#Ash does TLT

[shouldhavebeenpersephone]

Met a self appointed bare-down-there-gideon truther and i NEED your wise words to tell me the acrual obvious truth of bush-butch-gid, the oh so tasty art you post ab tells me im in capable hands

I think Gid would try to shave w a knife once as a young teen bc she saw it in her magazines, then cut herself and never ever consider it again - she might pretend it was a cool sex injury and Harrow would have a field day ridiculing her with that lmao

Basically if Gideon doesn't have a bush and a happy trail this is not a world worth living in imho

[izartn]

Something something the way the bones/ashes of a ghost in TGCF work as a totem of love, bc they're literally the anchor of the soul on the mortal realm. Something something Palamedes trusting Camilla to take care of his remains in case he died, so he could come back, trusting her with his soul. Something something Camilla defending ferociously what little she could kept of him near her heart, lamenting she couldn't find the rest, keeping faith to the end.

This is a ghost love story. You could say the way remains and ghosts link is everywhere all over the world, but the specific way theyre a token of love in TGCF reminds me awfully of Camilla and Palamedes whole situation.

Hua Cheng says that if his ashes were destroyed (bc he knows xl enough to know it'd be only when xl is permanently dead and gone himself) (bc if xl doenst want him to remain in this world he won't...) it'd be OK. His soul, his very being on the hands of his beloved. The year of waiting by XL at the end, trusting HC will find his way home to him. Brr.

[travelerstakes]

On this is probably a bit out of nowhere, but the lil comment that Caanan House isn't supposed to have seasons made me notice something about the metaphysics/likely philosophy of TLT.

The way death is supposed to work in like, a healthy biosphere is that it provides the soil for new growth. Two-thousand year old trees burn and their seeds are awoken by the heat and sprout in their mother's ashes. Tyrants fall and are replaced. That sorta stuff.

Which... Ok this might be the fact that my exposure to this place is tomb monks and immortals who stand like dead redwoods over their 10,000 year empire, but that does *not* seem to be how the universe has been made to work. Like, by design, any planet these lyctors kill isn't gonna be host to new life. There's no seeds left that're left to take root on the verdant planet Harrow left to twist and die down to its microbes.

The Ninth have the knowledge to know exactly how long one can preserve a bone before it crumbles to dust, and the Godking is even better at preserving the dead through his magic- look at his station, awash with glittering bone! Look at his lyctors, who think they're still alive!

Ok this is getting rambly, but speaking of the Ninth, it seems like two things properly killed it. The biggest one, when Harrow's bastards of parents literally cannibalized the youth of their house to preserve their line. The second and somewhat smaller, Harrow refusing to let her house be irrevocably transformed by asking for help from the other houses and instead throwing her trust on utterly insane schemes to get help from the man who can stop bone from crumbling.

And in the meantime, she leaves the people she leads by the puppets of the dead to slowly die out in the dark till, presumably, there's nobody left to carry out her own funeral rites and she rots next to that woman in ice, and the Tomb is shut forever with nobody left to even *try* rolling its stone away.

[liesmyth]

do you have favorite jod fics you'd recommend? i love your tlt opinions and am also a filthy john understander, but totally new to the fandom's fic scene

HI. YES. This is the rec list I was born to make. My shitty little meow meow. My insufferable babygirl. I do have fics. They're good :)

Written for me (ME!):

(I sat on this ask for a couple days so that I could acknowledge the authors on these fics that just revealed today. They cater perfectly to my tastes and everyone should read them.)

and my mouth isn't filled with blood, it's victory wine by @widespindriftgaze; John/Ianthe, pre-NtN, rated E, gore

You like forcing yourself to do gross things. This is called having character. Ianthe gets haunted, makes a power play, and smokes a cigarette.

Sex Education by @theriverbeyond; John & Gideon, pre-NtN, rated T

In which God explains condoms, consent, and how babies are made, and Prince Kiriona Gaia considers the pros and cons of being jettisoned out into the vacuum of space

(John gives Kiriona "the talk")

Other faves!! These are John & Gideon:

A Mild Sort of Resurrection by sigaloenta; Bari Star AU, rated G

In all the extensive special briefings and all-hands bulletins and strict sets of orders preparatory to the Emperor Divine's inspection tour of the Avernus, no one had considered that God might desire to fetch Himself a coffee.

"Fuck it, I'm adopting her," said John Gaius, not knowing the paperwork wasn't necessary by @naamah-beherit; John & Gideon AU, rated T

Gideon, a highly distinguished Cohort lieutenant, saves the day—and the girl—and then gets stuck in the lift of The Erebos with a man feeding her peanuts as if they have all the time in the world. They don't, but if he doesn't mind, then why should she?

now that you're sleeping by elijah_was_a_prophet; John & Kiriona pre NtN, rated M for mega dead

After-hours blues

John + Alecto, after the end:

moving upon the face of the waters by bittybelle; Alecto/John, rated M

You kissed John like the animal you had become, and he responded with the fealty of a child, and then with the force of a god, and then with the passion of the abandoned.

so I open the window to hear sounds of people by @sunderedstar; Alecto & John, rated T

He misses the beach. The real beach. The current one is mostly soil with a lacy veneer of nuclear ash, clammy and streaky and hilariously radioactive, which is a real bummer when he thinks about it too hard.

Some gen fic!!

recognize them by their fruits by ceruleanVulpine; Ianthe & John post HtN, rated T

John and Ianthe deal with the fact that his only remaining Lyctor is the one he never liked much. Maybe they can bond over the fact that they're both egotistical manipulators who lie like breathing? No? Also, God sees ghosts. Ianthe doesn't help.

John 25:12 by @halfeatenmoon; Pre-resurrection gang, John & G1deon

John and his friends escape the cow fortress to spend Christmas Day at the beach. With beer, salads, pavlova, and the corpses of a million fish killed by nuclear weapons testing.

Assorted lyctor shipfic:

choking on your leash by @augustmourn cult era John/A- , rated E + dubcon

He wanted to fuck John because he cared about him, even if he couldn't say it out loud. He didn't want to fuck John as a convenient way for both of them to have a better orgasm, like they always had; he didn't want to fuck John to stop him from killing off another hundred cops. But he would do anything for John. He'd known that in his bones for a long, long time.

colder than empires, and deader too by cadmean; rated E, dubcon + some gore

Drenched in the blood of his oldest sister and staring death (God; but really, where is the difference?) in the face, Augustine makes a different choice.

nature/nurture by Marenke; John/Augustine pre NtN speculation about the memory wipe. Rated G

There’s a little movement Augustine does - a flick of his wrist when he lits up a cigarette - that, some days, feels like the only reminiscent of him before he died.

This War of Attrition by @seven-syntheseas; Augustine/John/Mercy longfic, rated E (30k, complete)

attrition (n.): 1. sorrow for one’s sins stemming from a motive other than that of the love of God; 2. friction.

Or, put simply: Dios Apate. Major.

Self promo corner! I'm not above self reccing, so here are my jodfics. (Surprisingly, they reflect my tastes perfectly.)

John & Kiriona + John & others, post-HtN fic about God's upcoming midlife crisis: towery city amongst the stars; rated T

John & Augustine with shippy vibes, pre-canon: dreams of the ones who came before us, rated T

John/G1deon, pre-canon: dead and old and always hungry, rated E

Alecto/John, after the nukes: sign my death with your teeth, rated E + gore

Primarily a Ianthe fic but John is in there and it was very fun to write: after me, the flood, rated E, horror elements, Ianthe/Augustine + Ianthe & John

Kind of an ensemble fic but John's in it (and he's the only one having a good time) HtN AU: Housing Crisis! at the Mithraeum, rated T

[anthyies]

Hi! Can I ask for more info about the necessity of reading Baru books 2 and 3? Because ngl, I really disliked book 1. Not because of the ending. The ending was the only part I liked. I was like, "Something is FINALLY happening in this goddamn book, the promised treacherous behaviour is FINALLY here." I know some people are reluctant to read on because they found the ending of book 1 devastating, but that was not my experience. Sure, it's sad, but it's narratively necessary. So... WILL reading the sequels help, in my case? I see so many people talk about how amazing this series is, comparing it to other series I really like (like Locked Tomb). What is it that makes the sequels worth reading to someone who didn't enjoy the first one?

tl;dr: idk if you’d like them. if you’re invested in baru as a character and her emotional arc try them. Long post under the cut lmfao sorry

without knowing why you disliked the rest of the first book i can’t really tell you whether you’d like the second and third. negative reviews of monster and tyrant revolve around a) “Baru is too emotional and messy and i wanted her to be a calculating mastermind cryptarch plotting” b) on the other hand “Baru is too cold unemotional calm and it’s freaky” (she is just autistic, most people who think this drop out at traitor) c) not connecting with how the cryptarchs are portrayed as a messy group of people / not liking the expanded scope and introduction of the cancrioth (secret cancer cult) / not liking the story of ash sections that focus on a new character, tau indi bosoka. take that as you will i guess? you need to be invested in baru as a character for them to work, i think. and it depends on what you want/expect from the books. if you were bored by the first book well the second and third do have a lot of things happening like the aforementioned cancer cult. basically yeah traitor is just the start of baru, i think monster and tyrant are necessary if you’re going to talk about baru being “grimdark” (imo it’s not), or if you want to figure out what the series wants to say, but if you didn’t like the start of baru’s arc idk if you’ll like the rest of it you know? it really does depend on ur investment in baru + what you want from her; a lot of neg reviews of monster are from people who expected something completely different.

monster and tyrant are special to me because of how baru’s arc is carried out as she deals with the aftermath of traitor - her narration does get wildly more emotional which im obsessed with personally #griefcore #widowpilled, and the emotional catharsis of baru freeing her mind from the influence of empire is incredibly important and personal to me. and i rec that people who have finished traitor and can’t make themselves read the next two because of emotional devastation read them because baru dealing with the emotional devastation helps 👍 it gets worse it gets to the worst place she could possibly be and then it starts to get better. also monster and tyrant have tau in them ❤️‍🔥 and ISCEND. and ulyu xe becomes so important. and aminata gets to be so fucked up and closeted-to-herself-probably-bisexual. they have fucked up gay women in these books 👆

re; locked tomb comparisons I’m not into tlt like that but i don’t really understand them beyond the superficial level of “lesbians who commit atrocities and also there’s an empire and also lobotomies and also dead gf in your head”. the lobotomy and dead gf in head happen in monster and tyrant fwiw (although the context of the lobotomy is so different .. they don’t match up thematically at all lmao. the htn lobotomy is out of love the baru lobotomy is an existentially horrifying threat). baru has a very different prose style and also is a much more focused look at empire like it is about empire and colonization that is what the books are about. whereas at least gtn/htn were not that focusedly about empire. also crucially baru is about homophobia it is very much about homophobia and tlt is queernormative (i prefer baru because she feels truer to my own experiences like when i say she is just like me her journey is personal to me i mean it lmfao. stream this essay)

[chaos-has-theories]

WIP tag game

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it.

I will consider myself tagged by @into-september. A lot of these were already on there the last time I did it... but last time I filtered out a bunch of them for various reasons, while this time you're getting the unabridged version.

Equally tagging WHOEVER WANTS TO DO IT, because I'm actually not sure who else among my mutuals does these things, but I would love to find out!

Fusion (ml)

Polyam Love Square (ml)

Give the Boy a Hug (ml)

Lucky (ml)

Secret Garden AU (ml)

Merlin AU (ml)

Whatever remains, however improbable (ml)

Locked Tomb Crossover (ml)

Daemon AU (ml)

DJ WiFI Fake Dating (ml)

Fairytale Ladrien (ml)

Miracuclass (ml)

possible Harriel fic (ml)

Bone Prom (tlt)

The General Impossibility of Returning Home (tlt)

Coffeeshop AU (tlt, comic)

The Silence of a Dragon (Merlin)

Nimueh Trilogy (Merlin)

Genderqueer Merlin (Merlin)

Chaos AU (Merlin)

Drosselbart (Merlin)

I Refuse (Merlin)

5+1 Knights Knowing (Merlin)

The Three Williams (Merlin)

Contingency Plans (Merlin)

flimsy excuse to be back on my bullshit (Merlin)

Long Way Home Sequel (SH)

ml AU (SH)

Trans AU (SH)

Puddyng (SH)

Wizard Tower (SH)

As you have gained it (SH)

Twilight Parasol (Twilight + Soulless)

Queer Ash (Three Wishes for Cinderella)

Monsters (Breath of the Wild)

Home's a place that I have never known (BotW)

Perpetuum (BotW)

Scholomancer (A Deadly Education)

[thesoulofthebeautiful]

Okay these designs are super jank cause I'm not a designer and I put them together in like an hour but initial thoughts on TLT MTG cards for the Ninth (major spoilers for Gideon and Harrow the Ninth, no spoilers for Nona)

Starting with Gideon, I actually had a lot of trouble coming up with unique mechanics for her because ability-wise she mostly just does swords. I wanted to do RB, R because she's very emotional, loyal, and often angry, but I don't know how well it fits the mechanics. The mechanics I chose are meant to mimic siphoning and her sacrifice at the end of GtN, and she's a pretty strong creature by default (probably too strong but w/e).

(ignore that I used the same pic for both sides lmao)

I wanted to have Harrow be a transform planeswalker (in part for the flip side pun). I realized that the front side should really be a creature so the lyctor flavour of the River works better, but I don't have time to redo it atm. I really wanted to include the regenerating ash (the -10), and the +2 was obvious, although I had a lot of trouble with the middle ability and it doesn't really have a flavour tie in.

The flip side of Harrow is her in HtN, as the failed lyctor, and given how she kinda just worsens over the course of the book I wanted to start her at high loyalty and only have minus abilities. The other lyctors I want to have a 0 ability to become a creature (a la Gideon Jura) with the flavour of channeling the cavaliers, which is why Harrow doesn't have one. Indestructible and hexproof are also lyctoral abilities (ish, rapid healing is kinda like being indestructible). The -3 is intended to be traversing the River, and the - 5 is hopefully obvious (although I'd prefer to template it as an enchantment maybe? idk).

Anyway I gotta run to a new years party but I'd love to hear thoughts!

[sendme-2hell]

Rating the Books I read after Gideon the Ninth (in order) by how well they made me forget my Gideon the Ninth angst

I starred the ones that I actually recommend if you want something similar to gtn.

I was bored so I made this. Mostly just so I can look back at this and laugh at myself in a few months and remember what I’ve read. 

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

**Harrow the Ninth -Tamsyn Muir 

Summary: A depressed girl has to navigate murder attempts by both the mom and the dad of her dead ex-girlfriend who she can’t remember. She tries to make soup and writes fanfic to cope. 

How well it helped me forget: -100/10 but also 10/10 

Rating explanation: This one gets a 10/10 because it did make me feel better about a *particular* GTN plotpoint which I was very angsty about, but tragically it did make me more feral. After reading it I reread both books so I don’t think it helped me forget my angst. 

Similar themes to GTN: all of it, plus more memes 

I Want to Be Where The Normal People Are - Rachel Bloom 

Summary: Rachel Bloom who wrote the world’s most relatable song: “You Stupid Bitch,” and starred/created in Crazy Ex Girlfriend, writes about having anxiety, feeling like she’s not normal, and Harry Potter fanfic.

How well it helped me forget: 8/10

Rating explanation: For a few minutes I actually did forget about my griddlehark angst while I learned more about Bloom’s life and laughed at the painful relatability of it all. 

Similar themes to TLT: ummm depression, feeling very out of place, memes

Fingersmith - Sarah Waters

Summary: The book The Handmaiden was based on. A girl is sent to become a Lady’s handmaiden to con her out of some money. She falls in love. Many plot twists. 

How well it helped me forget: 5/10

Rating explanation: I was sadly still thinking about TLT the whole time I read this. I liked it but I actually like the Handmaiden better because the women spend more time together. Like in this book, I wish that Harrow and Gideon could spend more time together. 

Similar themes: wlw enemies to lovers, at some point you realize the main character’s love interest understands what’s going on way more than the main character

Kindred - Octavia Butler 

Summary: Very dark book about slave narratives. I cannot make a joke here, but this book is excellent. 

How well it helped me forget: 10/10 

Rating explanation: Again, I can’t make a joke. But Octavia Butler is amazing. 

Ash - Malinda Lo 

Summary: A wlw retelling of Cinderella with fairies and an emphasis on stories 

How well it helped me forget:7/10

Rating explanation: This was really quick and fun and I definitely was rooting for the lesbians. Also it was nice it had a happy ending! If you liked Crier’s War (which I did), this was clearly an influence for Nina Varela. 

Similar themes: wlw, the magic one + the fighting one dynamic

Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel

Summary: A deadly pandemic wipes out so many people that the world spins into chaos and no one can figure out how to use electricity apparently? But the book is really about fame and wanting to be remembered. Go figure.

How well it helped me forget: -10/10 

Rating explanation: Ok that’s not fair. It helped me forget about Gideon and Harrow but it did NOT help me forget about Corona. It was technically good and a lot of people I respect love it, but either because I was still thinking about TLT or because it was about a pandemic, I couldn’t really enjoy it. 

Similar themes: post-apocalyptic 

Red, White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston 

Summary: The Prince of England and The son of the president of the US are enemies. They are definitely enemies.

How well it helped me forget: 6/10

Rating explanation: This was such a fun read that it almost distracted me! Tragically I was in such TLT headspace that I kept pausing to read fanfics where Gideon and Harrow switch eyes. 

Similar themes: Enemies to lovers, queer

Troubling Love - Elena Ferrante 

Summary: In true Elena Ferrante fashion, an event spurs an Italian woman to do a lot of internal processing and have some flashbacks. 

How well it helped me forget: 7/10

Rating explanation: This book was a bit disturbing so it distracted me in that way. Plus I love Elena Ferrante’s writing so much that it felt like coming home to an old friend. Unfortunately for me, this is Elena Ferrante’s least queer book. I know because I have now read them all. Her most queer book, The Lying Life of Adults, would have distracted me better. Also just using this space to tell anyone who’s still reading this (probably no one) to go read My Brilliant Friend (and the corresponding Neopolitan Novels). They are not similar to TLT except they are vaguely queer and about competitive friendships where the girls are obsessed with each other in maybe an unhealthy way. Ok so a bit similar. Genuinely my favorite books ever. 

Similar themes: mommy issues, daddy issues, childhood trauma

On This Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous -Ocean Vuong

Summary: A Vietnamese immigrant reflects on his mother, grandmother, and his own life experience in the US. It is poetic and beautiful and will make you cry. 

How well it helped me forget: 10/10

Rating explanation: This book is beautiful. It really changes how you think about the US. Plus really interesting stuff about the western way of telling stories. Cannot recommend it enough, though very little to do with TLT. 

Similar themes: queer, stuff about language, childhood trauma, you will cry

**The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon 

Summary: OK sorry none of those were good suggestions for what to read after GTN. THIS is what you should read after GTN. It is an incredibly slow burn wlw enemies to lovers. There are dragons, there is magic, there are very cool female characters who I am in love with. This is like Game of Thrones but if it was good, queer, and only one 800 page book. 

How well it helped me forget: 10/10

Rating explanation: Enemies to lovers!!!! What more do I have to say? Also very cool world-building, interesting religious themes. 

Similar themes: wlw enemies to lovers, religious themes, magic, very old wizard milfs, also mlm

*The Traitor Baru Cormorant 

Summary: Baru is a very smart girl in a colonized island. She decides she will play the game of the colonizers, rise up in their society, and destroy them from within. How is that going, Baru? 

How well it helped me forget: 100/10

Rating explanation: This DID make me forget TLT. The only book to truly make me. It made me forget so badly that I wanted my Griddlehark angst BACK. GIVE ME IT BACK I don’t wanna feel sad about Baru anymore. I cannot recommend it more, it is so good, but it did make me ugly cry. It also made me majorly depressed about colonization and the state of the world. 

Similar themes: wlw enemies to lovers, ending will make you cry

*The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson 

Summary: Baru is depressed, has brain damage, throws up a lot, is sad about (redacted), does some things without remembering them because there’s something going on in her brain. Sound familiar? It’s kinda like Harrow the Ninth but more depressing. Oh also a lot of new characters are introduced, old characters come back, a lot of setup for the next book. Euler’s identity shows up out of nowhere?! 

How well it helped me forget: 10/10

Rating explanation: Again, it made me forget but only because I was so engrossed in this story. Also kinda depressed. This book is kinda depressing. But Baru is very fun to be around, and there are some other great characters. Marry me, Yawa. 

Similar themes: again, this is just harrow the ninth on steroids, I am in love with every single woman in this series

*The Tyrant Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson 

Summary: Baru makes a new bestie, reunites with an old bestie, and discovers a dead bestie in her brain!

How well it helped me forget: 1000/10

Rating explanation: I loved this book. There were a few scenes I reread >four times. This book makes the other books in the series worth it. 

Similar themes: please see my venn diagram comparing tlt, baru, and A memory called empire for more information

*The Ninth House - Leigh Bardugo 

Summary: A girl has seen ghosts her whole life and because of that, gets accepted at Yale even though she didn’t finish high school. Yale is like a hotspot for ghosts I guess. It’s dark academia, the girl has a secret, the narrator is pretty funny.

How well it helped me forget: 6/10

Rating explanation: I was trying to get distracted from TLT (and Baru at this point), but it’s hard to forget about Harrow and Gideon in a book called The Ninth House (hello?). It was enjoyable and there was some good humor. I’m curious about the next book in the series when it comes out. It is not wlw unless you squint (which I do). 

Similar themes: debatably wlw body posession, nine houses, the ninth one being important, nerd boy who reminds me of pal, woman is revealed to be MUCH older than I originally thought, soul eating, revenants, tombs, necromancy, character named Mercy

The Bone Season - Samantha Shannon 

Summary: It’s the future and London is a hotspot for clairvoyants. Paige is a woman who has a special gift and can jump into people’s bodies and possess them briefly (among other things, this is a terrible explanation). Because of this, she is sent to a secret part of the city where clairvoyants are trained to be monster fighters (but also like, kept there in captivity against their will). Unlike every other book on this list I honestly wouldn’t recommend. I know there are other books in the series. If you’ve read on and it gets better let me know. (I know no one has gotten this far reading this but still)

How well it helped me forget: 4/10

Rating explanation: This one was disappointing because I loved Priory of the Orange Tree so much. This book did not distract me from my griddlehark or barhu feels. There’s also a character named Warden so I thought about SexPal a lot. 

Similar themes: enemies to lovers, ghosts, possession, queer but only background characters 

****The Unspoken Name - A.K. Larkwood 

Summary: A girl is in an isolated cult that wants her to die as a sacrifice (sound familiar?). A definitely not evil wizard helps her escape. She meets a cute necromancer who’s also kinda from a cult. She goes on some gay adventures, gets the help of a morally grey older necromancer (who I’m in love with), and fights with her frenemy. 

How well it helped me forget: 10/10

Rating explanation: This is the most similar to TLT on this list. Gideon and Csorwe would be friends. Seriously I recommend this! And the second book comes out soon! And it’s not sad like TLT or Baru! 

Similar themes: sword lesbian + necromancer dynamic, wlw enemies to lovers, cults, tombs, necromancy, character named “the sleeper”, also mlm

The Invisible Life of Addie Larue - V. E. Schwab 

Summary: Adeline Larue made a deal with a demon in 1714 France, because she wanted to see the world and stuff. It backfires of course. She is immortal but no one remembers her. This causes all sorts of problems and makes her very angsty. The narrative flashes between her going through the years, and her falling in love with the only person who will remember her. 

How well it helped me forget: 2/10

Rating explanation: I know people loved this book but I did not. I liked the last 50 pages, I’ll give it that. I wish it was more queer (it was a little queer). 

Similar themes: as I said, a little wlw, immortality, demons, I guess falling in love with someone and them not remembering you now that I think about it 

Sula - Toni Morrison 

Summary: A story about two black women in the 1920’s-1960’s in an Ohio town. It is really great and interesting. It is a book about complicated female friendships (among so many other things that better writers not writing a list no one will read about their TLT feels have outlined) which I love. I was told I should read this after the Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante and it did not disappoint. Same vibes. 

How well it helped me forget: 10/10

Rating explanation: This was just a great book. Has really nothing to do with TLT

Similar themes: debatably queer 

*Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, Network Effect,  - Martha Wells

Summary: Muderbot is an artificial construct who just wants to be left alone to watch tv, damnit! It doesn’t want to interact with humans, and it definitely does not want to talk about feelings. Too bad some humans want to become friends with it.

How well it helped me forget: 10/10

Rating explanation: These books were so good. They did help me forget! The books are really about having anxiety, making friends, and letting yourself have feelings. Also they are SO FUNNY. Highly recommend. In the way that I love Gideon’s POV, I love Murderbot’s POV

Similar themes: funny narrator, queer characters, space, people who don’t want to deal with their feelings being forced to deal with their feelings

*A Memory Called Empire - Arkady Martine 

Summary: Mahit is sent a dangerous, evil empire to be an ambassador. Lots of beautiful writing about colonialism, assimilation, language, and culture.There is gay angst and funny characters. I am once again in love with a morally grey older woman character. 

How well it helped me forget: 10/10

Rating explanation: Yes this book is great and did distract me from gtn (mostly. I did end up reading a great fanfic about wake, g1deon, and pyrrah in the middle but otherwise...). It is part of my holy trilogy of wlw books (this, baru, tlt) that I just read recently. The next book comes out on March 2nd so it will be a good distraction from waiting for Alecto. Like Baru, it made me feel like shit about colonialism but unlike the other two books in my trilogy (redacted but if you’ve read those books you know) didn’t happen. It had a not too sad ending. 

Similar themes: see my venn diagram, but seriously what is going on with brain surgery in these books...

*The Luminous Dead - Cailtin Starling 9/10

Summary: A woman needs money and to get the money she goes on a risky cave dive. It turns out the only contact she has with the rest of the world is a woman who’s kinda a dick. It’s 400 pages of creepy cave diving and these two women talking to each other. It’s creepy and uncomfortable and I loved it. I did spend the whole book thinking it would be such a good story podcast.

How well it helped me forget: 10/10

Rating explanation: It did make me forget about tlt! There are some kinda boring parts but it pays off. The relationship between the two main characters is very interesting (though a bit fucked up). 

Similar themes: wlw enemies to lovers, traumatised characters, shitty moms

[skaterbeth]

tagged by my fav reg ty @bisexualzia

questions to get to know me better

1. name/nickname: marisa and i sometimes let people call me ris

2. gender: female and i use she/her pronouns

3. star sign: pisces

4. height: 5’0 (I KNOW OK)

5. time: 10:26pm

6. birthday: no because i don’t want sophi to find out @greekgrad07

7. favorite bands/groups: uh i’m blanking now so i’ll just say the tlt musical cast adksjaha

8. favorite solo artist: there are too many and i’m lazy i’m so sorry

9. song stuck in my head: dorothea - taylor swift

10. last movie: i rewatch the harry potter movies every night to fall asleep so order of the phoenix

11. last show: the crown (i hate the queen more than usual today)

12. when did i create this blog: honestly idek i could look but i’m lazy

13. what do i post: shit

14. last thing i googled: “keep me sane kacy hill lyrics”

15. other blogs: bold of you to assume i know how side blogs work on tumblr or that i could even make one

16. do i get asks: yes but it’s only ash bullying me, adi and i screaming about the tlt musical or she ra, and sophi bullying me/complimenting me (depends on the day)

17. why i chose my url: because i’m an annabeth simp and i skateboard and if you put those together it’s just the reason i like women

18. following: idek where to check that someone comment

19. followers: ^

20. average hours of sleep: yeah i’m not saying cause ash always yells at me (it’s not my fault ok it’s the mental illness i was diagnosed with)

21. lucky numbers: uh 7, 18, 30 i guess? i don’t really have any

22. instruments: bold of you to assume i retained any knowledge on the instruments i was forced to learn

23. what i am wearing: black tank top and black sweats

24. dream job: that person that nods when you’re allowed to go down the swimming pool

25. dream trip: hell

26. favorite food: honestly idk i don’t really like food but i like s’mores ig

27. nationality: i live in america unfortunately (before people think i’m dumb nationality is where you live/where you have citizenship whereas ethnicity/race is like. ethnicity/race idk a better word for it)

28. favorite song: it changes a lot but rn my most listened to is tis the damn season by taylor

29. last book read - i don’t read books i read fanfiction

30. top three fictional universes i’d like to live in: pjo cause annababe, reyna, and thalia, she ra cause catra, adora, and lonnie, and atla/lok (does that count as one?) cause mai, azula, ty lee, suki, zuko, lin, kya, and kuvira (THAT WAS SO GAY ALDJSJA)

tagging: @bitcheusjackson @greekgrad07 @skaterannabeth @skateryue @bannabeth @bbyannabeth @couvers (literally none of you have to do this i just had to tag people adksjah)

[shouldhavebeenpersephone]

griddlehark couple's shirts but harrow's says virginity rocks and gideon's says rocks virginity is that anything

[shouldhavebeenpersephone]

Camilla Hect kept and wore Gideon's sunglasses every single day. every single day. she kept them and wore them EVERY SINGLE DAY. DID YOU HEAR ME

[shouldhavebeenpersephone]

At this point I am expecting Alecto the Ninth to just show up in a bookstore. No cover or release date announcement. Just. It's just there. One day it's on a shelf somewhere.

[shouldhavebeenpersephone]

Hey there! Have you read all of the books Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth, and Nona the Ninth? I have a question for you! Please choose what applies best.

Please reblog for a larger sample size! I would also really appreciate more information on your answer/position in the tags or replies!

Curious what this is for? Here is the main post.

[shouldhavebeenpersephone]

Me? Writing about Harrow going through it?? Writing about love and grief and guilt??? Me committing to a 12 chapter fic?????? It's more likely than you think.

Sales pitch: local catholic girl loses cousin who was more of a father figure to her and reunites with the hot blonde from her childhood nightmares. also agonizingly loses her faith and stabs a hot girl while trying to be her friend. meanwhile hot girl's cousin is making friendship bracelets for all of them.

[shouldhavebeenpersephone]

Ok so @palamedeeznuts reminded me that there is such a thing as fancasting and as much as I also do NOT want a TLT live action I have to share my vision.

I present to you, (young) Keanu Reeves and Atikah Karim as my headcanon for the Sixth. More vibey pics under the cut.

Ok ok ok so Keanu is SO Palamedes coded it's insane. Just. Look at him.

The patchy beard. The silly little face. He looks both homeless and filthy rich. He looks like he knows exactly where the clitoris is. He looks like he would indeed think one learns how to sword fight from a book and also he would look super sexy screaming at Judith.

And Atikah!!!!! Do I even need to explain!!!!!! LOOK!!!!! JUST LOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pinterest delivered her name to me like it was a prophecy meant for my ears alone. Amen.

[shouldhavebeenpersephone]

Who would you say is the most grounded (grounded in reality maybe) character in tlt?

I think this might be a semi-controversial take but I think it's Ianthe.

Like, who else is as extremely aware of their circumstances AND their own capabilities AND the realism of their goals and wishes? The only times Ianthe goes wrong is when she believes/follows things she has been told by people she has accepted as superiors, like thinking Babs has been consumed and is gone because fucking God told her so. And when she does her own introspection with the help of Sextus she quickly catches up that that's not in fact true.

I fully believe Ianthe knew or expected most of what the goal was at Canaan before even arriving. I fully believe that she is standing with/behind God purely because she is aware she needs him to be a means to the end she is trying to reach. I fully believe she has a perfect plan to get everything she has ever wanted without needing to break a sweat.

Who compares? Camilla Hect you say? Sorry, no good cavalier is grounded. She exploded into fire and died/was reborn into a new person because her only focus is her very dead bestie. She is intelligent and realistic, sure, but she is grounded in her dedication to Palamedes, not in reality.