#lit. tsoa

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Adult SFF Books Bracket: Round 1

Book summaries and submitted endorsements below:

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. By all rights their paths should never cross, but Achilles takes the shamed prince as his friend, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles' mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But then word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus journeys with Achilles to Troy, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.

Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.

Fantasy, historical fiction, mythology, retelling, adult

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland

Endorsement from submitter: "Utterly hilarious romp. No actual sex, but somehow hornier than 90% of books with actual sex in them that I have read."

Avra Helvaçi, former field agent of the Araşti Ministry of Intelligence, has accidentally stolen the single most expensive secret in the world―and the only place to flee with a secret that big is the open sea.

To find a buyer with deep enough pockets, Avra must ask for help from his on-again, off-again ex, the pirate Captain Teveri az-Ḥaffār. They are far from happy to see him, but together, they hatch a plan: take the information to the isolated pirate republic of the Isles of Lost Souls, fence it, profit. The only things in their way? A calculating new Araşti ambassador to the Isles of Lost Souls who’s got his eyes on Avra’s every move; Brother Julian, a beautiful, mysterious new member of the crew with secrets of his own and a frankly inconvenient vow of celibacy; the fact that they’re sailing straight into sea serpent breeding season and almost certain doom.

But if they can find a way to survive and sell the secret on the black market, they’ll all be as wealthy as kings―and, more important, they’ll be legends.

Fantasy, humor, adventure, secondary world, queernorm, adult

[sadgirlliterature]

↳ ACHILLES & PATROCLUS ✧･ﾟ: ↳ ❝ He is half of my soul as the poets say. ❞

— The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

・┈ ・☆・┈ ・・┈ ・☆・┈ ・

[dmitryanya]

you know you want queer lit pins ( and you can get them HERE )

[ultimatelyre]

Achilles come down redrawn fanart, artists tagged support the artists :)

Please help me find the artist for this uncredited repost on this link!

[orpheuslament]

i have conflicting feelings about tsoa & madeline miller like on one hand i read the book when i was like 15 & loved it & it definitely sparked an interest in ancient greek lit so im forever indebted to it. on the other hand you made liking achilles embarrassing & ill never forgive you for that

[cass--st]

"But then I see the tomb, and the marks she has made on the stone. ACHILLES, it reads. And beside it, PATROCLUS. “Go,” she says. “He waits for you.” In the darkness, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the sun."

Lit me:

like- homie- TSOA kissed me, then hit me as if it had been me who whipped Jesus. 10/10, would read again.

I wanna cry with my mom about it but she's not even in the house

[angevinyaoiz]

Complaining again (but it's a gateway to other thoughts)

You know one thing about SC is that it was clearly trying to imitate TSOA which falls flat for a lot of reasons bc for one, TSOA at least stylistically is inspired by the author's scholarship knowledge of the language and era (even if it is using that style to tell a story that feels very Modern Boyslove sensibilities) but another one is that I feel if u WANTED to write a forbidden love story set in the fuckin LATE TWELFTH CENTURY, The ERA that CODIFIED many of the romantic and chivalric tropes that are the ancestors of their use TODAY, there's a lot of inspo to draw from there??? The late 12th century ppl loved their Forbidden Romances, even if het there's a lot to draw from there.

I was continually baffled by the kind of surface level references to the French lit with the chapters being named after the Chanson de Geste and all that but its a lost opportunity to dig into that kind of weird style of the writing of that time and place. I keep thinking in stark contrast of reading old stuff like say, CS Lewis and how even tho he wrote speculative stuff u can tell it comes from a place of interest in a Medieval worldview (although from later eras.)

I'm being UnFAIR bc I'm not an AUTHOR and I know I keep tagging on The Book but I think it's less about the Book itself and more, it ends up being a starting point for me thinking about what defines a work and what makes things FEEL medieval to me–and when I make my own art and zines and stuff, what parts do I include to show what I feel about Medievalisms, especially since there's always more to learn. I feel in my art, even tho my takes are usually more jokey or parodic, I want to try and capture and share something, and balance both the weirdness of what I learn with the kind of idk connection I find with characters and people.

[measureformeasure]

with adaptations i generally think It's Not That Deep, i might complain about it but i don't think madeline miller committed an unforgivable sin by writing tsoa and circe. people have been having shitty takes about greek myth & lit for centuries (& of course mythos is not a static creature that spawned fully formed and coherent, ancient greece spanned a long, long time). but i think it Can be That Deep when it says or doesn't say something about modern greece and the people there

[aristi-achaion]

[20 Question Fic Writer Tag]

tagged by @johaerys-writes hehe ❤️

How many works do you have on AO3? 35!

What is your AO3 word count? 321,184 (that's nearly a book)

What fandoms do you write for? Right now, primarily for Patrochilles (TSOA/Hades game/classic lit), but I've also written for a bandom I'm in :)

What are your top five fics by kudos? Chronos, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, I Can't Believe I've Met You, I'm So Blessed You're Mine, and A Welcome Threatening Stir!

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Yesss absolutely! I try to respond to every comment, even if it's from an older fic. I love hearing what people have to say, and seeing that they enjoyed the story is what makes me keep writing haha

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? This is easy because I don't think I've ever written something angstier than I Know I Always Said That I Could Never Hurt You, it's the only fic I've ever tagged "hurt no comfort"

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Another easy one, Chronos!! I was only too happy to give them everything they deserved and more by the end of this fic, they'd been through too much haha

Do you get hate on fics? I don't think I've ever gotten *true* hate, mostly just people yelling at me because I've made Achilles suffer haha but I like strong emotions, it means i'm going my job correctly!

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yes, always. It's mostly pretty vanilla stuff, but I experimented with writing some kinkier stuff with Cuffed.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? I've never written one!

Have you ever had a fic stolen? No, but there was one time where someone posted my fics on a different website without permission. They gave me credit, but I believe the site was taken down or at least the fics were deleted (some kind of bootleg ao3??)

Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! I've had a fic translated into Spanish, and I've been asked if someone could translate different fics into Russian and another language :)

Have you ever cowritten a fic before? Yes, I haven't in a long time but I had a really fun time cowriting! I wrote the Rocket Man series with an incredible author :) It's fun to bounce ideas off another person and see how your writing styles merge and evolve together!

What's your all-time favourite ship? Favorite ship to write about is definitely Patrochilles, but I've been reading a ton of Firstprince lately, they're like a comfort ship for me haha

What's a WIP you'd like to finish but doubt you ever will? I started writing a cowboy au back when I finished school, wrote a couple thousand words for it and then just dropped it. I want to finish it though!!! I just don't know when I'll get to it, and I don't live in the country anymore so I don't have a lot of inspiration lol

What are your writing strengths? Probably writing intense emotions, and having my characters go through some truly distressing moments. I'm a cancer so I like to pride myself on being in touch with my emotions lol

What are your writing weaknesses? Description, and the fact that I struggle with getting a story started. Part of me always wants to pull an Ernest hemingway and just describe the scenery for a couple hundred words before I do anything, and I don't know what to do to fix that lol

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I like adding it if I'm comfortable with the other language or have a person who speaks the language to consult with. I think it's great when you want to emphasize the place/culture the characters come from, but when the translations aren't right there it can become a little tedious lol

First fandom you wrote for? Bandom fics, I don't want to say it but it literally might be McLennon 🥲

Favourite fic you've ever written? Honestly... This is tough. Because Chronos is definitely my most popular fic and I'm very proud of it. But there's also a few that I had so much fun writing, like This Side of Paradise, that almost felt inspired when I was writing it. That one is definitely the most sickeningly romantic fic I've ever written, another I'm very proud of. I also actually really love I Know I Always Said That I Could Never Hurt You, because I was able to incorporate a lot of actual text from the Iliad into it, and I think I did a really good job!!

This was so fun!!!!! Thank you Jo ❤️

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Fiction Free-for-All Book Bracket Tournament: Round 3

Book summaries and submitted endorsements below:

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Endorsement from submitter: "One of the prettiest love story ever written"

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. By all rights their paths should never cross, but Achilles takes the shamed prince as his friend, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles' mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But then word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus journeys with Achilles to Troy, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.

Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.

Fantasy, historical fiction, mythology, retelling, adult

Monstrous Regiment (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett

It begun as a sudden strange fancy . . .

Polly Perks had to become a boy in a hurry. Cutting off her hair and wearing trousers was easy. Learning to fart and belch in public and walk like an ape took more time . . .

And now she's enlisted in the army, and searching for her lost brother.

But there's a war on. There's always a war on. And Polly and her fellow recruits are suddenly in the thick of it, without any training, and the enemy is hunting them.

All they have on their side is the most artful sergeant in the army and a vampire with a lust for coffee. Well . . . they have the Secret. And as they take the war to the heart of the enemy, they have to use all the resources of . . . the Monstrous Regiment.

Fantasy, satire, war, humor, secondary world

[losver07]

thanks for the tag!!! this looks fun :)

1. Three ships I like: wolfstar (marauders), patrochilles (the iliad/tsoa), solangelo (pjo)

2. First ship ever: princess bubblegum x marceline BUT i only started shipping them after i watched the gender swap chapter and was like. wait a minuteeeee....

3. Last song you listened to: davy crochet by the backseat lovers :) i have the whole album on loop, absolute fire

4. Fav childhood book: probably ender's game (the first book) or richard matheson's i am legend.... i was a weird kid i read weird books you can thank my weird dad ok

5. Currently reading: 1. the catcher in the rye (reread in english as a language practice) 2. the picture of dorian gray (same, reread but in english) 3. damned by chuck palahniuk 4. nada (nothing) by carmen laforet (for my university entrance lit exam)

6. Currently watching: adolescence, community (rewatch) + maestros de la costura (an spanish celebrity sewing contest which is so very silly and i love it)

7. Currently craving: something sweet, like a chocolate bun :)

8. Currently consuming: minecraft hermicraft smp vids, they make me feel comfy while i doodle :) i also just finished binge-watching all three fright night movies

9. Pets: none :( i have had four fish and a cat tho, and i'll probably adopt another cat once i move out (ok maybe more than one)

npt! @starkayezer @isalikescherriesandblue @hotteststar @dont-turn-left @equippedtolove @somanyquestions-featuringanxiety @cool-lesbian-is-here @charliecow @the-moon-and-stars-4ever @swimmingclass1978 @strawberrystainedfingertips7 @sunsstars @dutifullynervouscreation @motivationequaldead89 @walkingtalkingfrog

Get to know the blogger

Thanks for the tag @faggylittleleatherboy

1. Three ships I like: jegulus (marauders), anderperry (dead poets society), narlie (heartstopper)

2. First ship ever: idk, probably Rapunzel and Flynn Rider

3. Last song you listened to: Kill For You - Gigi Perez

4. Fav childhood book: The Magic Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton

5. Currently reading: The King's Men - Nora Sakavic

6. Currently watching: Greys Anatomy

7. Currently craving: Dominoes pizza

8. Currently consuming: just had some water

9. Pets: I'm not allowed pets where I live, but I have a cat back home

npt @zsrntyouil @mairon-goth-minion @mushroom-enby @wishiwereheather13 @overthemoons7 @equippedtolove @andytheoverthinker @woefulstar @cbartonscoffee + anyone else

[bazberkker]

Sparknotes should hire me

[thequeerlibrarian]

Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles

[gemmascouts]

“that is — your friend?" "philtatos," achilles replied, sharply. most beloved.”

for @diwalis​. happy birthday, most beloved ♡

[queerenteen]

// love and yearning //

[jeanmoreaux]

— Pat Barker, The Silence of the Girls