#and i want to reread seraphina

[retired-ceo]

just realized i should do a books i read in 2022 list... so here

[unordinary-diary]

Thinking about how Blyke is actually insanely strong, even by the standards of his world, yet he gets his ass kicked for the entire story.

From episode one...

To the first actual fight he’s ever been in... (ch. 15) [Edit: second actual fight]

... to the approximate middle of the story... (ch. 197)

... Up through the very latest chapter as of me writing this— (ch. 345)

— Blyke repeatedly gets pummeled.

Over,

and over,

and over,

and over.

It’s really no wonder he gets insecure about it.

I mean, these screenshots were all taken from different fights. The amount of fights he’s won, on screen, without backup is... once or twice against Zeke, once against Gou (Agwin’s Jack from turf wars), and once as a vigilante solo act. That’s four, max. There could be more that I’ve forgotten, but I’ve read this series so many times and I really can’t think of any. (No, I don’t count firing a warning shots to get people to behave as “winning a fight”.)

compared to all the fights he’s been outmatched in? You’ve got Rein from turf wars, Volcan, John, John, John, Lennon from his vigilante solo stunt, John again, the fight in the Rowden amusement park, the attack on Rowden hill, Ember, and now the authorities in general. Possibly more that I forgot. That’s 11. He didn’t necessarily lose all those fights, but they’re fights where he was way out of his depth and/or would’ve lost without backup.

Anyway, point is: Blyke is no stranger to getting his ass kicked. In particular, he is no stranger to getting kicked while he’s already down.

In fact, I’m gonna take an example from the turf wars match in chapter 15: Blyke has already lost the fight with Rein, yet Arlo hangs him out to dry. Arlo is the one who’s supposed to call him back to get healed, yet he just smiles while the others look at him expectantly, and Blyke gets more and more injured. Even Rein is questioning it.

I could and honestly probably will do a whole analysis on just chapter 15, but eventually Seraphina calls him back for healing. The way Blyke was treated in that scene was kinda heartbreaking.

GOD chapter 15 is my favorite episode but it leaves me with so many questions grrr I wanna talk about it but that’s another entry.

Putting that aside, Blyke is very protective, and compassionate to the plight of others when he’s aware of it. After he sees the situation in Branish, he is immediately, rightfully pissed about the way society is. It opens his eyes to a world he hasn’t experienced, and it reframes how he thinks of John (still a “cripple” at the time).

To the actual point of this diary entry (other than rambling about Blyke, that is), John is another character who gets repeatedly kicked while he’s down. I don’t think I need screenshots to prove that. However, in my current reread of the series, I recently came across a certain panel that I do wish I had a screenshot of. It’s either Blyke or Seraphina who asks John “Why are you always kicking people while they’re down?” And John responds: “Because everyone kicked me when I was down!” And I think that’s a vivid contrast with Blyke, who has been kicked while he’s down, and chooses to protect people who are weaker than him. In particular, I want to point out that in order to protect them, Blyke is willing and actively chooses to get beaten quite brutally.

Mind you, this ^ is to protect people who he barely knows. He and Sera aren’t close, and the others are practically strangers.

It’s pretty much the inverse reaction. John says “Others kicked me while I was down, so I’ll do the same on everyone else tenfold.” Blyke says “I was kicked while I was down, and goddammit I will keep getting kicked if it means other people don’t have to.”

It’s such a cool parallel, and the fact that when John was getting kicked, Blyke was trying to help, but when Blyke was getting kicked, John was doing the kicking adds so many layers to it.

[gilly-moon]

How did you get into Rise of the Guardians/Guardians of Childhood?

And if you could change three things about Rise of the Guardians (big or small), what would you like to see?

*gently places hearts into your pocket ❤️❤️*

*gasp* I will cherish them forever!!!

as for how i got into rotg - i was a HUGE fan of the trailers and i basically grabbed anyone i could get my hands on, sat them down in front of a computer, and forcibly showed them the trailer lol. then the movie released, i saw it in theatres, and it was just as incredible as i hoped it would be!

i didn't read the novels until a couple-ish years ago but i did scour the wiki pages for more info on Pitch after the movie released. i was there when we still had Seraphina Pitchiner :') but my adoration for rotg went dormant after a while, until last year when i started writing Shattered Pieces!

as for what i would change, there's really nothing major. i think the movie and books do and say exactly what they needed to, and adding or changing anything would make them too long or introduce uneccessary complexity. but!! there are a few things i can think of:

1) i would've loved more interactions between Sandman and Emily in the books. after she was forced from her home, i believe her happiest years were when they were together, and i crave a proper reunion for them!!! i want them to hang out again!!!

2) it would've been nice for the Guardians to have given a full, proper apology to Jack for shutting him out and ignoring him for 300 years. there are pieces of an apology scattered throughout the movie, but no proper recognition of how shitty it was to neglect or (in Bunny's case) outright antagonize Jack just for being lonely and wanting attention. (also for even just ONE of them to give Manny a lecture for not explaining things to Jack)

3) ok this is more of a major change lol but a more one-for-one adaption of the books to movie format would've been so fuckin cool. plenty could still be cut or trimmed down (kinda like how the Spiderwick movie did it) but i would LOVE to see dreamworks take on the nightmare men and fearlings, and the golden age, and Ombric, and Nightlight!! also, selfishly, i want to see Shadowbent animated :') but this is just a pipe dream and i'll have to settle for rereading the books instead ♡

[coldinfluencerbeliever]

So, I reread the beginning of UnOrdinary (up to where John reveals himself but not much beyond that), and the thing that stuck out to me was relationships within the hierarchy.

It's explicitly stated that people within the different classes/groups tend to befriend/socialize only with their group for obvious reasons, or "knowing their place".

John is a half and half latebloomer. He can't be in one group without remembering the people in the other, he wouldn't fit in to any of the social hierarchies. Not the high tier, not the mid tier, not even the low tier or cripples. Thus he tries to ignore it, focusing on developing his personality apart from any of the existing classes.

It's kind of a classic set-up, the most powerful person having an alter-ego or trying to act "normal" in order to connect with people on their level rather than always looming over them. John added his past regret and trauma to the mix, but manages to conceal it (in the beginning at least). He just wanted friendship, friendship defined by personality and traits instead of proficiency in beating the snot out of people.

John didn't hate the bullies, or Arlo, or the violence, not really. What makes him hate everyone isn't their power or even their bullying ways, it's the fact that the hierarchy forces people to only associate with people on their level (and turns them into monsters around anyone weaker). If he had been honest with himself his real hatred was for that hierarchy, the system that (in his mind) enabled everything else.

Even if he had been open about his power level or tried to fit in with the mid-tiers, the outcome would have likely still been the same. People would be judging him purely on his power level (and not on him himself), the very thing he wanted to avoid. Arlo would still be breathing down his neck for not "knowing his place", his "equals" within the hierarchy would be gossiping about him and even mouthing off at him to his face. There's a scene early on with Cecilia lecturing Remy about fraternizing with Blyke and Isen, insinuating that the lower tiers don't actually respect her because she refuses to "stay in her lane" (they don't say it to her face of course). Heck, Arlo later points out that Cecile was talking smack to the person who defeated her and "took her title". It's almost like your power level wasn't the real thing everyone respected, it was the pecking order your power level placed you in. (On a side note John rightfully gets flack for not trying to make things better, but could things really be made better until everyone's hierarchy-shackled mindsets were broken free? Maybe John's rampage was what Headmaster Vaughn had been looking for all along.)

Mid-tier John befriending high-tier Seraphina would still have brought down Arlo's wrath and made him a pariah who got constantly targeted, and high-tier John would have still been lonely and ostracized by everyone else for not knowing his place, at least when they weren't kissing up to him for favors (which would have ignited his wrath and given him the poor reputation he got later on).

All of this also meant he couldn't really live up to UnOrdinary the book because it still divided people up into groups, into a "hierarchy" such as it was. His dad wanted to guide him into the "guardian" or "protector" role, but he just wanted to relate to people based on their personalities/talents instead of their power level. The actual cripples and low-tiers would have been far too obsequious and needy for his tolerance, the mid-tiers too obsessed with maintaining their paltry footholds in the monkey-pile. He ends up relating best to the high-tiers like Sera, but only because they have enough security in their position to actually consider what he was offering.

Sera ended up being the only one who responded, the only one who comes to share his desire. The story of how they became friends almost feels normal, like two high-school students in a normal kid's story. It's a rather genius way to introduce the setting, showing how difficult (and ultimately impossible) just being a normal highschool student with "normal" friends would be rather than trying to simply explain it.

In the end though everyone else wanted him to fall in line and be defined by his power. Arlo goes on and on about John not being a "proper" cripple (and then gets all indignant when John stops being crippled but still won't dance to his tune.) In the end they all get their wish, and unfortunately most of them had earned it.

[readychilledwine]

✨️Regarding my Vanserra OCs✨️

1. It's a double post kink day. After rereading my Dollification smut with Azriel and Seraphina from Lollipop, the silent aspect of Dollification during sex felt a little.... flat in writing, so I am writing it a little bit so our little slutted out vanserra partakes a little more. If you all are okay with the silent aspect, please let me know. It sticks true to the nature of the kink, but I know it may bother people reading it.

2. I've had a lot of anon requests for Lyria Vanserra content: her story with Rhys and how she ended up in Velaris, content of her relationship with Lucien and Eris, Mors reaction to Azriel bringing her home, a fic about her and Azriel's deal with Feysand and that dynamic, and a massage series with members of the inner circle and her brothers (for the sibling fluff aspect.) She is my favorite OC, aside from Kaylee and Amelia, and I am more than willing to. This one, I'm throwing into a poll because I don't want to beat a dead horse.

Writing more of Lyria isn't going to push back my Seraphina content I've been working on if that is a concern. The biggest different is Sera content is meant to be PWOP whereas Lyria has plot mixed into her story and a little backstory lure that I could have used for a series had I known you all would have loved her as much as I do. That's what I get for not being confident in my writing 🫠

[asexualbookbird]

Goodbye June! I'm six books ahead of my arbitrary reading goal! I also bought I think as much as I read whoops. I also did a lot, art wise, and turns out Project DIVA has a display tap mode and I'm kicking ass at that game. I can complete extreme mode songs! Even managed to not fail out of an extra extreme song! I am miserable, healthwise, but my hobbies have never been more productive.

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim ⭐⭐⭐⭐Fun! Exciting! Well done! Wanted more! Excited that there was a second one! Adorable love interest! Deffo recommend!

Wake the Bones by Elizabeth Kilcoyne ⭐⭐Fine? I guess? I expected something like House With Good Bones but it was mostly forgettable and too focused on romance.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman ⭐⭐⭐⭐Delightful! Actually glad I waited so long, because I don't think I would have appreciated it ten years ago

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I spent the whole time trying to figure everything out and had a wonderful time about it

The Dragon's Promise by Elizabeth Lim⭐⭐⭐Disappointing, characters I loved before were annoying here, the dragons were Mean and not the focus at all, still enjoyable in it's own right but Crimson Cranes could have been a beautiful standalone

The Keeper of the Night by Kylie Lee Baker DNF Sad I didn't enjoy this, I was looking forward to it, but it just. Was not good. Seraphina dealt with similar themes and executed it better (I didn't know they dealt with similar themes, but it was kind of fun to compare!) Most notable complaint was wordlbuilding said the reapers could hear a whisper across a noisy room and then Ren was eavesdropping on them, and talking, in an airvent above them and no one noticed lol

I'm such a mood reader, but I think I'm going to try to put together a stack of books I want to read this month and do my best to stick to it! It might make me get through my shelves quicker. Somehow, the floor stacks keep multiplying. Send help, I'm being buried.

July I'm definitely finishing my Name of the Wind reread, even though I missed book club, and I'd like to get through a stack of graphic novels I got for my birthday! Other than that, who knows! Lets go!

[n30nkn1ght]

I can't stop thinking about dragons. I want to learn about every dragon ever. I want to learn about dragons from every myth and every culture. When I was little I thought FULLY that dragons were real because I read this Dragonology book and it had me CONVINCED. I wanted to BE a dragon. That book has vanished but I need to read it so bad. I need to find a good source to learn about dragons so bad. I need to find things to read about dragons. Both in the, like, fictional sense of things and a book about actual dragon mythology. This is rotting my brain. When I was little I read Eragon so much that the book has fallen apart in every sense of the word. I read Fablehaven over and over again. I read Seraphina because my best friend gifted it to me. I may reread it IDK. I read everything I could get my hands on. I. Love. Dragons.

[marjorierose]

I got tagged in a book meme by @ars-amatoria and missed it until now, so here, have a very straightforward meme about books.

1) The last book I read: It's So Magic by Lynda Barry.

2) A book I recommend: Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes.

3) A book that I couldn’t put down: a weird genre for this question, but Every Good Boy Does Fine by Jeremy Denk. It's a memoir and not particularly cliff-hangery but I found it highly compelling.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more): Seraphina by Rachel Hartman.

5) A book on my TBR: Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin (I keep thinking maybe I'll read that next, but I'm disorganized)

6) A book I’ve put down: A Restless Truth by Freya Marske. I could not get into a good enough mood to be on its wavelength.

7) A book on my wish list: I don't keep a book wishlist. Something I keep vaguely intending to invest in is a nice, keepsake copy of Moby-Dick.

8) A favorite book from childhood: Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley.

9) A book you would give to a friend: Fire Logic by Laurie K. Marks, and the sequels too.

10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own: Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay. I only realized in checking the title just now that he spells it "catalog."

11) A nonfiction book you own: Population: 485 by Michael Perry

12) What are you currently reading? The Everybody Ensemble by Amy Leach. I bought it in January, so that's how fast the TBR is progressing.

13) What are you planning on reading next? I kinda want to reread the TAZ graphic novels that have come out so far and then the new Suffering Game one. That's not a "plan" so much as a "vague idea," though.

[scribe-of-elysium]

Hey Seraphina! I really hope you’re doing well. I have been following you and your stories for years now and I just started to reread Quietus for the 100th and seriously I don’t think I will ever get over it, it’s just so good. Not only Quietus but all of your other stories. They’re like my comfort food. You have ruined all Naruto characters for me (in a good way) and every time I rewatch the series I can’t help but think of them as Greek gods ;). I was scrolling through your feed and saw a post where you expressed that as a writer sometimes you tend to be insecure about some of your writing. Honestly I would have never thought that you would feel that way since your writing is one of the best I have ever read and trust me I have read a lot and I just cannot comprehend how you’re not a published writer yet. You’ve got a very loyal fanbase and just like me there are so many that have been fans for years. Like in our eyes you can’t do no wrong. You’re actually a very talented writer and know how to develop the plot and not just depend on some cringy cliches. You always manage to take me in a whole another world every time I read your stories and can only imagine the thoughts and the hard work you put in this especially as grown adult with a job. The fact that Quietus and Angelus Mortis are just fanfics but are still better than 100s of „Bestsellers“ published books like….And YES girl we want all of your oneshots BACK, hell you can just write about your morning routine and we will read it and eat that sh** up and we will also get it nominated for the story of the year 😂. You can never do wrong with your writing. Seriously don’t doubt yourself this much.

Have a great week and take care of yourself. Also sorry for any grammar mistakes, English isn’t my first language.

Greetings from Germany!

Hi, Anon. First, I apologise for taking so long to reply to your message. I've needed to distance myself from anything Quietus/writing-related for the last few months, and I wasn't in the right headspace to respond to this before.

I appreciate your kind words of support. I think, regardless of what anyone says about it, I'll always be insecure over my writing. That's just the nature of writing, to be highly critical of your own work. You either tend to hate on everything, or think it's half-decent at the time of posting - only to hate it and question what you were thinking immediately afterwards. I'm sure other writers can relate to the constant internal war that goes on when writing anything.

My writing is very far from any kind of perfect, and I'm not a professional by any means, so it's always an honour to read that anyone might hold such a high opinion of my humble work. Thank you for your message, and for taking the time to send it.

[seeraphina]

Tag Game To Better Know You! Send this to people you'd like to know better!

Tagged by @dickggansey​ 💞 💖

What book are you currently reading? i’m (slowly) rereading trc yeowch

What do you usually wear? lots of bright colours, especially primary colours, big flashy jewellery, mismatched patterns on patterns, clown stuff, vintage stuff, fun materials, glittery stuff. i really like 70′s and 80′s era clothing!

How tall are you? about 5″5 i think

What’s your star sign? do you share a birthday with a celebrity or historical event? i’m a leo! and carl from shameless is the first person who comes to mind who shares my birthday lol

do you go by your name or a nickname? ya just leah, but i use seraphina as a username on the internet a lot

Did you grow up to become what you wanted to be as a child?  lol i wanted to be an archaeologist when i was little so no, defs not. i still wouldn’t mind working in a museum of some sort though

Are you in a relationship? If not, who is your crush if you have one? always crushing on willa fitzgerald tbh

what’s something you’re good at vs something you’re bad at? i’m good at english, history, art, humanities type stuff. i’m very bad at maths and directions. like, not my rights vs lefts, i mean i can manage to get lost just crossing the street.

Dogs or cats? more familiar with dogs but i also like cats!

if you draw/write, or create in any way, what's your favorite picture/favorite line/favorite etc. from something you created this year? honestly? it’s still this drawing of adam. i just think he’s so cute lmao

what’s something you’re currently obsessed with? currently obsessed with little ceramic trinkets! i’ve followed so many cute ceramicists recently and i am so inspired! i want to get back into ceramics!

what’s a hidden talent of yours? if you give me a blank map of the world i can fill in all of the country names. or i used to be able, idk i might be rusty now

what's something you wish to have at this moment? a job ig :/

i’ll just tag a few mutuals but no pressure :p @carcrashgf @ronanessy @cavalierappreciator @nightwashh @onlybluetalk @robobee @thedreamthieves @pinterestinfluencer

[rotg-goc-headcanons]

Hello! I've been in and out of the fandom since the movie came out and I wanted to ask, is the shipping of Seraphina and North fanon or implied or what? I was just interested, thanks!

Maybe it's just because I'm great at ignoring romantic subtext or it could be the few years it's been since a proper reread, but I have never seen them together in canon. I'm preeeeeeetty sure it's a fanship, but. I am due for a reread.

[tacozrg00d]

😖forever ago I was really into a webtoon called UnOrdinary and now I'm rereading it

Except now I'm reading it with BNHA logic- And their abilities are going to so much waste

Like- John was weak, got strong, became a jerk, got suspended, learned to fear himself so he wouldn't be a jerk anymore, got pushed around and broke AGAIN

and now he's throwing a tantrum essentially

But his ability could do so much help-!

He could copy someone's ability and have a stronger version, and show them how to get stronger-!

But instead he rather be at the top or at the bottom

Uh

Hierarchy wise-

This is probably why I stopped reading it-1 low key hate John as a character

Arlo had his Bakugou Apology moment but John is to busy being Middle School Bakugou with a touch of Villain Deku-

Also-like- I understand WHY John is being the way he is sorta- but mannnn he’s just kinda stupid- he doesn’t wanna be who he used to be, knows he doesn’t want Seraphina to see him that way, yet walks around being his old self but with a mask- what??

[unordinary-diary]

Blyke and John: Parallel Characters

I’ve written multiple entries about this,

[x] [x] [x]

But I’m back to make a comprehensive analysis about the glaring similarities between these two. I’ll try not to repeat myself here.

‼️SPOILER WARNING for the whole series‼️ but this mostly focuses on the story before John’s suspension.

Firstly, this scene:

ch. 121

This conversation takes place near the beginning of the Joker arc. It’s after John targets Zeke, after he targets Juni, and the day before he goes after Seraphina’s kidnappers. The timing is important.

“If someone hit your best friend, would you let it slide?”

That question is supposed to remind us what John does to people who hurt Seraphina: hunting them down and sending them to the hospital. Blyke shooting a destructive beam really close to John was an example of a trait they share: they both blow up violently when people mistreat their friends.

John’s downward spiral carries strong themes of hypocrisy. He’s angry at the world, he’s angry at himself, and as a coping mechanism, he chooses to believe that everyone else is as bad as he is. That means that most of the traits he hates others for are the same things he hates about himself. In this scene, Blyke is unintentionally calling out this hypocrisy: “What I did is no different from what you do”.

But Blyke’s just trying to connect with John here, he has no idea what John’s been doing. And John, of course, doesn’t give a shit about what Blyke has to say. This line was here for the audience to notice.

They’re both so similar, but their similarity immediately causes tension between them because, well, John was on the wrong end of Blyke’s protectiveness.

I really love the way this was written— there are so many flashbacks to this scene, but they remember it differently. John remembers the part that hurt him— he’d describe it as “the time that jackass shot a beam at me”. Blyke remembers the part that hurt him, or rather, hurt Remi: “the time that jackass hit Remi for no reason”.

Blyke and John are both hotheaded characters with strong ideals. They’re similar enough that Seraphina points it out:

(ch. 80)

As Blyke grows as a character, he becomes more like John: sticking up for low tiers and speaking out against the injustice in the world. But while Blyke is doing that more, John is going in the opposite direction, until they are fully opposed to each other.

Speaking of Blyke’s character arc, it took me a few rereads to actually understand what part of him changed. His kindness, selflessness, bravery— all of those things were there from the start. Blyke’s character arc was about becoming more aware of his surroundings, and how his carelessness can harm others. Blyke was never malicious, but after X-Rei and integrating more with the school, he becomes aware of people suffering around him and how he unintentionally contributes to it. He becomes less reckless, privy to the flaws in the system he grew up not questioning, and uses his power more responsibly. He even comes up with a more controlled way to wield his ability. The part of Blyke that changes is his maturity.

Part of John’s character arc is also about being careful. It’s not as close of a parallel as other things are, but one of the things that John works on during his redemption arc is holding back. Both of them learn self-control throughout the series, and for John, that means acting early before his emotions spiral out of hand.

Adding onto my first point about the two of them wanting to protect their friends— the fact that they can’t do that makes them both angry and desperate. For most of the story, the “block” that prevents John from protecting Seraphina is in his head. It’s his own trauma that holds him back. The block that prevents Blyke from protecting his friends is, guess what? Also John’s trauma! Parallels abound.

Another thing I noticed in Episode 80 is this:

Notice that when Seraphina says “I’d take that over strength any day,” John is looking at the camera. He’s avoiding Sera’s gaze. Seraphina is saying she prefers honesty over strength. John is very strong, and very dishonest, but Seraphina thinks the opposite because John is so dishonest. John appears to be reflecting on this disconnect.

In relation to this analysis, Seraphina is actually pointing out a major difference between Blyke and John. Beyond that, she’s praising Blyke’s traits, (less strong but very open) above John’s traits, (strong as fuck but a liar with his pants on fire). Furthermore, John really cares what Seraphina thinks of him. Knowing that she would think less of him is the main reason why he spent so much time and effort preventing her from catching his lies.

This leads into my main point here: Blyke is the “goody-two-shoes” version of John. Or, more accurately, the person that John wants to be. Blyke has a clean track record and doesn’t really get into trouble. He is respected and left alone by the school without being hated and feared, he de-escalates conflicts without taking things too far, he doesn’t lose control, he’s someone Seraphina thinks highly of, hell, even his grades are better! Blyke represents everything that John wants to be, and the person that he could have been if he’d gone down a different path.

But, crucially, John is also what Blyke wants to be. Well, not wholly, but his ability? His strength? It’s one of the things John hates about himself, but Blyke wants that strength so desperately that he risks his life for it over and over again.

They’re both desperate to be like each other, even when they hate each other the most. Neither of them have any idea how alike they already are.

I don’t know what Season 3 holds in store for us, but I do hope that John realizes that Blyke embodies who he wants to be, because mutual jealousy would be a very interesting dynamic to explore in my opinion. I also hope that it ends up being something they can bond over, by helping each other accomplish their personal goals. (Blyke being another helper in John’s character arc, and John helping Blyke train.)

A side note: John beat up Blyke four separate times. That’s more than any other character, which is interesting because John’s main rival is supposed to be Arlo. For reference, John has beaten Arlo twice, three times if you count the time when Seraphina intervened, and he only beat him unconscious once. But John beat Blyke to the point of passing out all four times, the worst of which being a shot clean through his chest. (shoulder? Unclear. S1 finale).

It’s odd, isn’t it? Out of everyone, Blyke is the one who John physically hurt the most. John’s only grudge against him is an old memory from episode 33, of an event that didn’t actually harm him. John’s grudge against Arlo is much more serious and again— that’s his main rival. So why is it that he’s so much more violent towards Blyke?

The problem here is that I’ve been thinking about these fights as “John picking on Blyke”. And that’s… kind of true? But while Blyke didn’t start any of these fights, they were all consensual in a way. He didn’t seek to fight John, nor was he ever happy about fighting John, but he was always a willing participant.

(138, 153, 206, & 211)

In three out of these four fights, John didn’t even expect to be fighting Blyke going into it. This is significant because while Arlo is John’s main rival, John absolutely fills that role for Blyke. Blyke’s own agency is what leads to most of these events. The reason, narratively speaking, why they fight so much is not for John’s character, but for Blyke.

For John, his reason for fighting Blyke so much is not narrative but moreso symbolic. John is angry at everyone and everything, but ultimately the person he hates the most is himself. It’s only fitting that the character most like him would bear the brunt of his wrath.

As John is having his positive character arc (suspension and post-suspension), he is becoming more like Blyke, and the two of them reach a point where they’re even more similar than they were at the start of the series.

In the Rowden amusement park, John does start to realize how similar they are:

(249)

Additionally, I want to draw your attention to the parallels between this scene:

Blyke and John’s argument in chapter 249

(which the image limit won’t let me add, scroll until you see red hair.)

And this scene:

Argument in ch. 121 (it’s at the beginning)

Two sides of the same coin.

Furthermore, in the S2 finale, Blyke is shown being taken to Keon. There is an implication that by Season 3, Blyke and John will share Keon-related trauma as well. Despite my pessimistic predictions, I do hope that this is a similarity that can bring them together rather than tear them apart.

[slashthreat]

!!!!! seraphina!!!! oh my god I haven't read that book in forever but it was so good! you just unlocked a core memory fr

ITS ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF ALLLLLL TIME i think the worldbuilding of it is so so fucking cool, the key to good worldbuilding to me is something interesting that feels real and fleshed out and is also incorporated into to the plot and themes, not just as a backdrop and i think those books do it sooo well. i LOVED tess of the road too but i still havent gotten around to reading the sequel, i feel like i've forgotten too much about it and i think i want to reread it before i do. i'm also a little scared to read it bc i remember feeling like the emotional journey was pretty over and im hesitant to see where it goes bc i didnt think it needed a sequel even tho i knew it was always gonna have one

[saintevamp]

themes for this blog (just so yall are aware - boldened will be the ones more frequently done)

body horror, the act of doing rather than saying*, Blackness as the Other, the nonexistence of time, blasphemy (comparing seraphina to eve, references to the womb + (re)birth (not explicit pr*gnancy tho), the feminine body-subject**, [light] gore, religiosity, vampirism as intimacy / lust, sexual politics of meat***,

[pvrrhadve]

I trust ur taste in books, so can you recommend some? 🥺🥺🥺

yes absolutely!! this turned out obnoxiously long so i'm putting it under a read more

at this point you definitely all know about 2 of my favourite series, the queen's thief and the locked tomb

on the jellicoe road, also by melina marchetta. my fav ya contemporary, about a girl at a boarding school in the australian bush trying to figure out where she comes from, where she belongs and how to heal. marchetta's writing style can be a little difficult to get into for some people but she really really does it for me.

while tqt is my #1 favorite series, my 2nd favourite is melina marchetta's lumatere chronicles which is both kinda dark and full to the brim with love and hope and healing. some of my fav characters ever are in these books and the ending is so warm and radiant it straight up made me weep. some tw's that i go into here

the darkest part of the forest by holly black. ya fantasy. she wrote this specifically for girls who absolutely would've bargained years of their life away to the faerie king to become a monster-hunting knight when they were 11. black's magnum opus.

the girl who drank the moon by kelly barnhill. mg fantasy about a little girl who is accidentally given magical powers by a friendly bog witch. reads like a ghibli movie.

this is how you lose the time war by amal el-mohtar and max gladstone. a lyrical and devastatingly beautiful epistolary sci-fi wlw love story about 2 enemy time travellers.

abhorsen/old kingdom trilogy by garth nix. a ya fantasy classic about grief, duty, dead things and primordial cats and dogs. definitely holds up.

tess of the road by rachel hartman. ya fantasy. one of the best books i've read this year, had me completely emotionally invested by chapter 2. tess is SUCH a good character and her arc is so beautifully done. a companion novel/future series to hartman's seraphina duology but imo you don't need to read them first to enjoy this (you can ofc, but while the 1st (seraphina) is a really good scholarly fantasy about identity and also dragons, the 2nd (shadowscale) sadly didn't do much for me). tw for sexual assault (recounted as a memory, not graphic) and religious abuse.

the colours of madeleine by jaclyn moriarty. young ya/older mg contemporary portal fantasy. i picked these up on a whim a couple years ago and didn't expect much from them but was very pleasantly surprised by how fun and original they are. i reread them this summer and they're just as good the 2nd time around.

in other lands by sarah rees brennan. ya portal fantasy deconstruction. it's borderline satire and one of the funniest books i've ever read but it's also very sincere and intelligent in how it deals with its main character and his struggles.

middlegame by seanan mcguire. fantasy/sci-fi. honestly could not explain the plot of this book to you or why it's so good but there's psychically linked alchemically engineered twins who have various and sundry powers and i loved it.

sunshine by robin mckinley. paranormal urban fantasy. another book that i cant really explain but love anyway. i mean it's in the very general neighbourhood of "vampire romance" but like... weirder and frankly whatever you're expecting it to be it's probably not that.

keturah and lord death by martine leavitt. fairytale-like and haunting. every hades and persephone retelling wants what this book has.

the scorpio races by maggie stiefvater. her iconic standalone horsegirl fantasy <3 deeply atmospheric and about how being stuck on an unspecified celtic island in an unspecified but vaguely modern time could understandably be enough to drive you to fuck around with the local carnivorous water horses.

braiding sweetgrass by robin wall kimmerer. honestly if i could make everyone read just one book off this list it would be this one.

lab girl by hope jahren. beautifully written memoir about life, love and botany. one of my fav nonfiction books.