#starlight-sys-stuff

[timona-lisa]

Fun fact: you got me into shipping Jumba and Pleakley 😂

AWW YAY, WELCOME TO THE GAYLIENS CLUB. ✌️

ONE OF MY FIRST OTPS:

[cammiko-arts]

ISN'T PUMBAA ACTUALLY SMARTER THAN TIMON?

(asking because of that one episode where Timon was turned into a big and Pumbaa ate him on accident)

Omg THAT FRICKEN EPISODE. 😭 (Notice how Timon flips out when he plugs Pumbaa’s brain in, and Pumbaa starts going off on him about how he’s been taking him for granted, underestimating him, and not treating him properly?! That’s Timon going—OH, he’s seeing my flaws, and OH GOD HE’S GONNA LEAVE ME. ABORT. ABORT. And then he yanks the plug back out instead of addressing the problem. 😬 Definitely a bit morally questionable, but 100% shame and fear-driven IMO.)

ANYWAYS. Ah yes, the age old question. Who is actually more intelligent, Timon or Pumbaa?!

My answer? They’re both dumb asses.

No, but seriously. I think they are equally intelligent (although Timon DEFINITELY believes he’s smarter.)

Timon is intelligent in a street-wise, quick-witted, scheming sort of way. He’s fast-talking, great at improvisation, and quick on his feet (especially when in danger!) He’s the idea guy, always coming up with a plan or some harebrained scheme. He’s also super emotionally reactive, which can make him adaptable in crisis situations, but it can also make him prone to panicking.

But for all his smarty-smartness, he also GREATLY overestimates his own intelligence. He also has a tendency to just… make things up… when he doesn’t know the answer to something. He also ignores logic when his pride or feelings are on the line. He also uses his sense of humor and his control-freak tendencies as defense mechanisms.

Soooo yeah. Timon is SMART, but he’s not always wise.

Now, Pumbaa on the other hand, is extremely EMOTIONALLY intelligent. He’s supportive of others, can sense when something is wrong, and can stay pretty calm and level-headed under pressure (unless someone calls him a pig.)

He also offers ACTUAL WISDOM pretty often. Like, sure, his delivery might sometimes seem slow and naive, but he often offers things that are a lot more insightful than Timon’s mile-a-minute conclusions.

He also seems to be kinda book smart, too?? Like, he has a deep wealth of knowledge about the stars, the earth, and other random things that no warthog should have any business knowing! He’s pretty well versed in science-y things!

But, Pumbaa is also not without weaknesses. He’s kinda trusting to a fault, because he tends to always see the good in others, even when it’s not there. And he also gets greatly underestimated because of his gentle, kind demeanor and his slow delivery.

Soooooo. Basically, I would say that Timon is more street-smart, and perhaps, more traditionally smart than Pumbaa is, mainly because of how creative, quick-thinking, and scheming he is.

But Pumbaa is WAAAAAY more emotionally intelligent and A LOT wiser than Timon. And way more insightful and knowledgeable about how the natural world works. Timon may be the “ideas” guy, but Pumbaa understands others on an emotional level in a way that Timon struggles with, I think.

So yeah. I think they come out pretty even, actually. Don’t tell Timon that, though.

[unknownanomoly]

48

Enots/Invs/Sofanthiels

44

Artists designs

All drawn onto one canvas together by me, and I have no regrets! Tumblr was being a bitch, and might still be a bitch, but you know, I'm tired, I wanna get this out since it's been a hot minute and plus I'm finished with it and I feel bad for not being able to post it without it mentioning everyone, so hopefully everyone CAN be mentioned or at least find this in their for you page! Thank you my partner @decaying-collector for keeping me somewhat sane, I wish I could see you right now and drink some apple cider with you but we just gotta wait and see for that! Tagz (I'm so sorry if almost non of the mentions work, I tried :<): @stratusstormcloud @starshadyy @random-wyvern @tamarieatsbatteries175 @hdra77 @cosmikazie @scrufflesksunnide @kenzieofeverything @lucasisneverhere @isnt-a-blog-blog @starlight-ace @dennis7231 @lemon-ve-ghost @allium-art @grianthedecayingbird @cookieeevee @neattnat @chaoticallycam @torra-does-stuff @kikikakapo @fishsfailureson @socks-wizard-money-gang @twocakesinacup @badgerfrost @distant-towers @nothingherenothingleft @mauvvedrake @localsossignal @bluekoi22 @saffronscales @thatpikmin @apple-eating-goat @gagepatoine @undercover-roomba @pokedex-sys @stupidscav @poryphoria @notayenota @cheddar-inq @wthefool83 @orchuris @xjustpeachyx @soaricarus @batnip hopefully the tagz for the spearmaster group drawing won't be as stressful as this :'>

[azors]

꒰ ⠀ jon。 he / it / wolf。 17。 fictive & cohost of a sys。 ꒱

⠀⠀ hello, i'm new to editblr (and editing in general) so please bear with me. as of now this is just a place for me to post edits i've experimented with. expect layouts, rentry graphics, icons, web decor, stimboards, and maybe more. likely i will open requests once i'm more confident in my abilities. thanks for stopping by!

⠀⠀ stuff i like; asoiaf, cookie run kingdom, hoyo games, project sekai, enstars, danganronpa, omori, alien stage, death note, nana, nge, fnaf, undertale, creepypasta, revue starlight, and more...

[starlight-chickens]

- Starlight Rivers Collective -

Welcome to our blog. DISCLAIMER /silly : These collective names and system name are pseudonyms. We keep our actual names to our private and IRL spheres, as they have been used to identify and harass us based on our syscourse stance on other platforms (Tiktok, Pony Town).

With that said, let's get to it.

We post :

General system/plurality stuff

Our plushies /hj

Syscourse (always tagged #syscourse. You're welcome to filter the tag if you want to enjoy our blog without this content.)

Rants and vents as needed.

Who are we?

Hey. We're Stuffie, a transmasc non-binary agender systemfluid thing. We identify as fictionkin, plural, otherkin and therian. Our system is multigenic/mixed origins and contains created headmates.

We are diagnosed dysthymic, and we are possibly ADHD, though we can't get screened at the moment.

We like arts (and sometimes practice), video games (mostly sandbox and lore-heavy games), block people doing roleplay on twitch, and exposing ourselves on the web lmao.

Any regular blog users?

Well, not really, as we happen to change host(s) every three months or so. Though, people you might see posting or mentionned include:

Wing Archer Cookie

Canavel

Mouthpiece

Curaçao

Regret

Our other blogs :

and more, though we rarely sign off on here.

@starlight-r1ver-s - Plural affirmation blog (inactive)

@cookies-of-the-river - CookieRun introjects blog (semi-active)

@created-sys-is - Created system/headmate culture blog (semi-active, runs on queue)

@corruptgrail - Main, arts blog (semi active due to art block)

@corrupted-hands-texts - Writing blog (inactive)

@baguetimp - Fictionkin blog (inactive)

@darthoughts - Persecutors and adjacent blog (semi-active)

Our tags :

#hentalks - any original post falls under this tag.

#henreblogs - in the title.

#henanswers - ask posts.

[asteralis-01]

" I am in the Space between the Stars and the Sky "

zZzZz

Redoing my pinned !!

General info:

- names : Starlight, Astro, Cosmo, Eclipse (or whoever is fronts name)

- prn: it/star/bun

- important ids : autistic, MaDD, arfid, Genderfluid, Omnisexual, plural, transosdd/transplural, permaanon, 420queer

Do not bring to my page - homestuck, mha, political stuff (I will interact with the politics I am ready/able to interact with), hate on source materials (ocs!!, Sally face, Little Nightmares, fnaf, poppy playtime, Minecraft. Any and all hate on ocs will be blocked immediately)

Heavy gore/unsettling content accounts will be blocked. Just for my health. --- tag sys oOoOo - active + checking dms/inbox xXxXx - semi active, not checking/responding zZzZz - Not online *✨ Starlight Screaming - talks/vents/rants of the sort *✨ Celestial Hoard - id hoard *✨ Voids from Afar - reblogs *✨ The Unholy Star - nfsw tag (block if you do not like nfsw) *✨ Chry-ing :3 - Homeworld mems / oc stuff --- Flashie blinkies !!

[incomingalbatross]

Sy-On boy will either be her mysterious helper providing useful tips and materials, or a mysterious vigilante who arrives to help her.

(He knows her identity because she picked Starlight as her hero name, she knows his because telepath) (Maybe she doesn't realize he knows because he's as much in denial about that as he is about his crush)

(Becky meanwhile is Anya's official backer. She loves giving her cool stuff a la Lucious Fox)

Both good options! I feel like it's also entirely possible that he doesn't know and/or is her teenage nemesis, though. ;P (Not a vigilante himself, probably, but heading the anti-vigilante movement.)

But yeah Becky is absolutely on board as her financial backer and provider of Cool Toys, assuming Anya lets her in on the secret. Becky would enjoy that role so much.

[timona-lisa]

Speaking of He's A Bad, Bad, Bad Sport, I loved that episode! Pumbaa was so sweet to Timon; he kept losing, but in the end, he let Timon win just once. That's so sweet! I don't remember what it was, but I still think it was adorable how he let him win once 🥺

AWWW...I need to watch that one again. Pumbaa's such a good guy, pretty much the sweetest character in the whole series. 😭

TREASURE HIM, TIMON.

[lovelybucky1]

Strawberry Kisses- Chapter 4

warnings: mentions of a case, 18+ minors dni

series masterlist

It’s been four days since my lunch with Spencer, and my desire to call him is growing. Not wanting to seem too eager, I waited to call him for a while, but I couldn’t wait anymore.

I dial his number and it rings for longer this time before I hear his voice through the speaker.

“Spencer Reid”, he answers.

“Hey, Doc”, I say.

“Y/n”, he replies, the smile evident in his voice.

“I was wondering if you wanted to come over tonight. I don’t have fancy doctor money like you do, so I was just planning on watching a movie at my place.”

“I’m sorry, Y/n, I’m on a case in Georgia.”

I can’t help but feel disappointed even though I knew it was a possibility. We do work for the FBI.

“It’s okay, Spencer. Good luck on the case.” I go to hang up, but I hear Spencer shout from the other side.

“Wait, don’t hang up! I’m back at the hotel, we can still talk if you want”, he says. I smile to myself.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

We are silent for a second and I find myself lost in the lull of his soft breaths.

“How’ve you been”, I ask. I knew better than to ask about the case since most of it is classified.

“I’m tired”, he says plainly.

“I don’t want to keep you up past your bedtime, baby boy”, I tease. He laughs softly.

“I’m more mentally tired than physically. Doing the work isn’t the hard part. It’s being with the others for so long”, he says quietly, as if it’s a shameful secret.

“What do you mean?”

“I learned a long time ago that most people aren’t big fans of the real me. Most of the time, the stuff I say goes right over their heads and they don’t care enough to understand it. They’re still my friends, but it’s different. They have my back when I need them to, but they don’t want to hear about the latest books I’ve read or Star Trek lore.” Spencer sighs. “I don’t think anyone has known the real me in a long time.”

I am quiet for a moment, choosing my next words carefully.

“I want to know the real you, Spencer. You could talk about whatever you wanted and I’d listen.”

“Really?”, Spencer asks, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Of course, Doc”, I say sincerely. “What are you doing?”

“Sitting on the balcony.”

“For fun?”, I laugh.

“We had to double up on rooms and I don’t want Morgan eavesdropping. Plus, looking at the sky relaxes me.”

I smile to myself, imagining Spencer sitting on the railing of the balcony, eyes reflecting the starlight. I walk over to my window and open it so I can see farther outside.

“It’s a nice night”, I say.

“Did you know that there are 3,706 known planets?”

“I didn’t.”

“And there’s a planet that’s entirely made up of diamonds.”

“The universe’s engagement ring”, I laugh.

“For the universe’s luckiest lady”, he replies. “Do you know your constellations?”, he asks. I shake my head, momentarily forgetting that he can’t see me.

“I know a couple, but I wouldn’t be able to point them out”, I reply.

“When I was a kid, I hated astronomy. I wanted to know everything there was to know, and with space, there’s so much left unanswered. I can’t even wrap my head around the idea of an endless void filled with rocks that may or may not support life, just like earth.”

“I never liked thinking about that. It makes me feel small and insignificant. My, maybe, ninety years spent here means nothing in the grand scheme of things, but maybe the fact that I get to exist on this planet at the same time as you means something.” It was sappier than I intended, but I meant every word.

Instead of replying, Spencer let out a gasp.

“Did you see that?”, he asks, sounding almost giddy.

“See what?”

“A shooting star. Make a wish before it’s too late”, he laughs.

I wish that Spencer lives happily ever after.

“What did you wish for?”, I ask.

“If I tell you, it won’t come true.”

“I didn’t take you for a superstitious man, Doctor”, I tease.

“I’m not, but it’s still good to have dreams, right?”

“Yeah, it is.”

We fall back into silence. Our breathing is synchronized, the distance between us clearly not weakening our connection.

I couldn’t hear over the line, but Agent Morgan stepped onto the balcony and said good night to Spencer.

“Good night”, he replied.

“O-oh yeah, it’s getting late and you probably have to wake up early”, I say, not hiding my disappointment well.

“What? No, Y/n that wasn’t-” I cut him off.

“Don’t worry about it, Doc. I’ll see you when you get back.”

“Okay… Good night, Y/n.”

“Night, Spence. Be safe.”

I hang up the phone and put it face down on my nightstand. I crawl into bed and slip under the covers, the window still open, the cool night’s air filling the room.

I hold my pillow to my chest and tuck it under my chin. The last thought before I succumb to sleep was: I wish this were Spencer.

[find-fictives]

I'm not the most desparate to find sourcemates but I figured I'd toss a thing here :p

My name is Wels or Cain, I'm a fictive of Welsknight from hermitcraft :] The body is a minor, and contact-wise just dms here are fine or on Twitter (@/knights_hoard). I have multiple pronoun sets but my main one is kni/knight.

I'm not picky on which sourcemates I'd find, so I'm not looking for anyone specific but I'd be looking the most for fictives of Jevin, Biffa, Etho, Impulse, or Beef. Other relevant stuff for individuals would just be in my pinned post. :p Our sys name is the Starlight/Pyxis System, only thing we're super picky on is no endos or their supports (in general anyone non-traumagenic), I'm 31 and so for age just other adults, and tone tags are preferable.

-C⚔

MESSAGE HERE OR ON TWITTER!!

[ravs6709]

Intro+Writing Masterlist

Hey, I'm Ravi/Astra/Solstice! Pronouns are she/her

Pronouny! Pronouns.page! Sheet with gendered terms and my preferences!

I'm cisgender, aroace. Just a shy person attempting to be more social!

I tag triggers as "[trigger] tw" whenever I remember to. If there's something you want me to tag, please let me know!

Multifandom blog, but main fandoms include (note that it does change, and i forget to update this oops):

-Kotlc by Shannon Messenger (frequent)

-Link Click (frequent)

-Miraculous Ladybug (occasionally)

-Akatsuki No Yona (occasionally)

-Alien Stage (frequent)

-Revolutionary Girl Utena (occasionally)

-Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint (frequent)

-Revue Starlight (occasionally)

Notable Tags

#ravi's randomness- Used for mostly non-fandom original posts. Often rambles about life

#astra's asks- My ask tag

#ravi writes a thing- My writing tag

#astra makes an art- My (very rare) art tag

#school stuff- My tag for school/uni if I remember to use it

My Writing!

Avid writer of fanfic! List of them can be found below the cut! (Favourites marked with asterisks)

Alternatively, you can also find me on RStar6709 on Wattpad!

I also now have an ao3 account! I'm RStar6709!

Keeper of the Lost Cities

Masterlist for KOTLC here, because there's a lot of them

My Little Pony (Both normal and EG)

The Science Of Sunlight- Sciset Romantic Fanfic (only on Wattpad for now) (fluffy, censored swearing)

Crown of Feathers

*Home With You- Sevade Romantic Oneshot (very fluffy, mild panic attack, but that’s it). 3.9k words.

The CoF Tangled AU- (written by me and @/subrosasteath, various oneshots). Romantic Tristnyka and Sevade Tangled AU Part 1. 2.4k words.

Proud Of Who You Are- Tristan & Cassian Oneshot (family feels, mentions of canonical character death). 0.7k words.

I Have To Cover My Ears (When You Listen To This Song)- Romantic Sevade Oneshot (angst and comfort, canon rewrite of book 1 but it's a soulmate au). 3.3k words.

Going Forward- Latham & Veronyka Oneshot (dynamic study, bitter ish, swearing). 1.0k words

Miraculous Ladybug

Not-So Poly- Love Square (features all 4 sides) Romantic Oneshot (very fluffy, mild injury). 3.2k words.

A Pun Time- Adrienette Romantic Oneshot (very fluffy, lots of puns). 2.2k words.

Kwami Sitting- Alya & the Kwamis Oneshot (very fluffy, mentions of food). 1.3k words.

This Is All I Have To Offer- Marigami Romantic Oneshot (Revolutionary Girl Utena AU, angst with implied happy ending, pre-relationship). 2.6k words.

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint

Kiss The Cook- YJH & Kimcom Gen Oneshot (very fluffy, mentions of food). 1.3k words.

*Of Distant Dreams (That Can't Come True)- Lee Jihye/Na Bori Romantic Oneshot (angst, unhappy(?) ending, check fic for warnings). 6.2k words.

Halloween Treats- Lee Jihye/Na Bori Romantic Oneshot (very fluffy, mentions of food). 0.9k words.

*Waking Up From Eternity- Yoohankim Romantic Oneshot (hurt/comfort, kdj's trauma of being od). 3.6k words.

Should Have Been You Standing Here- Lee Jihye/Na Bori Romantic Oneshot (angst, major character death, part 1 to roleswap au). 5.9k words.

A Story From The Library- Queerplatonic Kim Dokja & Yoo Sangah Oneshot (no scenarios au, mostly fluffy, a little bit of angst). 5.7k words.

*The Girl Who Didn't Cry- Lee Jihye centric Oneshot (angst, grieving, happy ending(?), very canon compliant). 17.4k words.

One-sided Rivalry- YSA & YJH Oneshot (no scenarios, crack treated seriously, temp death and swearing warnings). 2.4k words.

What Are You Doing, Standing Here- Na Bori & 999 LJH Platonic Oneshot (angst, 999 arc, part 2 to the roleswap au). 2.4k words.

Ignorance (It's Bliss, Isn't It)- JHW & KDJ Platonic Oneshot (angst, character study, JHW's feelings on 49). 0.7k words.

A Quiet Moment (Calm Before The Storm- Joongdok Romantic Oneshot (missing scene, pocket watch). 0.3k words.

First Birthdays- LJH & SYS Platonic plus Borijihye Romantic Oneshot (grief, during timeskip, birthdays). 1.9k words.

Close Your Eyes (You're Safe With Me) - Romantic Seolhyuk Oneshot (2nd regression, sentinel/guide au). 3.7k words.

Mercy At The End Of These Cold Fingertips- YSA Study, minor Sanghee Oneshot (yoo-yoo roleswap au). 4.8k words.

Brilliant Muse- Yoohankim romantic oneshot (high school au, lots of sillies). 2.1k words.

To Overlap, and Meet- SP & Yoo Mia (post canon, mixture of silly and bittersweet). 1.5k words.

The Owl House

You'll Always Have A Home With Me- Platonic Huntlow Oneshot (post Hollow Mind, panic attacks, hurt/comfort). 1.6k words.

Vanilla Dates- Romantic Lumity Oneshot (post season 2, fluffy dates, no warnings?). 1.8k words.

A Bit Of Growing Up To Do (A Lot To Learn)- Collector Character Study ish (during final episode, angst ish). 0.9k words.

Link Click

Only Your Heart Beats The Sound (Keeps Me Awake So I Can Fight)- Shiguang Romantic/QPR Oneshot (canon compliant ish, hurt/comfort, heartbeats). 3.0k words.

Fluid Like The Water- Ambiguous CXS & LG Oneshot (genderfluid cxs; confused, angsty, but supportive lg). 1.2k words.

Like Cloudy Days- Shiguang Romantic/QPR Oneshot (temp amnesiac CXS, selectively mute+anxious lg). 2.1k words.

Alien Stage

To Be Engulfed In Silence- Ivantill Romantic Oneshot (post r6 contemplation, grief, self-harm via choking). 1.4k words.

My Savior, Pitiful Girl- Hyuluka Romantic Oneshot (post r7, unresolved tension). 0.8k words.

[somewhere-in-the-dungeon]

Genre

In regards to this post, I got some questions ( @proudly-arrogant, @dataandphilosophy) about what I’d read that fit them and what recommendations I had. Since the fact that something is in these genres is itself a spoiler, be aware that the following list should be read with caution. I’m going to write one list that has stories which fit at least one of the genres, and then under a cut I’m going to specify which genre they fit if you’re only interested in some of them and are willing to get spoiled a little.

Mainstays

Worm, by Wildbow.

Twig, by Wildbow

The Gods are Bastards, by D. D. Web.

Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne, by Brian Stavely.

The Reckoners, by Brandon Sanderson.

Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson.

Prince of Thorns, by Mark Lawrence.

Lightbringer, by Brent Weeks.

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, by Eliezer Yudkowsky

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, by Douglas Adams.

Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card

Ra, by Sam Hughes

The Starlight Crystal, by Christopher Pike

The Girl Who Poked God With a Stick, by Scott Alexander

The Shannara books, by Terry Brooks

Professor Incognito Apologizes, by Austin Grossman

Honourable Mentions:

Artemis Fowl, be Eion Colfer

The Dark Tower, by Stephen King

Unsong, by Scott Alexander.

The Metropolitan Man, by Alexander Wales  

Animorphs, by K.A. Applegate

The Lies of Locke Lemora, by Scott Lynch

Gunner’s Apprentice, by Brent Weeks

Dragonlance: Legends, by Weis and Hickman

Breakers, by Edward Robertson

The Craft Sequence, by Max Gladstone

The Mayflower Project, by K. A. Applegate.

Homecoming, by Orson Scott Card

Hard spoilers beyond here.

Worm is dead centre for 1, and 3. Scion is an omniscient, omnipotent being who could reasonably be said to have ‘created’ all of the capes, and they kick his ass, and you would not have guessed that “all out war against an elder god” was where that story was going. the interludes occasionally give me 2 though not as often as I’d like, and Assault and Battery are appreciated as a nod towards 4.

Twig is a solid 2 and is great for 4 shipping. Sylvester Lamsbridge is a serious contender for the character I felt the most kinship with in any story I’ve read. It gets a nod for 1 on the grounds they Sy does slit the throat of his creator. (Ask me some about Sy/Mauer if you want to hear me laugh my ass off. Ask me about that chapter if you want an unstable gush of feelings.)

The Gods are Bastards had 1 happen in the background, and I’m kinda hoping that the main student group (Triss, Gabe, Teal, etc) winds up ascending to become new gods. I just got to the part where this is all a science experiment and the elder gods had ceremonial guards with lightsabers just for the hell of it. A+, good genre sneakyness. The sexist thief dude makes an appreciated stab at 2, and I gotta be honest I’m shipping Triss and Gabe so far. (Actually I want the whole class to devolve into a hot poly mess (possibly with Teal, Shaeine, and Vadge off in a disconnected polycule) but I’ll take Triss and Gabe if I can’t get that.)

Unhewn Throne is grand fantasy with incarnated gods walking the earth, a great founding myth of immortal emotionless beings who play with the lives of men like toys, and do not misunderstand me when I say I loved the ending of Skullsworn. Really though, this makes the list on the strength of 4. Huutsuu and Valyn are my fucking ship. The fact that I find them as hot as I do should probably put me on some kind of watchlist tbh.

The Reckoners and Mistborn constitute a pattern, frankly. Sanderson just loves to do 1, so I forgive him for his tragic inability to write 2. However, if you take the time to read the first three Mistborn books and then read Ars Arcanum, you get to see the rule of three employed around a conman punching god in the face. I heartily approve. Plus, we get a heist novel shift into deicide, and then get to see it shift into a western. Word of the Author says we might get a space version someday.

Prince of Thorns is some high quality 2, a bastard son carving a bloody path through his father’s kingdom in his quest to take power. Plus, band of mercenary swordsmen find what are pretty clearly nuclear warheads, so that’s awesome. (Upon seeing the destruction one causes, and finding out of the horrors of fallout that have been imposed on the surrounding territory, our hero goes “I know where to get more of those if anyone questions me again.”)

Lightbringer so far is looking like it might be a home run on 1 and 2. It’s a fantasy story that opens with two viewpoint characters- the emperor/archmage/pope, and the fat bastard son of a whore in a shitty little town. The Guile family are truly an inspiration to power hungry assholes everywhere, and I honestly want to give it some points towards 3 just for the number of fakeouts and misdirections involved in their twisted family tree. The emperor and his bodyguard make an okay 4.

HP:MoR gets mentioned here mostly for Professor Q.  being such a wonderful 2. It dances on the line of 3 a bit, but this will always have a place in my heart for the joys of a character who tried out being a hero, found it not to his liking, and went to do something else.

Dirk Gently is a delightful example of 3. It’s the best sci-fi fantasy comedy mystery novel built around a poem I’ve ever read?

Ender’s Game gives us Peter Wiggin, aka my childhood role model. It also gives us Petra Arkanian, my first fictional crush. ‘Nuff said.

Ra offers an explanation of magic that is as structured and ordered as electrical engineering, then starts hinting at deeper, less orderly magic, then goes full out “anything can happen” and then starts swerving hard. “Ra” of course is the name of a sun god, and when that penny drops it’s a pretty good moment. I would also like to point out that the main character scoops her boyfriend’s soul out of his body and sends it to hell in order to test a hypothesis.

The Starlight Crystal is like what happens if you cross All You Zombies and Unsong. As is The Girl Who Poked God With a Stick actually. Um. Huh. These are both great stories and someone should write it again actually, I’d read as many copies of this formula as people can churn out. 

I remember the Big Secret of a lot of pulp fantasy I read as a kid was “secretly, you were on post-apocalypse earth the whole time!” but the only example I think I remember the title of was the Shannara books.

Professor Incognito Apologizes brings a smile to my face. If any woman ever pulls off that, I’m probably going to propose to her on the spot. (The ring will, of course, be coated in contact poison.)

Artemis Fowl (the first book) is a good 2. Shame he turns into a good guy. 

The Dark Tower weaves fantasy, horror, and sci-fi together nicely. 

I probably should have seen the ending of Unsong coming, but I did not. 

The Metropolitan Man is a great example of forethought being put into how to kill the unkillable. 

The Animorphs fanfic I truly want is the one where the animorphs murder Crayak. The Ellimist Chronicles remains my second favourite Animorphs book. (My favourite is The illusion. Third would be The Attack.) 

Lies of Locke Lemora involves a heist novel turning into a vendetta, and also has the murder of a reality warping magi by a pair of angry guys with knives. Republic of Thieves is a worse heist novel, but I still ship Locke and Sabetha.

Gunner’s Apprentice is Weeks being an asshole, and I will not spoil his grand design :) Read it after you finish book 3 I think.

Dragonlance is, to me, the story of one man trying to become a god by eliminating a previous member of the pantheon. People who have played Tabletop RPGs with me are probably rolling their eyes right now.

Breakers gets props from me for misdirection. I kinda thought we were going to be doing a zombie novel, but no, it’s aliens. Gets a mild nod towards 1 for taking out a flying saucer with a hot air balloon.

The Craft Sequence opens with the tagline “God is dead. Bring in the necromancers and the estate lawyers.” Good stuff.

The Mayflower Project is full of terrible people.

Homecoming has people praying to what turns out to be a satellite. I can dig it.