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#or one fantasy book with dragons but it was about a 12 year old and had a sort of dragon i don't super care for and didn't even as a kid
girlscience · 2 years
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me for the past several years: I think something is wrong with me, I just don't like books the way I used to. I have maybe finished 3 books in 4 years and the last one I finished took me making an intentional effort to do nothing but read it one day to finish it :/
this book,
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bursting into my life: NO IT IS THE BOOKS WHO ARE WRONG
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theaistired · 16 days
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Writeblr Intro
New intro, same person!
Hi, I’m Thea (she/they) and I’m aroace and autistic. I like to read, write, draw, play the piano, and occasionally play video games. My favourite book series is the Lord of the Rings and my favourite video game franchise is Fire Emblem.
Since my favourite genre is fantasy, most of my WIPs are fantasy and you can find my writing and sometimes art (and music?) on this blog.
I hope to see you around!
Some infos and links to my WIPs are under the cut.
Galidean: Main WIP, fantasy. A longer series (about 12 books) telling three different stories across the ages. While not meant to be dark fantasy/horror, the series can get pretty dark at times. The first story takes place a hundred years after the defeat of the Dark Sun, the most powerful dragon in memory. In celebration, the human nations gather together but only a few people realize that scorching raids have left their marks across the continent… [Intro]
Old Gods: (Dark) fantasy series (3 – 4 books). The planned horror elements have gotten somewhat lost, but are still prevalent to a certain degree, mostly body horror. The story follows the aftermath of a war between several divine bloodlines. Prince Alaric was captured before the end of war and does not intend to stay alive for much longer… [Intro]
The Human in Us: Urban fantasy series (5 books). Again: not intended to be dark fantasy/horror but some elements like this might still show up. University student Josephine has been struggling with hallucinations for as long as she can remember. After a nightmarish get-together with friends, the visions only get worse… [Intro]
Visions of Violet Stars: SciFi setting, with 2 – 3 stand-alone stories (one of which is specifically space horror). [Intro]
Little Remains: Crime novel/thriller. An unknown body is discovered in close-knit community. When a local student is also found dead a few days later, it becomes clear that the killer is part of the community… [Intro]
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Hi there! I wasn’t one of the people to suggest Timerra, but seeing her again reminded me of her really good English VA Dani Chambers, and so I wanted to share another of the Black characters she played that I really love: Molly Blyndeff, the main character from Epithet Erased!
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(Her sister Lorelai is actually my favourite in this series, but because I got to be reminded of Dani Chambers today, I’m making this a two-in-one submission!)
Molly’s family owns a toy store, but ever since her mom died the rest of the family has essentially left her fully in charge of the store, their taxes, cooking, cleaning, etc. She’s heavily overworked and is constantly being forced to be the adult in situations even though she is only 12-years-old. She is heavily neglected by her family and has a hard time telling people “no”. Every adult in her life has failed her on some level to the point she doesn’t even understand how much they were actually supposed to protect her. As a result, she has a very cynical outlook on life. She’s very loyal and protective of her friends to the point that she cares more about them than she cares about herself.
I really love how much the story doesn’t glorify her sacrifices and goes to show just how much stress it’s giving her, leading her to not having a social life at all, but also needing to essentially be the matriarch and breadwinner to a family of overgrown children. This girl deserves the earth, the moon, the stars as well as the nuclear launch codes. She deserves so much more than what life has given her and the series goes on to show her develop self-worth, but also allow her the chance to be a kid again (don’t want to give anything more than that away, cause spoilers).
Now onto Lorelai:
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Lorelai Blyndeff is Molly’s teenage sister, who foists all of her responsibilities onto Molly, not realizing how much it’s straining their relationship. She takes up the villain role in the sequel book.
The characters in this series have powers based on a word that is inscribed onto their souls. Molly’s is “dumb”, which allows her to simplify and nullify other things, which essentially gives her the ability to cancel out other people’s powers. Lorelai’s, however, is “amplify”, which lets her create these dream bubbles that she can slip into in order to live out her fantasies. Since their powers essentially cancel each other out, it regularly becomes Molly’s responsibility to make her sister leave these dream worlds in order to do the most basic of chores, often leading to Molly having to do them anyway.
Since her mother died, she has spent almost all of her time in dream bubbles, playing pretend and having whatever she wants magically appear without any need to work. She also uses them to play the main character in adventures where she gets to defeat the fire-breathing dragon, something I think is a very good demonstration of her trying to find some kind of catharsis by trying to win against what killed her mom (Fire. She died in a fire. There was no dragon).
She’s bratty, incapable of accepting imperfection, and has spent so much time in a world where she gets everything that she wants, that she no longer understands the point of responsibilities nor how much she’s forcing her sister to bear.
One of the reasons I love her so much is that I find her to be an excellent example of a character who uses escapism to get through her day. Her grief leading her to run away from all her problems leads her to being very antagonistic to her little sister, accusing Molly of abandoning her because she’s so busy doing all the work and can no longer have fun indulging in make-believe.
Also! I think she has really cute outfits in the book and I wanted to share them:
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Here’s her as a witch of the forest
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And here’s her as a cute bunny knight waiting to slay a dragon
I love that the series doesn’t shy away from making her antagonistic towards Molly, but also makes her sympathetic in showing how much her playtime is how she tries to avoid thinking about her grief. She’s very much a teenager and even though she’s avoiding the responsibilities foisted upon her and Molly, I feel the story makes it clear that those responsibilities are ultimately their father’s, who is too self-absorbed to act as the adult in any situation.
Another element I really like that I don’t think is talked about enough is how a big reason she doesn’t realize that their home life is neglectful is because the father praises her quite a bit for her creativity and uses her dream worlds for inspiration for new toys. She’s essentially being used as free creative labour without realizing it and the father is giving her unlimited freedom so he has something for his other daughter to sell. (This post isn’t about him though, so back to Lorelai).
She’s dorky, she loves bright colours and her dream worlds are very creative and fun, often reminding me of classic kid’s adventure films (they also remind me a lot of classic save-the-world-with-the-power-of-friendship rpg’s, which leads me to relating to her a lot). She’s boy-crazy in a way that feels like she’s never spoken to a human being before (same, girl, same) and a lot of her story in the novel is trying to impress a boy she just met with a baking competition and the judges trying to make her learn responsibility and how to accept failure. She’s the kind of girl that would marry Shadow The Hedgehog unironically, and I’d be there for the wedding. She’s a very fun character to read, as well as very well acted in the audiobook. She’s the kind of villain you love to hate, but also feel bad for her long before things hit the fan. I’m really hoping we see more of her in future instalments!
Anyway, now that I’ve concluded my rant, I hope you have a great day!
Well hell, you said everything I'd have said! That is deep fr, Lorelai using her dream bubbles as a negative way to cope with her grief via avoidance, and how that poorly affects her and her relationships. Especially with her younger sister Molly who needs her, and is instead forced to carry that weight. Ooooh I love the premise. Tragic siblings is one of those themes that I love and that always break me, because it's like.... You love them and you hate them. You love them because that's your blood and you know what y'all's relationship promised, and you hate them because you feel like they're throwing it away. But you can't bring yourself to fully hate them because... that's your sibling. And how far can it go to break 😭😭😤
And yes, the art style is cute. I know a Dani Chambers lol.
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zabberzim · 6 months
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Fic ideas for the LanDot nation
The many LanDot ideas I have but never got to write (it’s midterms now ;-;)
I’ll classify this into spoilers and non spoilers for the manga so anyone can read this :3
No Spoilers fanwork ideas
Dot gets told that his love life will flourish by a prophet and he is HYPED
Based off the official fan book info where he spends his pocket money on monthly prophet magazines.
Astrology guy x Astronomy guy
Shenanigans ensue
Dot has a nightmare where he is surrounded by Anna dolls
The dolls tell him to confess/make sense of his feelings like the Christmas ghost of the past, the future and the present
Could be a reoccurring nightmare or just a one time thing, both give Dot a sense of “???huh???” But being a little bit of a believer, he really thinks about it and what it could mean.
Feelings realisation with the help of a little girl he’s never personally met
Lance makes merch for Anna and made one of Dot to get back at him
It was funny until it wasn’t, Lance feels like he has to make it look perfect and struggles on how none of the pictures he had does Dot justice. Some of them are goofy in a dorky way, some others are just him being angry, and there are just some that he can’t bring himself to make merch of…
A little bit of feelings realisation, as a treat
And or he can try to get a good photo
Established relationship, Dot and Lance try to keep it low, but their matching earrings/accessories gave it away…
and it’s prequel
Established relationship, the origin of the matching accessories
I HC Lance to show affection through gifts or materialistic means more than Dot (see. His merch collection)
Early in the relationship, a pair of matching accessories catch Lance’s attention. He buys it for himself and Dot to wear together.
Dot was initially a bit bashful but gives in.
Their friends begin to notice this and starts to wonder what’s going on between the two.
There’s a little cut out of Dot in the lower right corner of Lance’s pendant now
RPG AU (based off of light novel/choose your own adventure books 2&3) Dot has his tummy exposed, Lance dotes him on it
On the cover of the 2nd LN/CYOA book, Dot, presumably with the class barbarian, doesn’t have his clothes cover him properly. Being the older brother that he is, Lance dotes on him.
An exposed tummy leaves one with a higher chance of being sick , Lance offers Dot his cape.
Dot is flattered by this but ends up getting sick anyway
Established/Developing relationship: meeting the family
Either Dot brings Lance to meet his family to get semi-interrogated by Malta (Dot’s grandma and mother watch from the sidelines, his grandma is also surprisingly capable of being intimidating)
Or Lance gets Dot to meet Anna, Dot gets seriously interrogated by a 12 year old over tea.
The gang gets an invite to Macaron’s Orchestra when Dot gets to perform as the violinist, Lance is surprised and slightly moved by the music
Dot is good at the violin, of course he should perform.
Lance wasn’t there at the scene where he was playing, so I want him to be the only one slightly surprised at this reveal and very surprised that Dot can actually play well.
Fantasy AU: knights and dragons( Dot is the knight and Lance is the Dragon)
In this fantasy AU, princesses being locked in towers is still something that happens, albeit somewhat rare.
Due to her age and politics of her kingdom, Princess Anna was sent to escape with her brother when their kingdom was under attack. Lance can transform into a dragon because of some potion he took in order to better protect Anna. He keeps her in the tower most of the time for safety, but Anna still gets lonely, so she makes paper airplanes and flies them out to try to find people occasionally (Despite her brother’s disapproval, she does it while he isn’t looking)
Aspiring young knight of a nearby kingdom, who wishes nothing more to find a princess of his own stumbles upon one of these planes (after many attempts to save tower princesses and proposing to girls, royalty or not)
When reaching the tower while Lance was away, it was clear Anna isn’t the princess he’s looking for, but he still plays with her before her brother comes back. (Big scare)
Semi-domestic fluff: Since Anna isn’t the right princess, maybe her brother is ?
Demon AU: Demon Dot and Human Lance
Dot, a demon, accidentally gets summoned when Lance, a human, wanted to summon a guardian Angel for his sister.
With no real return button, Dot’s just stuck there I guess. Lance makes Dot act as Anna’s guardian Angel despite knowing the fact that he’s a demon
(Angels, demons, similar spell; this Demon that he summoned is the best he can get atm, and he technically still has to fulfil his wish of keeping his sister safe. Plus, he’s got some little bits of feathers on his wings, it’s like a discounted Angel at worst)
Other people can see Dot, not his wings, tail or horns though
More details here hehe
(WINGS WINGS WINGS
Hi, I was a Destiel fan , can you tell?)
Excessive use of the Ira Kruez makes Dot ill, team mom Lance is here to help
Sick fic! Using Ira Kruez in the rain causes Dot to have a magical burnout. Lance takes care of him in a sick fic way
Alternatively:
Dot falls from the fucking sky because of a broom mishap, Lance takes care of him with bad pick up lines and more
Mash gets challenged by Lloyd Cavill’s goons and Dot takes up the challenge for his friend. The competition was rigged and a broom mishap happened half way through, leaving Dot badly injured.
Lance is the only one who can take care of him periodically because 1. He’s good with class so he can skip skip sometimes 2. He’s the most capable at take care of people amongst their group of friends.
The bad pick up line part came from “laughter is the best medicine”, it’s advice the others gave to Lance when Dot is still in a magic coma, amongst many other dumb suggestions.
“Did it hurt?”
“Huh??”
“When you fell out of the sky and got a concussion “
A little more display of affection, Dot eating it up.
They are both dumb
Modern AU: Doctor Lance and less successful/ failing musician Dot; And they were roommates
Years after graduation, the gang goes their separate ways. Mash becomes an unconventional cream puff baker, Finn becomes a public servant, Lemon works in her family’s bookshop suspiciously close to Mash’s bakery. Lance works at a high paying job as a successful doctor, and no one really knows what Dot is up to…
A chance meeting after work leads Lance to find out (fuck around, find out)
Lance bumps into Dot at a convenience store. It wasn’t a route he passed by much, so it was a surprise to see the spiky red haired boy there, handing in… something and looking dejected.
Upon meeting Lance’s eyes, Dot hopped over with faux-familiarity and an air of awkwardness when he offered to grab dinner, dragging him by the elbow to leave.
Over some fried rice with a few cups of beer, Dot vents his troubles in finding work after his ambitions to start a band failed; he got kicked out from his last apartment for late rent and his sister is starting to nag him to move out of hers. Lance just pats Dot’s back as he wails shitfaced. In the end, Lance brings Dot home so he can rest.
Naturally, Lance paid for that meal.
In this AU, the gang are all adults, so I HC Anna to be in junior/high school.
Anna obviously would live with Lance. Idk if i should make Anna’s illness a thing in this AU.
The Crown family is middle high class, fairly influential,
Despite Lance’s success, they cut ties with him (homophobia? )
Anyways that my idea
TBC
Spoilers to manga)
Lance has difficulty balancing work as a new DV, Dot offers to help out as his assistant DV
Between Anna, school work and DV work, life has been hard to handle as of late. Shortly after a chat with Orter Madl, unlikely help appears in the form of Dot Barrett!
Dot’s reason for volunteering as his assistant :
It’d look good on his CV
He can spend more time at the Bureau of Magic, maybe the three of them can get lunch tgt more often
It’s a good opportunity to poke fun at Lance
Established relationship: PTSD or nightmares of the final battle
The scene was so all too familiar to him: Lance rushing forward to block the projectiles before he could even react; his warm body slumping down on his as the smell of iron, the liquidy feeling of warm blood seeps through the cape into his palms, now stained red. What if Lance died that day? Why is he always putting himself in danger?
Memories of the final battle twist into nightmares in Dot’s mind
Dot finds a pin with his face on it among the many other Anna pins
Short and sweet, possible sequel to Lance making Dot merch fic idea.
Remember the sea of Anna pins that acted as chain mail for Lance? Imagine Lance changing it every once in a while.
As roommates, Dot might notice something special when Lance leaves his cloak on his bed one day
Lance and Dot buy back to school products for Anna
As a newly enrolled student of Easton Academy, it’s necessary to buy new things to get ready for this brand new school life.
After no one else being willing to go, Lance drags Dot along with him with the promise of treating him to something nice
It turns into a shopping date
Future AU :they get married
They get married and boom Ira kreuz
TBC
*funny thing is that I’ve written the start to some of these already, I’ve just never gotten around to finishing them…
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cosmik-homo · 3 months
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Running here to say someone JUST told me they will read death gate, so the pyramid scheme is working :)
I'm really glad I read it, I had a lot of fun! The final books didn't quite hit the mark for me but as a whole it was a really nice series :) what are your favorite parts if you don't mind me asking?
Yayyyy my empire grows!
I've been really rotating in my mind how to answer this, for basically the whole day. There's very much a case here of "the thing you latch on to as a 12 year old is gonna stay with you forever", and this series helped me unlock a lot of things that have become central to my life, from grappling with sexuality and gender in my tweens and teens to. Very actively opening the door to question the Zionist assumptions I grew up with.
And I do think that despite certain pitfalls (looking at you pryan) the politics of the series are pretty cool, for a fantasy shlock- the validation of rage and vengence instincts on the side of the opressed as real and human (as opposed to bestial or barbaric) while also being unconstructive to creating actually better futures to any sides involved, and the necessity of solidarity and empathy and models of shared life and whatnot are all kind of relevant to what I believe and do with local circles.
But more than that, I really love the character dynamics. Haplo's arc is just a really good examination and deconstruction of fantasy masculinity tropes, and its beautiful and cool and explains how toxic masculinity as we refer to it today functions very well for something written before the phrase was coined.
And Alfred...
Ok, I am entirely incapable of being impartial about Alfred "dopamine creator in chief" Montbank but before I go down that rabbithole, i think what I really want to say here is I often feel the way i recommend or advocate for the death gate cycle in itself kind of ruins for others one of the things I like about it the best and the most and find delightful, which is the entire Bait And Switch ordeal.
It's unique, it's fun, it manages Layers, and it's so interesting in it's meaning.
AUTHORS NOTE: I am going to literally physically cut off the incoming alfred rant when it reaches 300 words. i will let myself write it as much as i want cuz god knows i need the serotonin, this is my version of chasing my own tail, and then just cut it at that cuff.
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What Alfred means and represents and does and is in the books is so cool, and it's another thing that being fixated on dgc changed for me. I used to enjoy star wars the way a normal person would, once upon a time. It was Alfred-Majoring that made me c3po crazy. cuz its like, what kind of people are important to a story, what kind of abilities and attitudes and emotions and symptoms are "normal" and "good" to have on screen or page, as opposed to how we as people react to traumatizing or difficult situations in real life? He's an active expriment in discomfort with the pathetic in yourself and in others, in empathy, in being allowed to exist and be loved and meaningful Ugly and Weird. yeah in some ways its just an ugly duckling but. the whole swan/dragon side coming to the foorefront doesnt make the duck not there, hes just an extremly wonderful and powerful ugly, neurotic swan and its awesome.
The fact that being outside a system because youre too weak or odd to belong or manage to fit in it brings you unique opportunity to question if it's necessary or good.
I read a lot of margaret weis interviews and she never directly talked about writing alfred but she does often mention she doesnt read a lot of sf/f- her favorite authors are actually dickens and austen, and between that and the prufrock connection tm I wouldn't be surprised if alfred was purposefully designed to be a Literary character dropped into a SF/F story- and its sooo interesting in how it interacts with the genre convetions of power/magic/masculinity/trauma/danger etc.
~~~
OK that 278 words but I'm gonna cut it off now, I finished my entire coffee and then some crackers. normal behavior ensues-
On a less Analytical viewpoint of "favorite parts" I will say that the plot, dynamic and Imagery of fire sea is the one I find myself returning to most on a sf/f level - being reminded of it whenever necromantic societies come up, or Life Changing Enemies To Working Together Field Trips, or whatnot- Serpent Mage is i think the best constructed and I am often thinking about the social dynamics Alfred experiences there, and I have a deep and unbridled affection and obsession to the iconic mess of a jumble of a novel that is seventh gate because. sometimes, you just need dragontorture/ xars murderous paternal bedwarding / ghost handhold/ psychicthreesome/ dog based ressurection / closing the gate/ epilogue with children serotonin in life. that was balls to the walls the entire way through. and it rocked.
As i recently explained to a very cool person who ran a lecture on deathgate in a local convention: "When i was thirteen i was like oh i love basing my identity on dragonlance lets go for a fun ride. ooh its kinda slashy yayy. and then the existential teenage conditions hit and i started appreciating the Mental Health Representation, and then the panic attack representation looked me in the eye and said Become Leftist. NOW. we were not joking about the opening your worldview arc it isnt a metaphor this is directly about you. YOU need to fight the horrors in a radical kindness and peace way, even though you have crippling fear, right now. and then i did".
AND there's dogs, and dragons, and gay people devotion. so,
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unwarranted-opinions · 3 months
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Book Recs Based on TV Shows
If you like Avatar The Last Airbender then you might enjoy reading So Let Them Burn!
So Let Them Burn is a fantasy YA book written by Kamilah Cole following the point of view of two sisters trying to save their country and each other.
What happens to the child hero after the major battle is over? Where does their story go from there? Faron Vincent was gifted the powers of the gods to defeat the dragon-riding Langley Empire and free her island of San Irie at only the age of 12. And at 12 years old she freed her island. But now what? It's been five years since, she has all the powers of the gods and nothing to do with them. From what the queen asks of her it seems Faron is now just given the powers to remind other nations of San Irie's threat and preform party tricks at peace summits.
Elara is Faron's older sister and has always been in the shadow of her saint sister. Together she ran away with Faron to fight Langley Empire. After her island is freed, Elara is nervous that her name will be lost to history while her sister's name is praised as legend. This all changes when at the peace summit Elara gets bonded to a Langley dragon and it's rider, a bond only breakable by death.
Reeve Warwick is Elara's best friend, the son of the leader of the Langley Empire, and the Langley Empire's biggest traitor. He risked his life to give crucial information to the San Irie army that changed the war, now he lives in San Irie when the people still hate him for sharing a face with the people who enslaved them for decades, even worse people think he might be a spy. Faron doesn't even trust him, but to save her sister she has to work with him.
Queen Aveline was a normal farm girl till Faron was told by the gods to find her. Aveline's parents have given her up for her protection, but after their death Aveline was forced into the role of queen at only 16. Queen was not a job Aveline was prepared for, especially in a country recovering from war with threats everywhere and war still on the horizon.
Will the political challenges of the nation and this sisterly bond bring the world down or will Faron and Elara be able to save their country and each other.
BTW: This is part of a series and only the first book is out so if you can't read incomplete series then I don't suggest reading this one.
Here is my character comparison to ALTA (because I couldn't stop thinking about while reading) Faron: If Toph was the avatar rather than Aang. Elara: Sokka. Reeve: Zuko. Queen Aveline: Katara.
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nightbringer24 · 9 months
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New core boxes for Old World, each one at roughly 1250 points worth of models.
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Tomb Kings box contains 93 models:
Lich Priest/Tomb King on Bone Dragon, with the option to take the other rider as a foot choice.
40 Skeleton Warriors
32 Skeleton Archers
16 Skeleton Horsemen
3 Skeleton Chariots
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Bretonnian box has 76 models:
Lord on Royal Pegasus, to be built as either Duke or Baron
12 Bretonnian Knights of the Realm (which I imagine can be either done as Knights of the Realm or Knights Errant)
36 Bretonnian Men-at-Arms
24 Peasant Bowmen with stakes
3 Pegasus Knights
And a transfer sheet
Can't say if I was wrong or not about the numbers of cavalry in a single box since these are a singular rmy box, not a unit box.
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Each box will come with a rulebook, which will obviously be separately sold later.
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Armies are split into the two groups: Forces of Fantasy (Good) and Ravening Hordes (Evil), with the former including the Empire of Man, Bretonnia, Dwarfs, Wood Elves and High Elves, while latter has Warriors of Chaos, Beasts of Chaos, Orcs & Goblins, and Tomb Kings. These books are just the army books, essentially, with unit profiles, Grand Army lists, galleries, special rules, magical items and unique spells for each army.
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The Arcane Journals cover the lore-side of things but also rules for Armies of Infamy, such as Errantry Crusades for Bretonnia and Mortuary Cults for Tomb Kings. They're just add-ons if you want extra gameplay options for your armies.
Bretonnian and Tomb Kings will be included in their respective boxes, while the other factions will follow next year.
Tomb Kings are having nice new models:
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Nekaph, Emissary of Settra
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Battle Standard Bearer
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Tomb Swarm, which are good deal more dynamic than the OG Tomb Swarm below
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But yeah.. this looks cool.
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Big-ass Netflix animation news drop yesterday, ahead of Annecy and the release of ULTRAMAN RISING... Netflix is on a lot of shit-lists for a variety of things, including their careless race towards making more animated features but expecting them to be cranked out like it's a factory process or something... But I will say, the feature line-up they revealed yesterday sounds like banger-central. Too bad most of them likely won't see a physical media release, though.
WALLACE & GROMIT feature #2, VENGEANCE MOST FOWL... Coming later this year, featuring Feathers McGraw from THE WRONG TROUSERS... The hype is real.
The last half of 2024 will also be when Netflix debuts Skydance Animation's SPELLBOUND, that long-gestating fantasy picture from SHREK director Vicky Jenson with new Alan Menken-Glen Slater songs... I guess LUCK nuked whatever partnership Skydance, John Lasseter's current studio, had with Apple, although their new show WONDLA is debuting on that platform.
Skydance looks to follow up SPELLBOUND with TANGLED director Nathan Greno's POOKOO, another fantasy tale with otherworldy critters. Only a matter of time when we find out RAY GUNN, Brad Bird's retrofuturistic sci-fi noir whose development history dates aaaaall the way back to the mid-'90s, comes out.
Also curiously, prior to these announcements, Disney Animation director Don Hall (WINNIE THE POOH, BIG HERO 6, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, and STRANGE WORLD) has joined the ranks at Skydance. Another director who worked under Lasseter at either WDAS or Pixar, now working for him again. I'm guessing he didn't particularly enjoy directing his last two features at WDAS under Jennifer Lee's stewardship, thus - much like Nathan Greno and Rich Moore - went back to his old pervy boss. Skydance Animation undeniably has a lot of top talent there, and directors of past animation blockbusters, but it really just sucks that it's run by Lasseter. And apparently he's running it just like he did with Pixar and WDAS, just as toxic. He micromanages projects once more and buckles directors under his mandates, like Alessandro Carloni, who was supposed to direct LUCK... But these guys are his favorites, so I presume they'll do fine over there.
Next year sees the release of IN YOUR DREAMS, from directors Alex Woo and Erik Benson. Two total opposite brothers who go to dreamland and try to convince the Sandman to save their parents' failing marriage, sounds promising. We already knew about THE TWITS, and also THE IMAGINARY, which debuts in a few weeks. Three imaginary friends movies in one year, coincidentally the year FOSTER'S HOME FOR IMAGINARY FRIENDS turns 20... I refuse to process that. I was so big on FOSTER'S back in the day, when I was 12 years old. Speaking of TV cartoons and adaptations of those, THE PLANKTON MOVIE is also on the boards for 2025, continuing the Netflix SpongeBob movie series running alongside the theatrical ones.
I'm also very happy to see that Sony Animation's wild-sounding K-POP: DEMON HUNTERS, from directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, is underway and will be debuting sometime next year. Sony Animation also revealed a new HOTEL, I mean... MOTEL TRANSYLVANIA series, and are still at work on the GHOSTBUSTERS animated series as well. Since this was all for Netflix-only projects, not a peep on the GHOSTBUSTERS animated movie that's also on the rails. I wish DEMON HUNTERS was heading to theaters, though, that's such a bonkers-looking film that would work great like that. Much like their MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES, but that got re-routed because of COVID, so I get that.
Curiously, no word on THE SHRINKING OF TREEHORN, a book adaptation from director Ron Howard. First thought to be a 2023 release, Netflix picked up the picture in 2022 and didn't set a date... Maybe it's gone the way of EMBER and other canned Netflix animated movies? Or a new date will be inked eventually? If it's aiming for 2026, then that'll explain the absence.
I'll keep my eyes on these as they get closer, but my top picks are VENGEANCE MOST FOWL and K-POP: DEMON HUNTERS.
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dayscapism · 5 months
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Read this instead of Harry Potter - part 2/ 3:
Middle grade/children's books recommendations under the cut:
Part 1 - Adult books
Part 3 - Young Adult (YA) books
★ Greenglass House by Kate Milford: Mystery set in a cosy inn on a mountain only accessible by a cable car. The innkeeper's adopted son, Milo, wants nothing but to relax during the winter holiday, but guests start arriving earlier than expected. Each guest comes with a strange story connected to the house, and when objects start going missing, Milo must decipher clues and untangle the web of deepening secrets and ghosts the old house and the guests hide.
When You Trap A Tiger by Tae Keller (middle grade, standalone, magical realism): When a girl named Lily moves in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger out of Korean folktales suddenly arrives and Lily unravels a secret family history. Full of magical artefacts, magical deals, and courage.
Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi (series): Aru Shah is the daughter of an archaeologist and lives in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art. She is dared by her classmates one day to light a lamp that is said to be cursed, and she gets herself tangled in an adventure of ancient demons, antiquities, gods and time. Mythology, adventure, Riordan's #OwnVoices line.
Paola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia (trilogy): Paola's mother is constantly warning her about La Llorona, the wailing ghost woman who wanders the river banks at night, looking for people to drag into the waters. She and her friends know to avoid the river, but one night they set a meeting in the river to watch the stars, and a paranormal adventure ensues. Full of Mexican folktales, science, and magic. Part of Riordan's #OwnVoices line.
Amari and The Night Brothers by B.B. Alston (trilogy): Amari can't understand why his brother's disappearance isn't all over the news, why no one seems to care, why is this being so easily dismissed? Then one day she discovers a briefcase in her brother's closet, through which she discovers a secretive magic organization. She enters a competition to join the organization, so she can find out what really happened to her brother, but every department hides another secret. For this, she must learn about all sorts of magical creatures like mermaids, dwarves, magicians, yetis and weredragons, even though she only just learned about their existence. Meanwhile, an evil magician threatens the entire world. Mystery, secret agency, black author & black representation, middle-grade version of Men in Black. A ton of people recommend this one.
The Girl Who Drank The Moon by Kelly Barnhill (standalone): Every year, the people a baby for the witch of the forest as a sacrifice, an act that will keep her from terrorizing them. The witch, however, is actually kind and gentle, and confused about these babies. She rescues them and delivers them to families on the other side of the forest. But one year, she accidentally feeds a baby moonlight, filling the child with extraordinary magic. So she raises her instead as her own. The years pass and the people of the town are set on killing the witch, and the now 13-year-old magic girl must protect those who protected her. There's a swamp monster, a tiny dragon, and lots of magic.
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly (duology): A 12-yo mourns the death of his mother, high in his attic bedroom, surrounded only by his books. But the books have begun to whisper to him, and he listens. Taking refuge in his imagination, fantasy and reality begin to melt together, and soon he finds himself in a world of monsters and heroes, ruled by a king who keeps secrets in a mysterious book. Autumnal, horror, fairy tales, coming-of-age & loss of childhood innocence. Often recommended for fans of Over The Garden Wall.
Hedgewitch by Skye McKenna (quintet, British): Cassie Morgan hasn't seen her mother in seven years. Cassie is left trapped in a dreary boarding school, she spends her time hiding from the school bully and reading forbidden story books about the faerie world. She is determined to find her mother though, so one day she runs away from school. She is chased by a pack of goblins, and with the help of a flying broom, she escapes and finds herself in a cosy, magical village full of witches, who protect the country from the dangerous faeries and where she discovers the real history of her family.
Every Heart a Doorway (The Wayward Children Series) by Seanan McGuire (novellas, mystery, urban fantasy, LGBTQ+ rep): A school for children who have at one time slipped into magical worlds found in the back of wardrobes or under the bed, through rabbit holes and wells, but who have returned to the magic-less world and now seek a way back to that fantasy land. But it's not so easy when there's darkness lurking around each corner...
Shady Hollow Water by Juneau Black (children's, series, mystery, cosy): In this village, woodland creatures live together in harmony, until a curmudgeonly toad turns up dead and the local reporter has to solve the case.
Nightbooks by J.A. White (duology): A boy is imprisoned by a witch in a library, and must tell her a new scary story each night to stay alive.
The Frost Fair by Natasha Hastings (historical fiction): This is about a girl who makes a dangerous wish at the Frost Fair in order to bring her brother back from the dead. But the fair is not what it seems... Set in the 1680s in London, with Christmas vibes, and adventure. It's a heartwarming story. For fans of the Hogwarts founders era.
Seraphina and The Black Cloak by Robert Beatty (series, historical fiction, mystery): Serafina is part of the downstairs people of a grand estate. She must always be careful to not be seen by the rich folks upstairs. But then children at the estate begin disappearing, and only she sees the culprit. She will have to forge an alliance with one of the rich kids to uncover the identity of the culprit before it's too late. Dark forest setting and magic legacy.
There's a Ghost in This House (children's, picture book, short). "Hello, come in. Maybe you can help me?" Ghosts, Halloween, humour.
The Enchanted Castle, Five Children and It by E. Nesbit, illustrated by H.R. Millar (children's, middle grade, classics, British): Tales about magical adventures in the everyday world. In the first tale, children dig in a sandpit and find a bad-tempered fairy who grants one wish per day. In the second tale, three children stumble over a mysterious house and discover an invisible princess and a magic ring.
If you want something really nostalgic, here are books that came out before or are contemporary to the Harry Potter books:
★ The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin (YA, series): Yeah, I know this obvious recommendation as this series was a direct inspiration for HP. It has a wizard school setting, a coming-of-age narrative, discussions of how gender plays into access to wizard education, ancient artefacts, shadow monsters, good triumphs over evil, and much more. Plus Le Guin was a raging feminist and anti-capitalist, a powerhouse of her time, and she is a wonderful example of someone who had internalized biases and even wrote them into her books but eventually grew as a person and became an advocate.
★ Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan (middle grade/YA, series). Another obvious recommendation. Anything by Rick Riordan has that very classic middle-grade adventurous vibe. His characters are really well done too, particularly the protagonists; great ADHD/neurodivergent representation and you'll learn a lot about mythology (Riordan is a teacher, after all). The first books can have some dated stuff in them (like having the obligatory coming out storyline for the gay character, plus some problematic racial and ethnic stereotyping with characters in the Heros of Olympus series), but he has grown as a person and writer since. I'm told his later books (Magnus Chase, Trials of Apollo) are much better written. Most of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians hold up pretty well though, and the series is literally about a marginalized group of kids battling to dismantle the system that oppresses them. There's also a magical school/camp these kids go to, lots of mythological creatures, riddles, prophecy, epic battles and more. Riordan launched an #OwnVoices initiative to highlight middle-grade books written by authors of diverse cultures. Great for fans of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them too.
★ Howl's Moving Castle (YA, trilogy) & Chrestomanci (children, series) by Diana Wynne Jones. Howl's Moving Castle is wizards but makes it banter and is so cosy and quirky, you will not miss Hogwarts or the four Houses' common rooms at all with this one. And the Chrestomanci series is literally about wizard bureaucracy.
Kiki's Delivery Service, written by Eiko Kadono and illustrated by Akiko Hayashi (childrens/middle grade): You've watched or heard of the excellent Ghibli film, right? Well, this is the book it's based on. It's a coming-of-age story about a little witch who ventures into the world and opens a delivery little business in a small town. It's cosy and cute and a little bittersweet. It's about growing up, about work, about mundane things with a touch of magic.
★ Coraline, Neverwhere, The Graveyard Book, Good Omens, The Ocean at the End of The Lane, and anything by Neil Gaiman. One of the great writers of our time. With this author we often get themes of death and mortality, found family, discussions about growing up, literature, good vs evil and so much more. (Highly recommend the TV show adaptations of his works too.)
★ Anne of Green Gables by M.L. Montgomery (childrens/middle grade): A traumatized, orphan redhead girl accidentally gets adopted by a family of two old siblings who live on a farm on Prince Edward Island in Canada. It doesn't have magic or a magic school but it is very cosy and atmospheric and we do spend time at a day school. The protagonist is some type of neurodivergent, is feisty and a little feral, and obsessed with stories and magic. This book is mostly about growing up, childhood and love. (Also, highly recommend the Anne with an E adaptation.)
★ Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket and Brett Helquist (childrens, series, illustrated): Three recently orphaned kids, the Baudelaire, have the unluckiest stream of adoptions when his greedy uncle gets rid of each of the possible adopters. Full of trauma discussion, children's resilience and resourcefulness, and a nastily evil but fun antagonist.
★ The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black (childrens/YA, series, illustrated): Plot: three siblings find a mysterious field guide in the attic of an old mansion they've just moved into. Through this discovery, they find a magical and dangerous parallel world of faeries. If you love the herbology and care for magic creatures classes of Harry Potter, or the dark forest of Hogwarts, this is great for you. Great for fans of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them too.
★ Bridge to Terabithya by Katherine Paterson (childrens/YA, standalone): Childhood whimsy, magic, castles, monsters, etc. Discussions of grief & death, friendship & family. Warning: this is a sad book that will probably breaknyour heart. Best to go in without knowing much about it.
The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials trilogy) by Phillip Pullman: Ok, this author has been accused of sending mixed messages to the trans community on Twitter. He basically said that he supports trans rights but he's also against people coming after Rowling on Twitter. There's not much news about his current stance and support, but he has since shown support for banning conversion therapy for gender and not just sexual orientation (which the UK has been trying to do). So I think we're good with him? If you know more, please share! With that out of the way, these books are about Lyra, a little liar feral girl who lives in a parallel world to ours where your soul takes the physical shape of an animal. She embarks on a journey to the cold far North, to save one of her friends and gets tangled in a religious war. The world-building in this series is excellent. It's set partially in Oxford and our world too, and although it's not a perfect series, it has some interesting ideas and magical artefacts. I can't judge if the representation of Romani people in these books is problematic or not (there's an analogous fictional ethnic group in the books), but it's also something to consider.
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (middle grade/YA, series): If you like Draco and wish his character was done justice by the author and the narrative, this could be your new favourite protagonist. A brilliant criminal mastermind, Artemis Fowl kidnaps a fairy, a dangerous magical creature, which thrusts him into a riveting adventure of a hidden faerie world. Great for fans of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Eragon by Christopher Paolini (YA, series): For fans of Charley Weasley or Newt Scamander, this book is about a chosen-one farmer boy who finds a dragon egg in the forest and is thrust into a plot of destiny, magic, legendary swords, power, and dragon-riding.
Larklight by Phillip Reeve (middle grade/YA, trilogy, sci-fi, steampunk): In a magic house orbiting beyond the Moon, a mysterious guest arrives and adventure ensues.
★Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (YA/middle grade, quartet, illustrated): What if the characters could literally walk out of the book you're reading? The adventure! Well, that's exactly what happens to the protagonist of this book when her father reads her a book. This is about the magic of books, imagination & stories. The antagonist is the same archetype as Voldemort.
Magyk by Angie Sage (YA/middle grade, series, illustrated, British): Orphan kid, quirky characters, clever charms, potions and spells, and uncovering a mystery.
Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce (YA, series): Daine's knack with horses gets her a job helping the royal horsemistress. But Daine's talent is downright magical; horses and other animals not only obey but listen to her words. Adventure, high fantasy, great for fans of Hagrid & Newt Scamander.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (YA/childrens, quintet series): A strange visitor comes to Murry House and beckons three kids into the most dangerous and extraordinary adventure.
Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy by Douglas Adams (middle grade/YA, series, sci-fi): A dynamic pair begin a journey through space in a galaxy full of eccentric fellow travellers aided only by a sarcastic field guide. Full of British humour.
Happy reading!
★ Books I've read and personally recommend.
Supporting Sources:
https://www.aspiraldance.com/middle-grade-and-young-adult-books-to-read-instead-of-harry-potter/
https://missprint.wordpress.com/2022/09/01/back-to-magic-school-harry-potter-alternatives-booklist/
Goodreads for synopsis.
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briar--rising · 6 months
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Something that I've definitely mentioned occasionally on my old blog, but never talked about in depth, is that I was very very into medieval fantasy as a kid. I had a number of different interests; fairies and Greek Mythology were probably the two other biggest ones, and those both started around age 5. Oh, and dragons (esp the Dragonology book), but that was probably around 7. And, also when I was 7, my babysitter started reading Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce with me. From there, I read almost every book she'd written over the course of a few years. I got very, very, very into magic and (her version of) knights, and from there also got into real life medieval history and reading about Feudalism and what life was like for medieval women, from serfs to queens, and I had a period of being very obsessed with Eleanor of Aquitaine (Shout out to the book A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver, and to my parents for showing me A Lion in Winter when I was arguably too young for it. Still one of my all time favorite plays and movies). And I was into dragons and fairy tales and Arthurian legend and learning about illumination and tapestry weaving and anything else aesthetically connected to the 11th-15th centuries. While I still engaged with some other interests, stuff related to Tamora Pierce and/or the Middle Ages was my primary interest from probably 7-12. And even after it was no longer my primary thing, I was still very into it. I reread at least a few of her books every year, my favorite place on earth was the Cloisters museum, etc.
That love has never gone away, but it took a bit of a backseat in the last 10 years. Oh, I've still reread various Tamora Pierce books in that time, I still loved A Lion in Winter and illuminated manuscripts. But it wasn't as defining a character trait, and it wasn't something I'd think about every single day like I did as a child.
But lately, with Allora and the way our inner landscape is shifting, I've been reconnecting with a lot of things that brought me joy as a child. And fairies, dragons, and Tamora Pierce and medieval stuff are the things we're reconnecting with most strongly. And it's so fun, and so lovely, and feels like coming home. So on this account I started following a lot of people who post more medieval and fairy and fantasy aesthetic stuff, and there will likely be more of that sort of content on this blog than there was on honeysuckle-venom. So I guess I made this post to kind of explain that? There will probably be a lot of like, knightcore content and stuff, which I didn't post before, but it's not a new interest. It's actually a very, very old one, and it's nice to be getting back in touch with the things I loved so much when I was younger.
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bookcub · 7 months
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Books I Read for My SFF Class Rated from Worst to Best
clearly this is the most objective list ever obviously (jk this is based on how much I got from reading the text to how useful it was in context)
also while this syllabus included movies and tv shows, I am focusing on the books cause this is a book blog
19. Islands at the End of the World by Austin Aslan- The worst of the worst. Contains racist ideology and a magic system that makes no sense. This is a book clearly written by a white outsider about Hawai'i. I am also far too old for dystopias. One upside is that there were no random romances and it was about familial love.
18. Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson- Despite agreeing with the ideology of this book, this was truly a horrible reading experience. Poorly written, annoying and bland characters, and very inconsistent.
17. Blazewrath Games by - You wouldn't guess that a book that's essentially The World Cup with Dragons could be boring, but you'd be wrong. Nothing significant in this text rip.
16. Peter Pan by J M Barrie- Unfortunately, this book makes sense being included in this context of children's SFF so I can’t say it shouldn't be included, but this book was agonizing to read. Beautiful writing. And yet, some of the most racist and sexist content I have ever read in my life!
15. Charlotte's Web by EB White- Pretty painless to read and interesting to discuss in the context of sff literature cause uh, not generally a book I would categorize as such. I didn’t think our discussions were particularly notable and I would have preferred another text.
14. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline- *sighs* There are some incredibly important concepts in this text but woof. Again, I am too old for dystopias but unexpectedly I had a real problem with the way women were written in this.
13. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum- Again, this is helpful in context of a children's fantasy class and it was fun to read in context as a Wicked fan. If I didn't know it from related media, this would be super forgettable.
12. Bunnicula by Deborah Howe and James Howe- Fun, and a fantastic audio but there wasn't much to talk about here in our class but there's potential. Very funny.
11. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling- I am dreading the class on this but I am very excited for the critical readings and it was exciting to re examine the text as an adult with the knowledge I have now. I do think that we could have done a magic school section with books responding to HP instead. Again, interesting in the context of the genre.
10. The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen- One of my classmates had a lot of issues with the portrayal of Judaism in this text, so ideally this would be replaced with a text written by an author who did more research.
9. Feed by MT Anderson- I did NOT like this but incredibly relevant and scary to think this was written about 20 years ago. Good for the syllabus, not good for me!
8. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien- I didn't mind listening to this and it was another sensible inclusion. Occasionally boring but I'm supportive.
7. Haroun and the Sea of Stories by - I liked the perspective this book provided and it was a pretty fun read. I think this would work best as a readaloud text. It was also beneficial to read a book written by an author who wasn't American or British for comparison to the other texts.
6. A Wrinkle in Time by - Another classic that makes a lot of sense in its inclusion in the syllabus. Sparked really good conversations about the definition of genre. I enjoyed resisting this text as well, incredibly nostalgic for me.
5. Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova- A lot of fun! I love portal fantasies and this had a classic adventure but didn't feel trite at all. I actually enjoyed the love triangle and will consider reading the books later in the series.
4. American Born Chinese by Gene Luan Yang- This was a difficult book to read but it was incredibly rewarding. I had to sit with it a lot to process and I think the author asks really interesting questions. I would recommend this to most people.
3. Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo- Shockingly, the adult novel ranks 3 on my list. .. hmmm . . this was largely both because I loved it and hated many of the other books. Absolutely stunning as a novel, engaging, and downright magical. I love books centering family and slowly finding how much I enjoy multigenerational novels. However, it is interesting considering this class is about children's lit. . . I would highly recommend this to readers who want a story that isn't afraid to challenge normal.
2. Kindred (graphic novel) by Octavia Butler- I love Kindred and if this was the novel and not the graphic, it would be #1. An amazing book that does not stray from intense topics and makes history very accessible. The only time travel book I love. I adored presenting on this book and still believe Kindred is one of the best books I have read. Such a good inclusion on this syllabus.
1. Nimona by ND Stevenson- NIMONA MY BELOVED what is there to say. This is perfect for this class. It is certainly marketed to young adults, and uses elements of scifi and fantasy masterfully. Challenges conventions of the genre, asks the age old question of who is a monster and who is human. . .beautiful found family. . .funny as hell. Perfect.
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theaistired · 14 days
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Tag Game - WIP AMA
Thank you for the tag, @the-golden-comet!
Since I just recently (finally) made intros for my WIPs, now is probably a good time to do this tag game.
So yeah, a little bit about the WIPs:
Galidean: Main WIP, fantasy. A longer series (about 12 books) telling three different stories across the ages. While not meant to be dark fantasy/horror, the series can get pretty dark at times. The first story takes place a hundred years after the defeat of the Dark Sun, the most powerful dragon in memory. In celebration, the human nations gather together but only a few people realize that scorching raids have left their marks across the continent… [Intro]
Old Gods: (Dark) fantasy series (3 – 4 books). The planned horror elements have gotten somewhat lost, but are still prevalent to a certain degree, mostly body horror. The story follows the aftermath of a war between several divine bloodlines. Prince Alaric was captured before the end of war and does not intend to stay alive for much longer… [Intro]
The Human in Us: Urban fantasy series (5 books). Again: not intended to be dark fantasy/horror but some elements like this might still show up. University student Josephine has been struggling with hallucinations for as long as she can remember. After a nightmarish get-together with friends, the visions only get worse… [Intro]
Visions of Violet Stars: SciFi setting, with 2 – 3 stand-alone stories (one of which is specifically space horror). [Intro]
Little Remains: Crime novel/thriller. An unknown body is discovered in close-knit community. When a local student is also found dead a few days later, it becomes clear that the killer is part of the community… [Intro]
So, go ahead and ask away (if you want to)!
Tagging (no pressure): @colombette, @wyked-ao3, @xenascribbles, @agirlandherquill, @satohqbanana and anyone else who'd like to join!
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jewishdragon · 6 months
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For Yonah and/or Sophia:
1, 3, 13, and 19!
you got it!
Was your OC influenced or inspired by any particular fictional character(s) when you made them?
Ok so both Yonah and Sophia are explicitly based on characters from The Enchanted Forest Chronicles
Princess Sophia started off as basically a clone of Princess Cimorene except instead of tall and pale skinned she's short and dark skinned. The only difference was Sophia liked being a princess (though i made it better to be one), she was just not good at it, acted out, etc (turned out i gave her The Autism and ADHD without realizing it). sophia's personality has developed a lot since her inception and she's no longer a cimorene clone but that is how she started.
She's also based on the prince from EFC book 1 who was cursed to be a half-stone statue. basically he was made of stone but could still move. Sophia has a similar curse but it turns her into glass (they have figured out a way to temporarily disable this for about 4hrs at a time)
and instead of being kidnapped by a dragon she's kidnapped by a giant wizard.
which brings us to Yonah! the giant wizard! He is not an as much of a clone of an enchanted forest chronicles character as sophia was... but he's REALLY similar to Brandel the fire witch who lives in a tower in a swamp. wants to be left alone (very shrek vibes )
as Yonah is a half-giant half-fire witch who lives in a tower in a magical forest. also got some shrek vibes. remember one of the firsts scene in shrek? where he tells a group of soldiers that he's not a giant so he doesnt grind bones into bread, but had a bunch of other specific threats involved turning body parts into food? yonah also wouldnt do that but only bc that's too much work but uhhh he aint above biting of limbs >.> he is an EVIL giant after all! Hire him to pillage a town or something :D
3. What genre would your OC do badly in but it would be hilarious or interesting to watch?
My OCs being designed to be genre savvy would probably be hilarious in most genres since ideally they'd be adapted to be savvy for them! But let's say they arent savvy in other genres. Their source genre is farcical fairytale/fantasy so they'd not be great at horror or romance XD they'd be ok in SciFi. 13. What Pokémon would be on your OC’s team and/or what would be their preferred type?
I HAVE SOMETHING BETTER THAN LISTS I HAVE ART OF THIS
Yonah and sophia as gym leaders/elite four/frontier brains. art by @fedoraqueen
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Sophia's team is Forest Themed: the largest lycanroc (her starter), Trevenant, Shamin (does not battle), Shroomish, Usaring, Stantler
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Yonah's team is Mage/magic themed (sort of): Mismagius, Bewear, Aloan Marowak (shiny), Alakazam, and Snivvy (his starter, who he named Sophia, does not fight)
his Bewear is NOT short, yonah is FUCKING TALL.
19. If your OC was in Star Trek’s Starfleet, what would be their role/position? Or, if that doesn’t really fit your OC: why would they get kicked out of Starfleet? Yonah is Science and Sophia would basically be asexual!beckett mariner from lower decks (parents are an admiral/captain and while she willingly joined starfleet she was forced to go into command and there are high expectations and she CANNOT get kicked out even if she acts reckless and disobeys orders)
Also in most AUs/alt versions of these characters taht arent in a fairytale world, Yonah was Sophia's babysitter rather than her evil captor. (they still are obviously best friends tho, yonah would have been like 12 when he started babysitting a 5 year old sophia, so once Sophia is an adult they are besties)
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average-joseph · 1 year
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make a poets as ya fantasy book novels list i dare you!!!
This one looks fun!!! Thank you!!!
Pitts. - Claws. I personally like to block this book out of my mind. It's basically about this 12 year old girl who meets a cult of talking cats and essentially becomes their leader. She grows fur and everything. Worst book I ever read. But I think it's weird enough to fit strange and awkward Pitts.
Charlie. - Ace of shades. Nothing but the most dramatic and obscure novels for him. And like... it's about crimes, gambling, and alcohol. It's perfect for him.
Cameron. - The Hobbit. Big words, lots of detail. Everything is explained there's nothing left for interpretation.
Todd - Eragon. It has such a wonderfully crafted story where everything is poetic and beautifully placed. The characters have such depth and the scenery and the dragon is described nicely. Good for a deep person like Todd.
Neil. - Twilight. I'm not sorry. Neil is a dramatic girlie who lives for romance novels and crappy rom coms so why not make him into the worst ya series ever.
Meeks. - The Hunger Games. Lots of suspense. A very interesting story where you have to figure out what's going on. Lots of mechanics and science in this one.
Knox. - The lightning theif. The goofiest of ya novels. Knox is clumsy so I can only see him as a book that makes me laugh a lot.
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So I’ve been inactive for a tad second, honestly How To Train your Dragon caught my eye and I’ve left TFP on the drying rack for a week or two. So to keep myself active and get back in the transformers mood, I’ve come up with some stuff about the kids. Their home life, some Headcanons, and just about them.
So let’s learn about the kids!!
Jack Darby is up first! Jack is the oldest of the teens, though he’s yet to hit even his young adult years. He’s a 17 year old teen. Tall and lanky, he stands around 6’7. At this point taller than his mom and even Fowler. Kids at his school often joke that he is emo, due to his tendencies to wear darker and baggier clothes. Also there’s the fact that he hasn’t cut his hair for awhile and it grew out. For the longest time he’d let his hair just fall over his face, only recently did he start pulling it back into a bun. He’s considered the quiet kid at school and around town. He doesn’t talk much, tends to stay home when he can, and rarely does he allow his emotions to show. He’s quite to a point that most kids at his school thinks he’s mute, only a few people know he’s not.
•Jack doesn’t have a dead beat dad, he just has a dead one.
•He likes drawing, he and Miko bond over it. He prefers realism, and neutral colors
• he has a thing for short more rounded women (hint at how Sierra’s gonna look ;)
•He’s interested in history and has an extreme curiosity that cannot be quenched!
•Jack has tendency’s to panic over those around him, always stressed about someone.
•unfortunately he’s also dealing with some mental issues (ones that we’ll have to learn about on the way.)
Miko Nakadi is up next! Miko is a young Japanese teen, she’s eccentric and loud. Standing at only 5 feet, and is 16 years old. Nothing seems to bother her, and she’s seems to have distaste for authority. This is due to her life in Japan. Miko grew up on a boat, raised by fishermen. They weren’t her bio family, though they still took her in. For most of her life in Japan she was raised on the water, not even going to a public school. These fishermen influenced most of who she is. They’re loud and enthusiastic, always encouraging her to be her real self. That combined with her little interaction with those her own age and others that lived in Japan, she has no fear to show herself. Unfortunately due to an accident on the sea, Miko got injured, permanently leaving some health issues. Due to this accident the local authorities deemed that she wasn’t raised in a safe environment and took her away, this left a bad taste of authority’s in her mouth. Eventually she managed to get enrolled in a exchange student program and was sent to America.
•She has no idea who her bio family is and doesn’t want to know.
•like Jack she loves drawing, though she prefers a more fantasy setting with bunches of colors.
•she has yet to know her type, though seems to be very open when it comes to sexuality.
•she struggles when it comes to understanding danger, as she’s been introduced to a considerably large amount of it since she was young. She also struggles understanding people and their emotions, due to not being around many.
•other than her health issue, Miko was diagnosed with Autism at a young age, and she believes that she has some ADHD.
•She loves music, especially rock and metal. If it’s loud, it’s fun. (She’s mostly deaf, having to wear hearing aids) she loves to play instruments, and has an easy time picking up on how to learn them.
Rafael Esquivel is our final one of the main trio. At 12 years old he’s only 4 1/2 feet. He’s a child prodigy, practically skipping middle school and most of elementary school. Soon it’s believed he’ll be able to go to college. He’s from a Hispanic family, a large one, having 10 siblings. Raf is from a family of geniuses, his parent both being engineers, and his sibling all aiming for high grades and phd’s. Since he was young, Raf loved to absorb knowledge. He read as many books as he could, took a lot of notes, always asked his siblings to teach him all they know. So his older sister taught him coding, while her twin taught him how to hack. One of his older brothers showed him how to start in the engineering field, often giving him little projects to build and learn from. His other siblings will teach him about biology and chemistry, despite him not being as interested in those fields. Then theirs his eldest brother, he makes sure everyone is taken care of in their parents place, always making sure that a break is taken. He also make sure that Raf keeps an open mind.
•His parents are rarely home, always on the job and making sure their family has enough to live a comfortable life. Their eldest son became the primary caretaker of the house, after Raf’s Abuela passed.
•He doesn’t show much interest in doing art like the other two, but he does enjoy the beauty of it. Especially since one of his aunt’s constantly shows him the beauty of the world.
•He’s too young and too into his education to even think about sexuality and romance. Even though one of his brothers is into psychology and sociology and is especially all about romance.
•Since he’s been so focused on learning and not socializing, his only friends are his siblings, he moved too quick through school too actually get to know kids his age. Sure the older kids treat him well in school, but they’ve never been friendly.
•His family believes that he has autism (I know a stereotype) but they’ve never diagnosed him or put him on any medications.
•other than his love for engineering, computers, and science, Raf has shown to be interested in a few other things. He loves reptiles and other little critters. He especially loves gaming and racing in games or with toy cars. He’s also shown an interest in archeology, especially since his uncle is an Archeologist, and gave him a necklace with a claw fossil attached to it.
That’s all I’m going to share for now, I feel like it’s best to learn about them as we go through the story. I also wanna mention that Jasper will be much more alive, bringing in more human characters and rounding out the few we get to see. Jack and Vince will still be rivals (it’s mostly one sided, Vince can’t handle Jack’s quite self.) sierra will have more to her than just being Jack’s small crush. Her friend will go through a race change and will have a twin, her family will also be the one fostering Miko. There will also be more characters introduced, you will just have to wait to meet them.
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horizon-verizon · 1 year
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I just thought of something else about HotD. *EDITED POST*
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One explanation for having the Velaryons be uniquely black (as in throughout their house, there are only black members and they are the only exclusively black Westerosi house shown in HotD thus far) was to make it so that Rhaenyra's first three kids were so "obviously" not Laenor's.
And one justification that I think Ryan Condal and some green stans who have read the book would use to explain the switch up from:
Rhaenyra was the one to wear a dress that silently announced her new self-determination against a harassing opponent
-> the Alicent doing the same but in green
is because it is "obvious" how Rhaenyra's faction got to be called the "blacks". Since the Targ colors are black and red, and she came out, in the book, in black and red at the marriage anniversary tourney held for Alicent and Viserys. (The same one where Daemon entered via circling dragon from the Stepstones.)
Ironically Condal though it more worthwhile to show how Rhaenyra's kids aren't Laenors over how and why the blacksa came to be called the "blacks".
There is this peculiar pattern of apparentness of features used as the justification for superficial and bigoted changes concerning character identification and development that troubles me, which also concerns the casting of the Velaryons.
Why is it so important to "make it obvious" that Rhaenyra's sons are not Laenor's in the show, why even cite that as a good reason to make the Velaryons black? Why not just say that we want inclusive casting and center black actors more in fantasy media?
So it's unimportant that we see Rhaenyra assert herself, but:
it is important that Alicent (the woman with the internalized misogyny and the usurper against another woman having power) assert herself?
it is important it's made "obvious" that Rhaenyra's 1st 3 kids are not Laenor's?
The math aint mathing.
A) There is already the absurd narrative trope of the "test" of white female infidelity through the color of the baby's skin in Western media. Such a trope reveals and affirms white male anxiety over the control over white female bodies and perceived competition with black men AND bestialization of the same black men. Cheating is wrong, (and I define cheating as when the partners got into an exclusive relationship and one/both/all look for others) but the fixation on the color of the skin and using that to "catch" infidelity centers the white man's need for control more than anything.
With the Velaryons and their own family not really displayed as a family, with all its love and care, devotion, and conflicts already (what did Laena feel when she discovered her parents wanted to marry her off at 12 to a 30-year-old? Corlys and Laenor's interactions, before and after Laenor revealed his sexuality? Him and Laena and Rhaenys listening to Corlys' adventures and how they met? Rhaenys, how do she and Corlys rule Driftmark and Hight Tide together or separately? How did Laenor meet Joffrey or better, how did the 'rents take this, what did that look like? We know Laenor loved his sister and mourned her so much as to stand in the sea, but can we see happier moments between them?) It reduces the Velaryons (esp Corlys) further as their own unit and makes Corlys, now black, look closer to this stern black dad who is only interested in his kids selfishly with no softness or concern for their well-being.
Where and who are the Velaryons a little apart from Corlys' political plotting and goals?
Simultaneously, it also makes the Velaryons' political interest in the Targs seem...superficial isn't the right word, more like it comes out of nowhere maybe?
This all while grouped with and related to the misogynoir (lagosbratzdoll).
B)
It makes it as if the most important thing or the primary thing is that Rhaenyra's adultery was unique or something to point out as wrong. That she flagrantly causes her own doom instead of her doom presaged by Jaehaerys I's misogyny (ozymalek's youtube video), again, his misogyny (my post), Alicent's ambition, and Andal patriarchy. I wrote how even Viserys is the actual origin of her plight HERE.
Rhaenyra's black/red dress moment wasn't just about her declaring for her house. It was also about her own self-determination against the harassment implied in the original canon. Here is what mononijikayu to had to say in a reblog:
equally so, the removal of important aspects of rhaenyra's vindication against alicent like the dress reveal scene was also something that can be questionable. because that serves an important purpose of showing us that she just didnt sit there and take the beating. she developed a desire to stand up for herself and not let herself dive down to surrender. that was the establishment of her will to lead her faction against alicent's greens. and yet somehow that seems less important or that was not feminist enough. that rhaenyra stood up for herself and survived that toxic environment. that she was ready to assert her stance against it.
The book does enough of the "it's obvious that Rhaenyra's kids are not Laenor's", which we were supposed to take as misogynist propaganda means to twist us against Rhaenyra and see her having children out of wedlock as the "true" issue anyway:
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The features the Velaryon boys had is also meant to subtly insert the idea of them still Laenor's, as his mother, Rhaenys, had dark hair and "violet" eyes. Taking the teased ambiguity out of the parentage and then flattening it to "obviousness through race" (at least when it's promoted as a good reason --primary or not -- to hire black actors) further tries to make the audience feel that rhaenyra had more control over the lineage/house and others than she really did, instead of making do a lot.
It normalizes the unfairness of women being discouraged from thinking of their own needs or happiness or autonomy in favor of the status quo's compulsion for them to sexually reserve their bodies for their husband's (despite that not being reciprocated at all) instead of encouraging the audience to really feel she's owed more, that the rules she's compelled to follow follow are absurdly impractical AND unfair towards her and any woman. Very anti-feminist.
And that idea of legitimacy = cradle-bonding stuff needs to stop.
Conclusion
If you needed (as you do) to introduce black characters and put them into higher positions of power, wealth, and prestige (as the Velaryons had in canon), do not under any circumstance make the troubling aspect of racial paternity "tests" a good thing. I admit that audiences would be bringing this up and using it as a gotcha moment against Rhaenyra, saying that it was "obvious" those kids weren't hers. My point is that it didn't matter, the show bts made it matter more on the producers and marketing end, and the show steers away from misogyny as the central issue, not adultery.
Not only does the show wrongly identify the source of wrongdoing through that green dress moment, but the show also exposes its antipathy and disfavor for a side where white/EU patriarchal mores against female autonomy, leadership, and centrism go to die. Or get as choked out as Rhaenyra was by Daemon in episode 10.
*Yes, the first picture is there for jokes and to mark this post as unique on my activity page.*
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