larathecapybara

[larathecapybara]

some v quick “chain of thorns” predictions

cordelia slowly starts falling in love w Matthew

paris institute ppl !!! 

Lucie and Jesse actually were kidnapped by Malcom fade rip

Cordelia gets more and more anxious when Lucie doesn’t reply to her letters. 

James drafts multiple letters to Cordelia but ultimately decides not to send anything because everyone in this series has a massive miscommunication kink. (ok it’s probably because he decides that saying it all in person is best) (but still) ( I appreciate the dickensian drama constant miscommunication adds to the plot but um) (can this man pls just send a text) 

Matthew dies at the end of the book to save either Cordelia or James 

No matter what, Cordelia ends up w James

Not sure if Grace is in some sort of prison, but if she is, it’s bc the clave voted to keep her contained until the silent brothers could come up w a way to remover her men-controlling powers. 

christopher devotes himself to combining magic and science to create a solution?? this means that he visits Grace often (”well, how about you try your power out on me?”) and they talk about science-y stuff (she helps him come up w breakthroughs and he starts bringing stuff for her to look at) (aka) (science partners to lovers) (cassie clare im begging). They also talk about their childhoods, their friends, social awkwardness, etc. Ofc, at first he is a bit apprenhensive of her. But soon we get the top tier trope that is People Falling In Love Across Prison Bars As They Unravel the Misconstuctions They Believed Abt One Another. (Cassie I am holding a metephorical knife to your throat rn) 

Ariadne starts to go by Kamala. or at least. Anna starts calling her Kamala. 

Lilith forces Cordelia to fight all of her friends–namely James and Matthew. 

[larathecapybara]

could you recommend me some books on critical theory, but like some introductory reading on it?

Introductions & anthologies:

Jonathan Culler, Literary Theory

David Lodge, Modern Criticism and Theory

Graphic Guides: Philosophy, Derrida, Foucault, et al

The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism

Essays:

Roland Barthes, Image Music Text

Albert Camus, Create Dangerously

Susan Sontag, Against Interpretation 

Mieke Bal, Narratology

John Berger, Confabulations

Edward Said, Orientalism

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak in Morris (ed.), Can the Subaltern Speak?

bell hooks, Feminist Theory

Umberto Eco, On Literature

Linda Hutcheon, A Poetics of Postmodernism

Zadie Smith, Changing My Mind

[larathecapybara]

Can you give sone Desi Dark Academia Movie recommendations?

student of the year by karan johar

The Shakespeare Trilogy (dir. Vishal Bhardwaj): three adaptations of Shakespearean tragedies, comprising maqbool (2003, macbeth set in the mumbai underworld), omkara (2006, othello set in rural uttar pradesh), and haider (2014, hamlet set in insurgency kashmir, my personal fave of the three). excellent casting, trademark bhardwaj gloomy atmospheric aesthetics and osts. also tabu.

Fitoor (2016, dir. Abhishek Kapoor): gorgeous adaptation of dickens' great expectations against the backdrop of pre-insurgency kashmir. follows young, artistically gifted noor who is hired to work in the mansion of infamous reclusive heiress begum hazrat, and ends up infatuated with her lovely, icy daughter firdaus. purely visual delight. everything and everybody in the movie is beautiful. The ost makes me weep.

Kai Po Che (2013, dir. Abhishek Kapoor): chetan bhagat sucks but this movie is wonderful, made me ugly cry. set in early 2000s gujarat, it's a story about three brilliant friends and their joint venture to open a sports academy. a story of strange friendships and the hunger to learn, a story of soaring kites and burning cities and how communal violence can destroy the most precious and fragile relationships.

Aligarh (2011, dir. Hansal Mehta) based on the irl story of a Marathi professor at Aligarh University who was sacked from his position following "immoral conduct". not an easy watch, but it's a good, sincere movie, that doesn't bank on woke propaganda and shows the truth of homophobia and the invasion of privacy in indian society.

Udaan (2010, dir. Vikramaditya Motwane) a young boy nurtures his poetic talent in secrecy from his dumpster of a father. this movie really reminded me of the first half of the kite runner as well as the room on the roof. the mc is proof that you can make a DA lead who is not dumb/an elitist asshat/both.

Raanjhanaa (2013, dir. A. L. Rai): this is a super polarizing movie depending on how you contextualise it. Idk I love it and I'm putting it on this list because Sonam Kapoor's character in this film is pure desi DA vibes and I like that it had JNU and student politics as a major setting. I love abhay deol. ar rahman's ost keeps me from spiralling on bad days.

Jaatishwar (2014, dir. Srijit Mukherji): oh man, this film. basically a gujarati postcolonial scholar takes on a project to impress his bengali gf, and in his journey meets a mysterious man in a Chandannagar library. jumps between two timelines- present day kolkata and 19th century bengal. lots of musing on bengali folk music and culture. can't give out too much but WATCH IT. YOU WILL CRY.

Sonar Kella (1974, dir. Satyajit Ray): desi DA without Ray?! this iconic bengali masterpiece is the first of the Feluda series (the literary character created by Ray himself) and follows the converging paths of a detective and his brother, a thriller writer, a psychiatrist, and a globe trotter when all of them are led by a strange little boy through the fort cities and buried pasts of West Rajasthan. Equal parts funny and thrilling.

36 Chowringhee Lane (1981, dir. Aparna Sen) if you like the stories of Jhumpa lahiri, you'll love this film! It's a bittersweet tale of an Anglo Indian teacher in post independence india and how the tedium of her life is relieved by the sudden appearance of her former student. There's a lot of shakespeare centric academia in this gem of a movie (Sen's debut!).

Baishe Srabon (2011, dir. Srijit Mukherji): a serial killer prowls kolkata, leaving behind each time couplets by famous Bengali authors, and each time the style of death coincides with some phrase in the poems, kinda like And Then There Were None. Twisted and disturbing, put the dark in DA, look up content warning. By same guy who made Jaatishwar! Also that ost goes HARD.

I hope you find something to your liking from here. Also I believe @gaaaandaaaalf made a rec list, you might want to check that out. And btw: taare zameen par IS NOT dark academia.

[larathecapybara]

"The truth is, I pretend to be a cynic, but I am really a dreamer who is terrified of wanting something she may never get."

—Joanna Hoffman

[larathecapybara]

Hello hello

Coming in hot is absolutely feeding my soul at the moment and has been the much needed distraction from having been put back in lockdown. I adore Bucky and the readers exchanges about literature and it made me desperately want to read more than I currently do. Do you have any suggestions for good poetry/novels?

Xx

That’s such a nice question, I had to think a lot about it! Here it is:

Poems:

Caitlyn Siehl, What We Buried (she's one of my favorite writers)

Anne Sexton, The Complete Poems

Novels:

Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale (if you haven't read it yet)

Vincent van Gogh, The Letters (trust me. just. do it.)

Carol Brunt, Tell the Wolves I'm Home

Carmen Maria Machado, Her Body and Other Parties (!!!! good gods!)

Let me know what you think of these :)

[larathecapybara]

aftg as stock images

[larathecapybara]

sing, they’ll hear you.

it’s blue morning quiet

breaths, rustles, and air-conditioning sighs

blow against your ears without being felt

any other sound will hit

sing, they’ll hear you.

dawn’s murmur comes tomorrow and after and ever:

she knows noon’s shouts,

and forgives this one trespass.

so sing, sweet, they’ll hear.

shatter their still

with your clear rising defy.

- lara, 11 September 2021

[larathecapybara]

sing, they’ll hear you.

it’s blue morning quiet

breaths, rustles, and air-conditioning sighs

blow against your ears without being felt

any other sound will hit

sing, they’ll hear you.

- lara, 11 September 2021, 6:46am

[larathecapybara]

What was the most interesting film you’ve ever watched darling? I love the way you’re thinking that’s why i’m asking this

the movies i started watching at a young age is one of the things i owe for this way of thinking i created. since it’s the first movie ask, i couldn’t hold myself and dropped not one but eight. these are not my favorites, but they suit the description of interesting. i’ll explain a little. stick with me, believe me it’s a good list. i am confident with my taste in movies.

MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS

The Double (2013)

directed by Richard Ayoade

the double is my favorite movie. the utopia is created perfectly for the story they are telling. it’s dark, unsettling, absurd, depressive. it’s perfect to tell a story about ‘feeling like a floating ghost around people, on this world.’ all those metaphors, the increasing tempo, dialogues are exquisite. i love jesse and mia. i love how this movie comforts me with its unsettling genesis. i am already a big fan of the concept telling a story with using duality. since we are talking about duality, here’s another beautiful example of it; enemy. ‘It's like I'm permanently outside myself. Like, like you could push your hands straight through me if you wanted to. And I can see the type of man I want to be versus the type of man I actually am and I know that I'm doing it but I'm incapable of what needs to be done. I'm like Pinocchio, a wooden boy.’

Enemy (2013)

directed by Denis Villeneuve

denis villeneuve is an amazing director. those little nuances or intense symbolism you see in my work is because of those directors made me grow into this. the color palette, actors, frames are so pleasant to watch. i loved more and more with every explanation i read about this movie. ‘chaos is order yet undeciphered.’

I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)

directed by Charlie Kaufman

this is the scariest movie i’ve ever watched. however not like the way you describe the word, it puts the massive fear in you because it’s real. it’s too real. i can talk about this movie for hours but i’ll keep it short. those long dialogues are worth the watch. i am obsessed with every metaphor and every little detail. ‘everything is the same when you look close enough. as a physicist, you know that. you, me, ideas. we’re all one thing.’

Coherence (2013)

directed by James Ward Byrkit

despite the low budget, this movie did a better job than other high budget sci-fi movies. i watched it four times, i would do that again.

Man from Earth (2007)

directed by Richard Schenkman

another low budget movie. this movie gave me such an intellectgasm. whole movie takes place in one room however it takes you on an adventure beyond time. i would do so many things to be in that room. since my parents are historians and i want to be a scientist; when i watched this movie once again i said i want to be surrounded by those kind of people if i need to be surrounded.

mother! (2017)

directed by Darren Aronofsky

another movie takes place in one house. a perfect description of a narcissist god. if you read teal, you already know how i love myths in cinema and stories. so this movie was perfect to feed that like of mine.

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

directed by Lynne Ramsay

this is not one of my favorites, however this is an interesting one i’ve watched indeed. tilda swinton and ezra miller do a very good job. keep it in mind that this movie is not for everyone and it can cause trauma. perfect example of how to use a color in a movie.

The Prestige (2006)

directed by Christopher Nolan

just wanted to finish the list with a classic just in case if you don’t know the rest. also i wanted to add one of nolan’s work to say he is my favorite director and the reason of why i am obsessed with time in general; manipulating it, being curious about it. ‘are you watching closely?’

[larathecapybara]

Most of these movies can be found on streaming apps and they offer all kinds of subtitles! Enjoy!

[larathecapybara]

Can you give sone Desi Dark Academia Movie recommendations?

student of the year by karan johar

The Shakespeare Trilogy (dir. Vishal Bhardwaj): three adaptations of Shakespearean tragedies, comprising maqbool (2003, macbeth set in the mumbai underworld), omkara (2006, othello set in rural uttar pradesh), and haider (2014, hamlet set in insurgency kashmir, my personal fave of the three). excellent casting, trademark bhardwaj gloomy atmospheric aesthetics and osts. also tabu.

Fitoor (2016, dir. Abhishek Kapoor): gorgeous adaptation of dickens' great expectations against the backdrop of pre-insurgency kashmir. follows young, artistically gifted noor who is hired to work in the mansion of infamous reclusive heiress begum hazrat, and ends up infatuated with her lovely, icy daughter firdaus. purely visual delight. everything and everybody in the movie is beautiful. The ost makes me weep.

Kai Po Che (2013, dir. Abhishek Kapoor): chetan bhagat sucks but this movie is wonderful, made me ugly cry. set in early 2000s gujarat, it's a story about three brilliant friends and their joint venture to open a sports academy. a story of strange friendships and the hunger to learn, a story of soaring kites and burning cities and how communal violence can destroy the most precious and fragile relationships.

Aligarh (2011, dir. Hansal Mehta) based on the irl story of a Marathi professor at Aligarh University who was sacked from his position following "immoral conduct". not an easy watch, but it's a good, sincere movie, that doesn't bank on woke propaganda and shows the truth of homophobia and the invasion of privacy in indian society.

Udaan (2010, dir. Vikramaditya Motwane) a young boy nurtures his poetic talent in secrecy from his dumpster of a father. this movie really reminded me of the first half of the kite runner as well as the room on the roof. the mc is proof that you can make a DA lead who is not dumb/an elitist asshat/both.

Raanjhanaa (2013, dir. A. L. Rai): this is a super polarizing movie depending on how you contextualise it. Idk I love it and I'm putting it on this list because Sonam Kapoor's character in this film is pure desi DA vibes and I like that it had JNU and student politics as a major setting. I love abhay deol. ar rahman's ost keeps me from spiralling on bad days.

Jaatishwar (2014, dir. Srijit Mukherji): oh man, this film. basically a gujarati postcolonial scholar takes on a project to impress his bengali gf, and in his journey meets a mysterious man in a Chandannagar library. jumps between two timelines- present day kolkata and 19th century bengal. lots of musing on bengali folk music and culture. can't give out too much but WATCH IT. YOU WILL CRY.

Sonar Kella (1974, dir. Satyajit Ray): desi DA without Ray?! this iconic bengali masterpiece is the first of the Feluda series (the literary character created by Ray himself) and follows the converging paths of a detective and his brother, a thriller writer, a psychiatrist, and a globe trotter when all of them are led by a strange little boy through the fort cities and buried pasts of West Rajasthan. Equal parts funny and thrilling.

36 Chowringhee Lane (1981, dir. Aparna Sen) if you like the stories of Jhumpa lahiri, you'll love this film! It's a bittersweet tale of an Anglo Indian teacher in post independence india and how the tedium of her life is relieved by the sudden appearance of her former student. There's a lot of shakespeare centric academia in this gem of a movie (Sen's debut!).

Baishe Srabon (2011, dir. Srijit Mukherji): a serial killer prowls kolkata, leaving behind each time couplets by famous Bengali authors, and each time the style of death coincides with some phrase in the poems, kinda like And Then There Were None. Twisted and disturbing, put the dark in DA, look up content warning. By same guy who made Jaatishwar! Also that ost goes HARD.

I hope you find something to your liking from here. Also I believe @gaaaandaaaalf made a rec list, you might want to check that out. And btw: taare zameen par IS NOT dark academia.

[larathecapybara]

Here's a love poem I put together using only lines from gay books because they are THAT lyrical

In order of appearance:

●Sappho (the title)

●The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

●Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

●Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

●Tin Man by Sarah Winman

●Ash by Malinda Lo

●Prince's Gambit by C. S. Pacat

●A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab

●The Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

●Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

●The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

●This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

●Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman

●The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

●The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

●Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by B. A. Sáenz

●The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

[larathecapybara]

Adult SFF edition

High/Epic Fantasy

The Lies of Locke Lamora: heist fantasy following a band of misfits! It has morally gray characters, fun banter but heartwrenching moments and a pretty complex plot. It’s a classic to say “if you liked Six of Crows and want to try adult SFF try this” and it’s probably true. 

Kushiel’s Dart: a political fantasy tome loosely inspired by Europe in the Renaissance. Pretty heavy on romance and erotica (with BDSM elements) as it follows a courtesan navigating the political scene. It has an amazing female villain.

A Darker Shade of Magic: probably the easiest way to approach adult fantasy. It has multiple Londons and a pretty unique magic system and concept, plus a crossdressing thief, knives and great banter. 

The Poppy War: grimdark fantasy (TW: abuse, self harm, rape, drug abuse), inspired by Chinese history. It’s adult, but follows younger MCs and the unique blend of different historical periods/inspirations makes it extremely interesting. The characters are extremely fucked up in the best possible way, plus the use of shamanism is awesome.

The Sword of Kaigen: if you liked The Poppy War you could like this one. The Sword of Kaigen is an Asian-inspired militaristic fantasy, with elemental magic, a badass housewife dealing with her past and hiding a sword in her kitchen’s floor. It has interesting and nuanced family dynamics and a great reflection on propaganda and the use of narratives.

The Priory of the Orange Tree: high fantasy, featuring dragons, a F/F romance and pretty complex world building. The author reuses typical fantasy tropes and roles in a fresh way. Very readable in spite of its length.

Empire of Sand: inspired by Mughal India, this one focuses on culture and religion and has great slow burn romance (TW: abuse, slavery). It’s pretty slow paced, but the payoff is great. Also a good “YA crossover”.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms: first book in a companion novel trilogy, following a young woman who finds herself at the center of a vicious political struggle, as she’s suddenly become the heir to the throne. 

Black Sun: first book in a new series by Rebecca Roanhorse, inspired by pre-Columbian societies and cultures. It mainly focuses on religious and political conflicts. TW for abuse, mild body horror and suicide (not very graphic). Nice inclusion of lgbt rep across the whole cast + one of the main characters is blind. Great world building!

Historical Fantasy

The Night Circus: perfect transition from YA to Adult for a reader, The Night Circus is a gorgeous historical fantasy romance. The author’s writing is amazing, the descriptions and the subtlety of the main characters’ relationship are to die for.

The City of Brass: political/historical fantasy tome featuring Middle Eastern mythology. It follows younger MCs (honestly another series that could be a good way to approach adult SFF) and has great character growth throughout the series. The first book has some more trope-y elements, but the payoff is worth it. 

The Golem and The Djinni: historical fantasy (if you loved The Night Circus you could like this one), following two mythical creatures as they navigate New York in 1899. Slow burn romance, rich descriptions, fascinating combination of Jewish and Syrian folklore.

Gods of Jade and Shadow: a fantasy bildungsroman set in Mexico during the Jazz age. Another great way to approach adult SFF as it follows a young girl on a life changing adventure. It features Mayan mythology and a god slowly becoming human.

The Ghost Bride: set in Malaya in 1893, it follows the daughter of a ruined man as she receives the proposal to become a ghost bride. Lovely setting, rich in culture and extremely atmospheric.

The Bear and The Nightingale: a coming of age story inspired by Russian folklore. Another great way to start reading adult SFF: it’s very atmospheric and fairy tale-like. Also frost demons are better than men.

Queen of the Conquered: first book in a fantasy duology(?) set in an alternate version of the Caribbean at the time of Scandinavian colonisation. It follows Sigourney, a biracial woman (her mother was a slave, freed by her father) and the only islander who is allowed to own and use kraft and therefore has a position of privilege, which she constantly abuses, while telling herself she’s doing it for the islanders’ benefit. The book is hard to read, because the MC is no hero and her POV can be quite challenging to get through, but if you’re up for it I’d totally recommend this. (TW: slavery, abuse, death).

The Lions of Al-Rassan: this one has minimal fantasy elements, much like other Kay books, as it reads more like an alternate history. Using Moorish Spain as a template, it deals with the conflict between Jews, Muslims and Christians. Much like Under Heaven and most of his historical fantasy it shows common people being swept up in dramatic events. 

Urban Fantasy

The Divine Cities trilogy: starting with City of Stairs, it follows a female diplomat and spymaster(!!). The whole trilogy features an interesting discussion about godhood, religion, fanatism, politics, without ever being boring or preachy. It has complex and rich world building and a pretty compelling mystery.

Foundryside: heist fantasy following a thief as she’s hired to steal a powerful artifact that may change magical technology as she knows it. Also, slow burn F/F romance.

Jade City:  a wuxia inspired, gangster urban fantasy. Great family dynamics, very interesting political and economical subplots. 

One for My Enemy: sort of a modern Romeo and Juliet, but set in New York, starring two magical gangster families. The female characters are to die for.  

Trail of Lightning: inspired by Native mythology and the idea of subsequent worlds. It has a kickass MC and a good mix of original elements and typical UF tropes. You could like this if you liked the Kate Daniels series.

American Gods: a classic of the genre, pretty much brilliant in how it reuses old mythology in a modern setting.

Retellings

Spinning Silver: a very loose retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, with a gorgeous atmosphere. It mainly follows female characters from different social and economical backgrounds and reuses the original tale to challenge the antisemitic ideas around the role of the moneylander.

The Queens of Innis Lear: fantasy retelling of King Lear, very atmospheric and gorgeously written. Slow paced, but very satisfying build up, lots of backstabbing and miscommunication. (heads up though, one of the MCs is coded as aroace and I found the rep pretty bad on that. The book does feature casual bisexual rep though, which was great)

Lady Hotspur: genderbent retelling of Henry IV, set in the same world as The Queens of Innis Lear. Lesbian and bisexual rep. Heavy on political subplots, features ambitious women growing into their roles.

Deathless: sort of a retelling of Koschei the Deathless set in the first half of the 20th century. Brilliant reuse of Russian folklore to weave together politics and history. It does have pretty brutal descriptions of war, morally gray characters, unhealthy relationships and overall a lot of mindfuckery.

Space Opera

A Memory Called Empire: space opera inspired by the Mexica and middle period Byzantium. It focuses on topics like colonialism and the power of narratives and language. It has one of the best descriptions of what it’s like to live in between spaces I’ve ever read. Also very interesting political intrigue and has a slow burn F/F romance (and a poly relationship recalled through flashbacks).

Ninefox Gambit: a Korean-inspired space opera with a magic system based on math. It’s honestly quite convoluted and difficult to follow, but it also features some of the best political intrigue I’ve ever read. Plenty of lying, backstabbing and mind games. It also features lesbian and bisexual rep and an aroace side character (TW: mass shooting, sexual assault).

The Light Brigade: militaristic space opera set in a not-so-defined future in which corporations rule Earth and space in general. The book follows a newly enlisted soldier as they go through gruelling training and experience the side effects of being broken down into atoms to travel at the speed of light. It’s a heavy book, featuring raw descriptions of war, and quite difficult to follow (non-linear timelines…) but it’s also an amazing critique of capitalism and political propaganda (TW: death, mass shooting).

Gideon the Ninth: pretty much lesbian necromancers in space. Very loose world building, but a fun mystery full of banter. Can be quite confusing in the beginning, but a relatively easy and fun way to approach science fiction.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet: character driven space opera featuring a found family journeying through space. A fun read, that also deals with topics such as sexuality and race. Quite easy to go through, as the world building and plot aren’t particularly complex themselves. Also features a F/F romance. 

Science Fiction-Fantasy that I can’t fit anywhere else

Vicious: college roommates put themselves through near-death experiences to obtain super powers, only everything goes wrong. Follows a great band of misfits (and pretty much everyone is morally gray).

Middlegame: a brilliant and complex tapestry of alternate timelines, following telepathically connected twins trying to escape the alchemist that wants to use them to obtain godhood (TW: attempted suicide).

Piranesi: the long awaited return of Susanna Clarke, Piranesi is an odd, mysterious book set in a house with infinite rooms and endless corridors, apparently inhabited by only two people. 

Bonus Novella recs: novellas are amazing and don’t sleep on them!

The Empress of Salt and Fortune: an Asian-inspired fantasy novella, it gives a voice to people usually silenced by history. It follows a cleric (non binary rep) as they chronicle the story of the late empress, retold through objects that she used in her life. It focuses on bonds between women and the power that lies in being unnoticed.  

The Black God’s Drums: an urban fantasy novella, based on Orisha mythology and set in an alternate, sort of steampunk, New Orleans. 

The Haunting of Tram Car 015: alternate steampunk Cairo populated by supernatural entities. It has a compelling mystery, starring a great lead.

This Is How You Lose the Time War: epistolary set during a time-travel war, F/F romance and gorgeous prose. 

The Citadel of Weeping Pearls: a novella set in the Xuya universe (a series of novellas/short stories set in a timeline where Asia became dominant, and where the space age has empires of Vietnamese and Chinese inspiration), but can be read as a standalone. It’s a space opera featuring a disappeared citadel and the complex relationship between the empress and her daughter as war threatens her empire.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate: an incredibly heartwarming and yet meaningful novella about research and the meaning of it. It’s the tale of 4 astronauts on a crowdfunded mission to explore space, to observe and report without conquering. It’s written in lovely prose and is very casual in its lgbt rep.

The Deep: very good novella set in an underwater society built by the descendants of African slave women that were tossed overboard. It’s not an easy read at all, as it deals with trauma, both personal and generational ones. 

Bonus short story collections recs

A Cathedral of Myth and Bone: 16 short stories featuring myth, legend and faith, that mainly focus on women reclaiming their agency. 

The Paper Menageries and Other Stories: features plenty of different fantasy and science fiction subgenres. The Paper Menagerie in particular is an extremely moving tale.

Conservation of Shadows: science fiction-fantasy short stories that focus on topics like colonisation and the role of art and language. 

Graphic Novel

Monstress: series set in an alt 1900s matriarchal Asia, following a teenage girl who survived a war and shares a connection with a monster that’s slowly transforming her. (TW: slavery, death).

[larathecapybara]

There is a girl out here actually writing whole ass songs for books and I’m literally in love with them oml. I’ll link some I recommend listening to them I’m getting emotional. 

The Dark Artifices *Lady Midnight* (Jemma Blackstairs)

Six Of Crows

The Infernal Devices *Clockwork Prince* (Will Herondale) *this one made me cry hahaha ha*

The Infernal Devices *Clockwork Princess* (Jem & Will) *this one also made me cry*

The Mortal Instruments *City Of Heavenly Fire* (Sebastian Morgenstern)

The Mortal Instruments *City of Lost Souls* (Malec)

The Mortal Instruments *City of Lost Souls* (Sizzy)

Allegiant (tobias and tris)

The Hunger Games (Haymitch)

 Mockingjay (Peeta)

Legend 

[larathecapybara]

chain of iron as ao3 tags by someone who barely paid attention to the plot (pt 1/?)

alastair:

thomas explaining his feelings to alastair:

jordelia:

alastair’s pov:

coi as a whole:

the sanctuary scenes:

whatever the fuck happened with thomastair at the end:

the love triangle/square/polygon whatever:

the sanctuary scenes (again lol):

thomas getting arrested for murder:

[larathecapybara]

Writing is hard so I decided to take a break to make some TLH shitposts

[larathecapybara]

chain of thorns prediction ???

malcolm fade is a going to be a bitch lmao. like he actually is kidnapping lucie and jesse in his desperation to get annabel back. that’s it send post