceit, one of the two main characters is a woman, and there is significant gay romance among the supporting characters. It’s got epic battle vs. evil for the soul of the universe stuff as well as interdimensional portals but also pirates and the elemental magic olympics, somehow. I do feel sort of ambivalent about the author saying one character is likely genderfluid but doesn’t know that it’s an option because on the one hand I do not like the author saying things and it counting as representation, but on the other said character comes from early 1800s London and this would not be an unreasonable way for them to feel. (Author is V. E. Schwab)

The Raven Tower is super interesting and I only read it because my mother had it out of the library when I was home for Thanksgiving and she said ‘here you might like this’. It’s sort of a retelling of Hamlet, it’s got weird deity lore (which I happen to love in fantasy), and the main character is trans. (Author is Ann Leckie).

A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is sci fi and while there are challenges and real plot involved it’s just like...kind of a fun adventure book? I just remember finding it fun, despite the seriousness of elements of the plot, and I say this as someone who often does like a good epic good vs. evil plot but it’s kind of nice to read a book where the hardships are like, needing to fuel your spaceship in a weird place. Some of the human characters are nonwhite (I’m of the opinion that aliens don’t really count as representation), and several characters are not straight. (Author is Becky Chambers).

The Golem and the Jinni is about the early 1900s immigrant experience in lower Manhattan, but through the eyes of a golem woman living in the Jewish community and a jinni in the Syrian community who become friends due to being displaced magical beings. (Author is Helene Wecker).

Alif The Unseen is by G. Willow Wilson of Ms. Marvel fame and is a technological fantasy novel that takes place in an unspecified Middle Eastern country in roughly the modern day. It came out in 2012 and was clearly (and thoughtfully) influenced by the Arab Spring of 2011; most characters are Middle-Eastern or South Asian Muslims.

Finally on this list, though not of the many books one could read, Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand is by Samuel R. Delany, a gay black man, and while it’s been a couple years since I read it it was so brilliantly written and different than a lot of space sci fi that I’ve read and it hit me in such a way that I keep meaning to reread it. The main characters are also black gay men.

#sci fi #fantasy #book recommendations #paladins-are-dumb

[dougmeet]

flynt (13)     hustler (5)     died (4)     trump (4)     million (3)     doing (3)     insurance (3)     larry (3)     seniors (3)     ditching (3)

In 2017, Flynt offered a $10 million reward for evidence that would lead to Trump’s impeachment, and in 2019, Larry Flynt Publications sent a Christmas card to some Republican congressional members that showed Trump lying dead in a pool of blood, with the killer saying: “I just shot Donald Trump on Fifth Avenue and no one assassinated me” — a reference to Trump’s boast that he could commit such a killing and wouldn’t lose votes.

Eggleston Works è una società di cui  avevo sentito parlare molto tempo prima che io abbia mai avuto la  possibilità di assaggiare le loro merci. Situato a Memphis,  nel Tennessee, La loro prima offerta era un oratore che  sembrava un tavolo finale, ma alla fine non ha avuto il successo come  avevano sperato. Alla fine del 1996, l'Andra fu rilasciato.

Dr. Seuss Enterprises Will Shelve 6 Books, Citing 'Hurtful' Portrayals

no more Seuss or WAP for my kid

CSS Grid CSS Grid simplifies existing layout patterns

and

adds new possibilities for graphic design.

It’s a layout framework — without the framework

Fixed or FlexibleYou can create a grid with fixed track sizes or with flexible sizes using percentages or the new

fr fractional unit

Place & Align

You can place items at precise locations on the grid independent of their HTML source order. Alignment features control how items align when placed into a grid area, and also how the whole grid is aligned.

In our urban and suburban houses what should we do without cats? In our sitting or bedrooms, our libraries, in our kitchens and storerooms, our farms, barns, and dockyards, in our docks, our granaries, our ships, and our wharves, in our corn markets, meat markets, and other places too numerous to mention, how useful they are! In our ships, however, the rats oft set them at defiance; still they are of great service. How wonderfully patient is the cat when watching for rats or mice, awaiting their egress from their place of refuge or that which is their home! How well Shakespeare in Pericles, Act iii., describes this keen attention of the cat to its natural pursuit! A slight rustle, and the fugitive comes forth; a quick, sharp, resolute motion, and the cat has proved its usefulness. Let any one have a plague of rats and mice, as I once had, and let them be delivered therefrom by cats, as I was, and they will have a lasting and kind regard for them.

watch  -- 6,780 results ("mrjyn" AND "dougmeet") OR ("dougmeet" AND "BLACKPINK") SEO Results Deliver (images) in something i call (Bracket Racket Cluster SOF SEO) inspired by mr. Kurzweil, who makes your piano tuned No thanks to The Recording Academy for inexplicably overlooking Apple's new album Fetch the Bolt Cutters for an Album of the Year nod at this year's Grammys. @fionaapplerocks

In 2017, Flynt offered a $10 million reward for evidence that would lead to Trump’s impeachment, and in 2019, Larry Flynt Publications sent a Christmas card to some Republican congressional members that showed Trump lying dead in a pool of blood, with the killer saying: “I just shot Donald Trump on Fifth Avenue and no one assassinated me” — a reference to Trump’s boast that he could commit such a killing and wouldn’t lose votes. (65)

flynt (13)

hustler (5)

died (4)

trump (4)

million (3)

doing (3)

insurance (3)

larry (3)

seniors (3)

ditching (3)

Porn purveyor Larry Flynt, who built Hustler magazine into an adult entertainment empire while championing First Amendment rights, died Wednesday.

He was 78.

Flynt had been in frail health and died of heart failure at his Hollywood Hills home, said his nephew, Jimmy Flynt Jr.

Advertisement Skip Ad From his beginnings as an Ohio strip club owner to his reign as founder of one of the most explicit adult-oriented magazines, Flynt constantly challenged the establishment and became a target for the religious right and feminist groups.

Flynt scored a surprising U.S. Supreme Court victory over the Rev.

Jerry Falwell, who had sued him for libel after a 1983 Hustler alcohol ad suggested Falwell had lost his virginity to his mother in an outhouse.

Paid Post What Is This? Seniors Are Ditching Their Auto Insurance and Doing This Instead Seniors Are Ditching Their Auto Insurance and Doing This Instead Seniors Are Ditching Their Auto Insurance and Doing This Instead See More Sponsored Content by Comparisons.org Flynt’s company produced not only Hustler but other niche publications.

He owned a video production company, various websites, a Los Angeles-area casino and 10 Hustler boutiques.

He also licensed the Hustler name to independently owned strip clubs.

His publishing and financial successes were offset in equal measure by controversies and tragedies.

Advertisement 00:48 02:53 Shot by a sniper in 1978, Flynt was paralyzed from the waist down and used a wheelchair the rest of his life.

He fought battles with drug and alcohol addiction, and his fourth wife died of a heroin overdose.

His daughter, Lisa Flynt-Fugate, died in a 2014 car crash in Ohio at age 47.

With a fortune estimated at more than $100 million, Flynt spent his later years in the political arena.

When Gov.

Gray Davis was recalled by California voters in 2003, Flynt was among 135 candidates who ran to replace him.

He called himself “a smut peddler who cares” and gathered more than 15,000 votes.

A self-described progressive, Flynt was no fan of former President Donald Trump.

Before the 2016 election, he offered up to $1 million for video or audio recordings of Trump engaging in illegal or “sexually demeaning or derogatory” activity.

In 2017, Flynt offered a $10 million reward for evidence that would lead to Trump’s impeachment, and in 2019, Larry Flynt Publications sent a Christmas card to some Republican congressional members that showed Trump lying dead in a pool of blood, with the killer saying: “I just shot Donald Trump on Fifth Avenue and no one assassinated me” — a reference to Trump’s boast that he could commit such a killing and wouldn’t lose votes.

Flynt’s life was depicted in the acclaimed 1996 film “The People vs.

Larry Flynt,” which brought Oscar nominations for director Milos Forman and Woody Harrelson, who played Flynt.

—2021年3月3日 (@mrjyn) status: WAP—2021年3月3日 (@mrjyn)

  Twitter [@]  Tweet to: @squarebooks From:  @mrjyn Comm. on:  squarebooks (reply) RE: SB mention by  (author) re. SB her book status: WAP—2021年3月3日 (@mrjyn)

mrjyn comment: quotes Elvis song lyric: 'i don't care' adds:  'I miss #BarryHannah (author), mutual friend to mrjyn (person) and SB, Oxford, MS (bookstore) adding here: RIP Date: 03:13:2021 Time: 8:17 CST

1 of 3 jpg att: 1.  Elvis photo ephemera 'TCB Oath' 2. Photo of cover of Barry Hannah book jacket "Tennis Handsome" Pub: Knopf Ed.: Gordon Lish 3. Jerry Lee Lewis   Cover of Bio Author: Nick Tosches

definitive hypnogogic, Biblical Ovid Southern Gothic Epic hagiography, esprit l'escalier epitaph precursor to whose words will be most tribute to the possible mortality race between the Killer and Keith Richards, KR JLL's Jr. by 15 yrs. check Vegas Book for Odds says Stanley Booth, Author 'Up and Down with the Rolling Stones,' Memphis, TN 'author' -- not Rockcrit, please?

   mrjyn comment: quotes Elvis song lyric: 'i don't care' BarryHannah

This frisky pop confection finds Blackpink teaming up with American singer Selena Gomez. The five girls use a series of ice cream double entendres to send out mating calls and detail how they are different from the other females. I know that my heart can be so cold But I'm sweet for you, come put me in a cone Blackpink and Gomez are encouraging the guys to ignore their icy cool demeanors. Once they take a couple of scoops they will find they are loving and affectionate.

The song's icy metaphors not only have a sensual connotation but also allude to the singers' wealth. Ice on my wrist, yeah, I like it like this Get the bag with the cream The girls are wearing diamond encrusted watches (ice is a slang word for diamonds). "Get the bag with the cream" refers to a bag loaded with cash.

The song is Blackpink's second hookup with a major American pop star in 2020, following their Lady Gaga collaboration, "Sour Candy." Both songs use sexy food analogies to represent the enticing love that the girls are ready to give out.

Frequent Blackpink collaborators, the Korean Teddy Park and the American Bekuh Boom, are the primary writers. Park wrote the main melody while Boom was in Korea. She then wrote the lyrics over his tune, incorporating a series of sexy ice cream-related play on words. The other credited writers are Ariana Grande, her go-to collaborators Victoria Monet, and Tommy Brown, Mr. Franks, Selena Gomez and the Korean producer 24.

The retro-tinged video finds Gomez driving a pink ice cream truck in a pinup sailor outfit. The four Blackpink girls all appear in a candy-coated frozen dessert fantasy land before ending the clip in an ice cream amusement park. Blackpink's scenes were filmed in South Korea, while the scenes featuring Gomez were shot in the US because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The song was birthed at a songwriting camp that producer Teddy Park asked Bekuh Boom to run for Blackpink's debut studio album. Boom asked Tommy Brown and Victoria Monét to come to the sessions at LA's Westlake Studio, and the pair brought Mr. Franks along with them. "Tommy had Franks pull up beats, and eventually Franks played the one that all of us started vibing to and decided to work on together," recalled Boom to Genius. "Victoria brought up the subject 'ice cream' and started humming melodies that we then started writing lyrics to together in the room. From that point on we had a great back and forth of ideas for the first half of the song that was done that night."

  A post shared by mrjyn (@dougmeet)

no more Seuss or WAP for my kid. Dr. Seuss Enterprises Will Shelve 6 Books, Citing 'Hurtful' Portrayals https://t.co/Cc23ru1M6K— mrjyn (@mrjyn) 2021年3月3日

     Eggleston Works " Fontaine II "

           Diffusori a torre    

         SCHEDA

Di            cosa si tratta:

         Diffusori a torre

                         L'importanza              di iscrivervi alla newsletter

Produttore:

         Egglestone Works  Usa

Caratteristiche:

 Due vie Reflex

Costo:

         7500/00 euro anno 2011

         Vasta Gamma di          Nuovo          e              Usato disponibili          Click

     CARATTERISTICHE

           INFO DAL WEB

   L'opportunità per me di ascoltare  un altoparlante EgglestonWorks è arrivata tramite il mio amico e collega,  Marshall Nack. Alcuni di voi lettori a lungo termine  potrebbero ricordare la recensione approfondita di Marshall dei Rosas di  EgglestonWorks.    Marshall e la sua adorabile moglie  Lynn sono una coppia insolita in quanto entrambi sono audiofili. In  realtà, sono l'unica coppia audiofila che conosco personalmente. Sono  certo che il fatto che siano entrambi dei musicisti seri è in gran parte  responsabile della loro capacità di ascoltare le gradazioni e i dettagli  tonali molto fini con tanta facilità. Tra i suoi molti  talenti, Marshall ha un'eccezionale capacità di dare voce a  un sistema. Sembra sempre in grado di trovare la giusta  miscela di componenti e accessori che si traducono in un sistema  eccezionalmente ben bilanciato. Questo è molto più difficile  da realizzare di quanto si possa pensare. Tuttavia, la natura  rivelatrice dei diffusori EgglestonWorks è stata determinante nel  raggiungimento dei suoi obiettivi sonori.    Quando lo Stereophile Show è  arrivato in città questa primavera, la stanza di EgglestonWorks era in  cima alla mia lista delle visite obbligatorie. È stato lì che  ho incontrato EgglestonWorks prez Jim Thomson e ho iniziato il mio primo  ascolto con i Fontaines. So che hai tutti sentito che la  qualità del suono agli spettacoli è generalmente piuttosto brutta. Mentre  trovo che questo sia ampiamente vero, allo stesso tempo, puoi avere  un'idea del potenziale sonoro di un prodotto, o come alla  fine potrebbe funzionare in condizioni di casa. I Fontaines  furono sistemati nella sala dell'home theater di Eggleston. Incluso  con il display era un paio di sub-woofer dedicati.    Secondo la letteratura aziendale,  "il design di ciascun modello di altoparlante nella linea EgglestonWorks  inizia con il midrange". Per le Fontaines, una coppia di 6  "polipropilene, i driver a doppio magnete gestiscono il  midrange e il basso. Ognuno di questi driver ha una bobina da  3 "di diametro, che è stata ripetuta molte volte ma che ripete, come è  vero, se il midrange non è corretto, di tutti gli altri è  infruttuoso. Il tweeter ha una grande camera di smorzamento  aperiodico che imita il caricamento infinito del diaframma. Il  tweeter è collegato al crossover con un cappuccio e due resistori  utilizzati come un L-pad.    Un singolo set di morsetti è  montato in un pannello incassato nella parte posteriore della sezione  driver. Ho chiesto a Jim Thompson di utilizzare un singolo  set di post di rilegatura in contrasto con la tendenza attuale di  utilizzare post doppio. I driver sono direttamente collegati  ai bind. Ovviamente, se un cliente è impostato su biwiring,  questi diffusori possono essere dotati di doppio binding post su un ordine  speciale.

I driver dei bassi e dei medi sono  alloggiati in quello che EgglestonWorks descrive come una custodia con una  linea di trasmissione quasi in trasmissione. Ciò si ottiene  impiegando un materiale di imbottitura acustico specializzato noto come " Lastre  di granito italiane legate a loro. Il risultato finale di  questi sforzi è un recinto molto inerte che fornisce una risposta dei  bassi molto migliore rispetto alle dimensioni ridotte dei driver.    Dopo diverse conversazioni con Jim  Thompson, quattro cartoni di dimensioni medie ma piuttosto pesanti  arrivarono da EgglestonWorks. I cartoni contenevano il driver  e le sezioni di base corrispondenti. Dovresti stare molto  attento mentre imposti questi diffusori per non danneggiare la squisita  finitura nera del pianoforte. L'immagine non rende in alcun  modo giustizia a questi oratori. Devi davvero vederli di  persona per capire cosa intendo. I Fontaines possono essere  visti come uno di quei prodotti che rientrano nella categoria "audio come  arte". Sono semplicemente belli. I Fontaines  possono essere visti come uno di quei prodotti che rientrano nella  categoria "audio come arte". Sono semplicemente belli. I  Fontaines possono essere visti come uno di quei prodotti che rientrano  nella categoria "audio come arte". Sono semplicemente belli.    La vestibilità e la finitura sono  proprio lì con il meglio che abbia mai visto.È ovvio per me che  EgglestonWorks ha preso molta cura e ha fatto spese considerevoli nella  progettazione e costruzione di questi contenitori.    Una volta assemblati, gli  altoparlanti danno l'aspetto di un monolitico sul pavimento. Le  basi sono sabbia-fallibili e formeranno un recinto molto sostanziale. Vi  consiglio caldamente di stabilirvi il posizionamento finale prima di  riempire le basi di sabbia. Questi bambini sono abbastanza  pesanti per cominciare; una volta riempito di sabbia, sarebbe  quasi impossibile per la persona media muoversi da sola. Ho  posizionato gli altoparlanti su una trapunta, quindi sui loro lati, per  inserire i quattro bulloni che fissano le basi in posizione. Questo  viene fatto attraverso un pannello di accesso nella parte inferiore della  base. Mentre le punte fornite sono molto robuste, hanno  un filo sottile e possono essere facilmente danneggiati se si è negligenti  durante l'installazione. Il cofano del conducente è molto  inerte quindi consiglierei molto se decidi di eseguire il test delle  articolazioni.

Mi piace particolarmente il modo in  cui hanno scelto di affrontare le griglie. Sono costruiti con  un materiale molto puro montato su una sottile struttura in acciaio. Si  collegano al pannello frontale mediante magneti che sono sepolti sotto il  laminato di superficie. Questa disposizione rende il  fissaggio delle griglie il più semplice possibile e ha funzionato bene per  me.    Mentre l'efficienza è elencata come  quello che potrebbe sembrare un 87db piuttosto basso, non ho avuto  problemi a raggiungere livelli di rottura del lease con l'amplificatore di  potenza Bel Canto EVo. Però,    Quando ricevo nuove attrezzature da  recensire, inviterò spesso diversi amici non audiofili, accenderò il  sistema e osserverò le loro reazioni. In ogni caso, le  reazioni ai Fontaines iniziarono prima che il primo CD fosse nel cassetto  ed erano sempre abbastanza positivi. Tutti sono stati presi  con il loro aspetto sorprendente e il modo in cui si sono mescolati così  facilmente nella stanza. Sono belli come sono discreti. Mentre  è abbastanza ovvio dalle specifiche e dalla qualità dell'hardware  utilizzato che EgglestonWorks costruisce i suoi diffusori con molta cura,

Come suonano?    Dal momento che non ho la  possibilità di eseguire alcuna misurazione sull'attrezzatura che ho per la  revisione, posso solo dirti come si comportano nel mio sistema. Mentre  credo che le misure abbiano il loro posto, difficilmente  danno il quadro complessivo. Ci sono stati molti componenti  che hanno misurato terribilmente, ma erano artisti stellari dal punto di  vista sonoro, e viceversa.    Hanno quella qualità trasparente  che consente ad ogni strumento di occupare il proprio spazio, ma sempre  con un naturale senso di proporzione all'interno del palcoscenico. Nessuna  durezza o nervosismo ha mai accompagnato questa chiarezza. Ho  notato anche una qualità semplice e costante del suono che lasciava che la  musica scorresse in modo molto seducente. Piatti e campane  hanno la giusta quantità di lucentezza e delicatezza e di nuovo, sembrano  avere le giuste dimensioni. I tassi di decadimento per questi  strumenti contribuiscono anche al senso del realismo.    Hanno costantemente svelato i  dettagli di basso livello che tra l'altro davano un senso reale delle  dimensioni del luogo di registrazione. Con Miles Davis,Tipo  di bluHo sempre messo in  discussione il suono registrato del pianoforte, specialmente con molte  delle vecchie registrazioni Blue Note. Proprio l'opposto è il  caso della registrazione XRCD, in particolare con molte delle  vecchie registrazioni Blue Note. Proprio l'opposto è il caso  della registrazione XRCD, in particolare con molte delle  vecchie registrazioni Blue Note. Proprio l'opposto è il caso  della registrazione XRCD,Waltz  for Debby del  Bill Evans Trio [JVC XRCD VICJ-60141]. Qui le qualità tonali  e la complessa struttura armonica del pianoforte sono presentate molto  bene.    Sono rimasto sorpreso dal senso di  profondità con cui questi relatori mi hanno presentato. La  mia stanza non collaborerà molto in quest'area, quindi questa è stata una  sorpresa gradita. In effetti, è il migliore che ho sentito  qui. Il riempimento del centro era azzeccato: i solisti erano  un po 'più avanti di quanto io non fossi abituato, ma era di buon effetto. Nel  complesso, ho trovato le capacità di imaging di questi diffusori di essere  eccezionalmente buone. Per i miei gusti,    Dal momento che il punto -3db è  quotato a 55Hz, non mi aspettavo troppo dalle regioni inferiori, ma sono  rimasto piacevolmente sorpreso da ciò che ho sentito. Ora non  fraintendere, questi non sono gli altoparlanti per gli organi  a canne o i fan del reggae. Per quel tipo di uscita dei bassi  dovresti guardare molto più in alto nella linea EgglestonWorks. Ciò  che è notevole in questo caso è la precisione del basso. Non  è mai cupo; piuttosto, tende ad essere stretto e melodico. Quando  eseguito male, il basso può oscurare gli elementi musicali nella gamma  media inferiore. Il basso dei Fontaines non interferisce o  oscura affatto il midrange. In altre parole, la fioritura  della fascia bassa non viene a scapito della chiarezza del midrange. Per  classica e buona parte del jazz, potresti essere abbastanza  soddisfatto della fascia bassa delle Fontaines. Nel  complesso, l'uscita dei bassi è stata molto meglio di quanto mi  aspettassi.    Lo scorso giugno Tim Shea ha  scritto una magnifica recensione del Musse Audio Reference Two NF  speakers. Li ho a portata di mano e farò una revisione di  follow-up. Tuttavia, poiché sono nella stessa fascia di  prezzo delle Fontaines,    I Reference Twos, come i Fontaines,  sono monitor bidirezionali. In questo caso, fornisci gli  stand. Le differenze sonore colpiscono a causa della forza di  ciascuna bugia alle estremità opposte dello spettro sonoro. Con  un punto -3db di 35Hz e una frequenza di sintonizzazione della porta di  29Hz, non sorprende che i Reference Twos si approfondiscano. La  parte bassa qui è stretta e melodica. Mentre i Fontaines non  vanno così in profondità, Devo dire che il basso è un po 'più  stretto e un po' più melodico dei Reference Twos. Tuttavia, i  Fontaines ottengono sicuramente un cenno del capo per l'estensione del  registro medio e superiore, dolcezza e ottima resa dei  dettagli. Questi sono tratti sonori che sono un appuntamento  fisso nella sala d'ascolto di Perry e in seguito sono venuto ad ascoltarli  per tutto il tempo. In aggiunta a questo, c'è  molta aria intorno agli strumenti con un tasso di decadimento molto buono. Alcuni  potrebbero descrivere questi diffusori come neutri dal punto di vista  tonale, tuttavia si desidera descrivere questa caratteristica. Io,  d'altra parte, trovare la loro tonalità per essere  leggermente sul lato caldo. Mi sta bene. Nel  complesso, semplicemente si tolgono la via della musica.    Etta James, Life,  Love and The Blues [Private  Label 01005-82162-2]: Questo è un CD che è un ottimo esempio del suono  "Mussel Shoals". Ha una linea di basso sostenuta molto  pesante durante molti tagli. Check-out " senza  alcun segno di sovraccarico del conducente o altro pericolo. Dal  basso superiore in su tutto va bene. La voce di Etta James  arriva con la giusta quantità di morso e calore. Dal basso  superiore in su tutto va bene. La voce di Etta James arriva  con la giusta quantità di morso e calore. Dal basso superiore  in su tutto va bene. La voce di Etta James arriva con la  giusta quantità di morso e calore.    Patricia Barber, Companion Il  senso di immediatezza e presenza è tale che è possibile ottenere  un'implicazione delle dimensioni della stanza senza alcun iper-dettaglio  per intromettersi. Sul taglio "Usami" c'è un  assolo di basso verticale che i Fontaines riproducono con tutte le trame e  la ricchezza armonica in tatto. Signorina. La  voce del barbiere ha una trama soffice che è abbastanza piacevole senza  che i dettagli vocali siano mai esagerati. Non ho mai avuto  l'impressione di poter vedere le sue tonsille.    Con opere sinfoniche su larga  scala, questi bambini continuano nella stessa vena. Mentre le  loro capacità limitate di fascia bassa diminuiranno parte dello slam e del  peso che i loro fratelli più grandi sono in grado di gestire,    Per riassumere, la EgglestonWorks  Fontaines può essere descritta come molto musicale. Mentre ti  daranno tutti gli attributi che gli audiofili bramano, non sono mai  eccessivamente analitici. Apprezzo molto le qualità dei medi  che mantengono le mie sessioni di ascolto sul lato lungo. Mi  fanno venire voglia di togliersi la roba da audiofili e semplicemente  sedersi e godersi la musica. Mi trovo a tirare fuori CD dopo  CD che non ho sentito da un po 'di tempo per ascoltare. Se  ritieni di dover semplicemente avere quell'ultimo bit di uscita dei bassi,  ricorda che i sottotitoli corrispondenti sono disponibili. palcoscenico  sonoro totalmente coerente e la massima semplicità della presentazione  musicale. Non ho mai sentito alcuna discontinuità tra basso,  medi o alti. Erano sempre coerenti in questo senso.    Questi diffusori sono di altissima  qualità ed è necessario collegarli a ingranaggi di pari qualità a monte. Ovviamente  lavoreranno con amplificatori economici, ma riveleranno  rapidamente tutte le carenze e le deficienze del suono. Le  Fontaines EgglestonWorks sono l'essenza del lusso. Mentre non  possono essere considerati a buon mercato e sono in un campo affollato a  questo punto di prezzo

     VEDIAMO DIETRO

Firefox’s Grid Inspector Tool lets you see the grid lines in the browser while you’re creating a layout or studying other examples of CSS Grid in action. In fact, this entire page was laid out using CSS Grid. Try it out!

Want to learn more?

our favorite resources

MDN reference documentation Read more

Rachel Andrew’s Grid by Example Read more

Jen Simmons’ Layout Lab Read more

Drawing order controlled by z-index and source order Read more

Read more  

A Box Alignment Cheat Sheet Read more

Jen Simmons’ website

Rachel Andrew’s website

W3C spec: CSS Grid Layout Module Level 1

Basic concepts of grid layout

Rachel Andrew’s CSS AMA on Github

Video demo of CSS Grid Inspector

CSS Grid and Grid Highlighter Now in Firefox Developer Edition

A Brief Intro to CSS Grid

[atelier-dayz]

The Conception and History of AtaLao

This is just a post for me to ramble on about how Ata and Lao (and Asha but he’s like 1/2 not an OC) got started as OCs and recount some of their history leading up to their roles in Under the Desert Sky. So for the one or two of you interested in reading this: 

(GIF from awhiteshirt)

It’s long and convoluted so everything is under the ‘read more’ link.

Otherwise, just carry on scrolling through your dash! 8D

The Beginning

To talk about the start of AtaLao, I first need to talk (briefly) about Rogue One and The Lost Bladesman. 

So I watched Rogue One and fell deep into Chirrut/Baze. That of course meant watching movies that Donnie Yen (DY) and Jiang Wen (JW) were in, which included The Lost Bladesman. 

The Lost Bladesman was set during China’s Three Kingdoms period and starred DY as Guan Yu (GY) and JW as Cao Cao (CC). And lemme just say, in this movie (and in several other Romance of the Three Kingdoms adaptations, including at least one of the Dynasty Warriors games), CC is HELLA THIRSTY for GY. Which kicked off an interest in CC/GY and led me and two friends to evocates’ phenomenal Romance of the Three Kingdoms/The Lost Bladesman series a guide to (dis)honouring your deities which had an interesting approach to A/B/O. 

Between that fic series and the many Hong Kong triad films and old “classic” HK films we watched, my friends and I ended up writing an A/B/O HK Triad AU in which CC was the head of a recently resurrected triad trying to protect/build up their home-city, while GY was one of the few good cops in a (obviously) corrupt system. 

Anyways, getting to the AtaLao part... 

On the left is General Zhang Liao, who acts as CC’s right-hand man in The Lost Bladesman. So naturally, he became CC’s second-in-command in our Triad AU! And look! He is, in fact, Asha! 8D Hence why I say Asha technically is and isn’t an OC LOL

As our Triad AU grew bigger, we added three “elders” to CC’s triad, people who had been important members of the triad before its collapse (due to the police) and were pulled back out of hiding when CC resurrected the triad. One of them, we decided, would be Elder (Ata) Zhang, Asha’s father. (Which was how CC also met Asha.) Elder Zhang had been The Accountant for the triad pre-collapse, knew where all the money in the triad was and went, highly trusted and held in high esteem. He was never arrested by the police, though they did pull him into interrogation once with...not great results for them. (Keeping this PG with minimal violence LOL I can talk about this another time if anyone is interested.)

I, on a whim, decided Elder Zhang’s facecast would be...

Tony Leung because it’s Tony Leung. 

CC had his work cut out convincing Elder Zhang and Asha to support his bid for lead of the triad. *nods*

But what happened to Elder Zhang’s mate? Asha’s other parent? (Lao?) 

(Aside: Andy Lau as his facecast because I LOVE HIM. And he and Tony Leung have SUCH AMAZING CHEMISTRY and ALL THE FODDER for me to use for inspiration, but I’ll stop myself here before I pic spam.)

WELL. 

He died when Asha was about 5 or 6. He was shot and killed by the police while he and Ata were out on a date under suspicion of being a triad member. (”He has the face of a gangster,” they said.) The irony is, he is actually a normal civilian, a low-level architect, and has nothing to do with the triad other than being Ata’s husband.

Thus, by the time our AU took place, Lao hadn’t been present for...over 30 years and was only rarely referenced as a near mythical figure. (;﹏;)

So there we have the beginnings of AtaLao. 

Their backstory makes me incredibly sad all the time. Especially when I think about their childhood/courtship and their dreams and plans for their future. I have lots of art drawn, content made, and thousands of words written for them so just say the word and I’ll share LOL

Proper AtaLao

What do I mean by ‘proper’ AtaLao? Well, when we were working on the Triad AU, none of the characters outside of the canon characters GY, CC, etc had names; we just abbreviated actors’ names. (Asha was just called Zhang. Ata was Elder Zhang. Lao was AL.)

Sooo that brings me back to Rogue One and....

The Ascension of the Lord of Imwe *jazz hands*

With so much inspiration material thanks to the movies DY and JW were in (and because I’m a martial arts nut), I started writing a Chirrut/Baze epic wuxia AU titled the above. It involved Chirrut inheriting the title of Lord (Baze as his right-hand / retainer), a power struggle between households to gain/hold the favor of the Emperor, and the Imwe household working to prove the murder of Chirrut’s father. (It is not posted anywhere. Don’t think it’ll ever see the light of day, but it exists. LOL) 

Since the story involved such a huge cast, I thought, why not pull in Zhang to help Baze with security. And if I’m gonna bring in Zhang, I should bring in Ata and Lao! And give them a happy ending. ;u;

And as it turned out, Ata worked perfectly to serve as a parallel for Chirrut (and AtaLao for Chirrut/Baze). 

(And this part, you’ll notice, I took to fill in his backstory in Under the Desert Sky.) Ata Zhang was the firstborn son of a prominent family, but he was born mute (a reference to an...incident in Triad AU) and treated poorly because of it. He would have been selected to inherit the family title, but was passed over for his “normal” younger brother. He took over the family’s bookkeeping (a reference to his role as The Accountant), and later, bowed to their wishes to an arranged marriage, from which he got Asha. 

(Chirrut is the firstborn son of the Imwe family, fully expected not to inherit the title because of his originally sickly constitution and failing eyesight. To the surprise and consternation of many, he did in fact inherit the title.)

As for Lao, he was an orphan taken in by the Zhang family and initially raised to be a servant, before they switched him to security. He met Ata when they were tiny children, and he accidentally found Ata crying over the way people were treating him. Lao ended up promising to always protect Ata, and eventually becomes Ata’s personal bodyguard. 

Please know there’s a LOT of PINING, and longing looks, and knowing they have feelings for each other but never acting on them, and then there’s Ata’s marriage, and baby Asha imprinting like a duckling on Lao, and-- aaaaaaaaah (　ﾟДﾟ)＜!!!!!!!!!!!

Eventually though, as I reference in Under the Desert Sky, Ata’s wife leaves, causing a scandal, and the family takes their displeasure out on Asha, which is the last straw for Ata. He takes Asha and leaves, but of course Lao goes with him. They finally work things out, and when we see them in the fic, they’re an old(ish) married couple who joined the Imwe household along with Asha to protect Ata from his younger brother, who is trying to assasinate him to secure his leadership in the family. 

That is AtaLao. 

(Please look at this picture of them that my dear friend Kei / kannibal on here and twitter drew for me and that has been my phone wallpaper ever since. ♡ฅ(ᐤˊ꒳ฅˋᐤ♪))

And since they already were in a fic with Chirrut and Baze, I figured, why not include them in Under the Desert Sky, an actual SW divergent AU and not just something wildly AU LOL And it works out perfectly as a pseud-parallel(?) with Ata as a Guardian, Lao as a Mando vs Obi as a Jedi, Jango the Mando. d(￣◇￣)b

Other Existing Iterations of AtaLao

I will keep this brief in the form of bullet points:

Infernal Affairs AU - After watching Infernal Affairs, I had to, had to write a mash up of it and our Triad AU. In it, Ata is still an accountant for the Triad, but was planted by the police. Lao is the mole the triad places among the police. Ata and Lao have a sort of missed connection history when they meet in the fic. I do want to finish it someday because I love what I have written so far. Maybe for the zine I’m hypothetically making one day...

In addition to Triad AU, we also ended up creating an epic high fantasy/Three Kingdoms AU and made two additional variations on top of it. The Main AU involved Lao as a High Priest and healer who ends up mentoring one of the Emperors’ daughters in the healing arts, while Ata is a major in the Emperor’s army who ends up leading a lot of supernatural investigations alongside Lao. 

Modern AU is a urban fantasy version of the high fantasy AUs, with everyone in similar roles, just updated for the modern age. 

AAAAND THAT’S IT. I’ll do a post on AtaLao in Under the Desert Sky sometimes since I know their backstory won’t be much of a focus in the fic. :)

PS I ended up making a little diagram to make sense of the AUs that ended up popping up in what order and from what influence. Not sure it’s actually helpful to anyone but here is it: 

#miya rambles #atalao #my ocs #long post #probably not of interest to most people so just carry on 8D #I could yell about them all day #under the desert sky