#aranict rambles

[aranict]

On a (very) personal set of news, I'm getting married next month :) And yes I am pretty excited about my wedding gown, thanks for asking xD

*sprinkles everyone with glittery fairy dust and leaves*

[aranict]

Tagged by the lovely @lanistas ! 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

3 ships:

That was hard, honestly. I had to include some from games because tbh, some of my absolute faves are there :)

Aleksander / Alina , a.k.a the flagship. you will pry this pairing out of my cold dead hands, etc, etc, Shadow And Bone trilogy

Anders/ Hawke ( it will remain forever my absolute favourite game ship, the narrative possibilities for this one!), Dragon Age 2

Dimitri/ Byleth from the Fire Emblem Three Houses series. Seriously, yeah, ok, I know that the romance is only a small part of the story in FE3H, but again, the narrative possibilities of this one are just so so so good.

Bonus: I will include Davron/ Keris from Havenstar, because, for me, even though it does not come as fully fleshed out as a modern enemies-to-lovers novel, for a book written 35 years ago, man does it set the bar HIGH.

First Ship: Hmm. I suppose the first one I got really crazy with and read tons of fanfics about was Aragon and Arwen from LoTR. I believe I was around 12? 13? at the time?

Last Song: I have been listening to this arrangement of the Castlevania ost quite a lot

Last Movie: Dune Part 2

Currently Reading: Finishing up The Near Witch

Craving: as of the moment, tbh, i am kinda craving a cheesecake :D

tagging the usual suspects of @mightymizora, @dreamingangelwolf, @lehdenlaulu <3

[aranict]

15, 25 and 28 for the fun questions please? :D

Oooh thanks love! :D

15. what do you think of when you hear the word "home"?

Hmmmm. I guess the first thing that comes to mind is 'safe space'. As in, somewhere cozy, where you can be yourself, be as much of an idiot as you can and still have fun without judgement, enjoy the quietness. I am a very private person, so for me "home" is definitely where I feel I can be myself, ramble about my stupid books, spend hours with my stupid games, and just chill with the people I love :)

I guess this comes a little from the fact that I grew up with a somewhat conservative setting, where I was heavily criticised for my interests ( 'why are you reading those stupid books?') , or for my lifestyle ( 'get away of that computer screen, hang out with some people', 'stop wearing all black', etc). So even if it sounds a little stupid now, growing up, I think that this was my main drive for getting a space of my own and just do my thing. Its funny how those things stick, you know?

25. fave season and why?

Ok, I think this is definitely Spring. I love the rebirth of nature after the long winter, the trees sprouting new leaves, the flowers blooming in the sunshine. I love how it is warm enough to be pleasant and enjoy both the day and nights outside, but without the scorching summers of our climate :) ( who loves 38oc? no one, I guess.) One of my favourite things is walking outside , when the sweet smell of citrus flowers or lilacs from the streets fills the air.

So yeah, Spring. Funny enough, my birthday is also in late spring, so I guess it fits? 🤣🤣🤣🤣

You can guess which my favourite myth in the greek pantheon is , lol.

28. do you collect anything?

Funny enough, no. I've never been into collections of any kind. I guess this comes for the fact that I'm not overly attached to anything in order to dedicate enough time and resources to collect it? I still buy things that I like, ie collectibles from fandoms ( cups, tshirts, fandom candles and the like). So I guess this is as far as I can get. :D

Thanks for tagging me!! <3

[aranict]

38. Fave song at the moment.

a bonus for @dreamingangelwolf :D

Alight, this is quite hard. At the moment i'm into my instrumental / classical phase ( who would have thought), which kinda ties in with the fact that I've been slowly picking up piano again. I wish my hobbies took less painful practice time lol

Ok, so three of my current loves are :

The snowstorm waltz by Sviridov. This is a piano adaptation on how it sounds like on piano and I dare say I don't know which I like more. I've always been fan of the Russian school, but unlike good old Rach, those pieces I can play without 2 months of study ;')

This haunting piece out of The Piano OST by Nyman

This Edge of Dawn/ Seasons of Warfare adaptation ( listen to ALL her adaptations of Fire Emblem, I beg of you).

This Final Map adaptation of Fire Emblem Echoes. Seriously. It gives me goosebumps.

This adaptation of Thousand Tables from FF XVI

[aranict]

Tagged by @lanistas ! Thank you love 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

rules: color the sentence that's true about you

i’m over 5'5 / i wear glasses or contacts / i have blonde hair / i often wear sweatshirts / i prefer loose clothing over tight clothes / i have one or two piercings / i have at least one tattoo / i have blue eyes / i have dyed or highlighted my hair / i have or have had braces / i have freckles / i paint my nails / i typically wear makeup / i don’t often smile / resting bitch face / i play sports / i play an instrument / i know more than one language / i can cook or bake / i like writing / i like to read / i can multitask / i’ve never dated anyone / i have a best friend i’ve known for over five years / i am an only child

Tagging @mightymizora @dreamingangelwolf @lehdenlaulu @toffyandsalt

[aranict]

60k words milestone, my beloved, I say as I stare clueless at what started from an one-shot of Aleksander and Alina sharing a dance into an AU fix it fic where I pretend to know how to write a novel length narrative

#the woes of an aspiring fanfic writer

[aranict]

Im very tempted to make a masterlist post of my favourite novels , because browsing through my goodread lists i've realized i've a lot of fantasy, a lot of not so good fantasy, but it turns out that my absolute favourites are on the relatively less known side :)

Its also quite funny that my feel good genres are either romance or grimdark/ low fantasy novels , whereas I cant stand high fantasy if you paid me to

[aranict]

Sunday morning mood : awaken at dawn by little black furry daemon who then proceeds to fall asleep immediately, while you are left scribling notes for your fanfic at 6am 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

This is my 5 to 9 before my 9 to 5 folks 🤣

[aranict]

When its saturday night and only 22:30 and you are sleepy as fuck because your cat woke you up at 06:00 to get his treat 🫠

#catMomProblems

[aranict]

Book asks! 9, 12, and 19 please :D

OOooh that was a hard one!

Wall of text incoming :D

9.if u were stuck on an island and could only have three books w u what would they be? (series would be counted as one cuz as i said so)

The Coldfire trilogy by C.S Friedman

Havenstar by Glenda Larke

Deathless by Catherynne Valente

Those books mean a lot to me, to be fair they are the only books I went back to  re-read right after I finished them. Each one has a different appeal, either due to its story, or its characters. 

Coldfire is a masterpiece of how to write a dark fantasy tale with The Most Memorable Villain (™) in the genre, whose moral decline goes far more than the lust for power; Tarrant is an once hailed saviour, a killer, a martyr, a master of demonic forces and unimaginable powers, who yet manages to have such a strong presence in the world, that even the main hero - Damien, the equivalent of the upright cleric of light - is drawn to. Damien’s own change of beliefs and attitude to him towards the series is beautifully executed and more importantly, believable ; in the end of the series, they are both changed, moved by their respective rigid values and beliefs, into camaraderie and understanding. Even if the book shows its age sometimes- its 34 years old by now -  its flaws can be overlooked in favour of the fantastic worldbuilding and the memorable main characters.

Havenstar is perhaps the most underrated standalone novel I have ever read. Again , published in the early 90s and relatively unknown, it has one of the most original concepts regarding the impact of magic and such forces - magic is chaotic, unpredictable, and seemingly controlled by demons, having disastrous effects when used without care.  The land itself is changed, where magic is present in abundance, with magic users being hunted as servants of the dark. People rely on mapmakers who can see and chart the ever changing landscape to travel  - people like the main protagonist, who takes it upon her to pick up her father’s work in mapping out the unstable wild lands. Keris is forced in one such journey to work with a man who is bound to the dark - Davron, a magic user, who represents the evil she has been taught to hate all her life. Only things are not what they seem, and Keris comes to understand that what she has been shown about magic is not quite true, and to see the plight of a persecuted people first hand, which helps here to grow out of her taught prejudices and narrow mindedness of the society she has been brought up in. Keris and Davron’s gradual transition from hate to understanding and eventually, to something more, is a masterfully told enemies-to-lovers story, which again, puts newer works on the genre to shame. I could go on and on about this book, but I would rather you just read it instead :)

Deathless is… I don’t really know what to say about this book, it walks the fine line between genre fiction and literary fiction, the prose is a work of art in itself, a lyrical, dark fairytale inspired by the Russian folklore of the Tsar of Life and Death. I do not think that I have read a love story more profound, more memorable, than that of Marya and Koschei; their love is something terrible to behold, bound to surpass the bounds of life and death. A fairytale told in the age where magic dies, the a dark , twisted story with the backdrop of the political turmoil and wars of the 20th century. It just something that you have to read :)  

“I do not tolerate a world emptied of you.” :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

12.a book/book series u wish u could read for the first time ever again?

I think that I would want to re-read the Malazan Book Of the Fallen series again, and re-live all the beautiful, tragic, heart-wrenching moments of this epic like the first time. It’s the pinnacle of epic fantasy for me, the kind that you cannot really describe in a short summary. It has the right amount of action, character development, insane lore and magic - think D&D but in a more mature setting. Gods walk the earth, magic tears the realm and the sky, legions battle impossible odds…It’s military fantasy, at its best, with politics, power plays between gods and mortals and flawed, tragic characters. Add to that the masterful writing of Steven Erikson, who writes a D&D fantasy like it's a Greek tragedy, and come on, what’s not to like?

Provided, they are difficult books. There is a lot of philosophy and symbolism thrown in and the prose is quite heavy, but… it’s beautiful :)

19.a book u came across randomly but ended up loving it?

Ok, a really random read that I actually enjoyed quite a lot was Anthony Ryan’s  A Pilgrimage of Swords. Although I’ve read quite a lot of Ryan’s works, I found this novella by chance while browsing books on the kobo store. It is not a full length novel but it’s exceptionally good, reads a lot like a D&D party adventure , a party of people thrown together on a quest. However, this is Ryan we’re talking about, so the worldbuilding is terrific, and the main character , the Pilgrim,  is just a chef’s kiss kind of morally grey character, who is equal parts intimidating, sarcastic, utterly likeable.  :) 

Thanks for tagging me!!!

[aranict]

what have i gotten myself into 🫣 🫣 🫣 😬😬😬

I guess that, uh, act 4 is ...done, and still have ...3 to go?

a ficlet i said, just to try my hand at writing. 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

[aranict]

Was going through my GR lists today , and kept having random thoughts about the Magister Trilogy, about how what could have been a triple-a fantasy series manages to fall short, unexpectedly, due to having a totally disinteresting main heroine.

It's weird how CS Friedman manages to create a world with a tremendously interesting magic system - where, essentially, in order to use magic, one literally consumes human souls - and make a compelling commentary around the nature power, the impact of fanaticism and religion, the politics of a corrupted kingdom falling apart, and yet, fail at the simplest of things : have a main character that the readers can care about.

Kamala, even though she is presented as a woman who wants things, and will not stop at claiming her place in the world- and is never punished by the narrative for such a ''sin'', thank you Friedman - she ultimately comes of as... one sided and boring. It's a jarring contrast with the supplementary cast members, who outshine her in every regard, or even Colivar - who is an example of how to do the 'morally grey, powerful immortal caster and later LI ' trope right, thank you again Friedman. Don't get me wrong, I liked the trilogy enough, but if Kamala was written to be as charismatic as the supplementary cast, this could have elevated the series considerably, and stand to rival the success of the Coldfire Trilogy.

That being said, CS Friedman will remain one of my favourite writers and I am adamant that she has yet to write a bad book, but to be honest, i really expected more out of this one.

[aranict]

WIP game

Tagging myself because I can :P and stealing the idea from @mightymizora's lovely post :D

Rules: make a new post and share 1-2 sentences from your most recent unposted WIP(s) with zero context – Let your followers guess!

Aleksander leans on the railing, cape billowing against the sea wind. “When nothing remains of the past,” he says, “after the people are gone, kingdoms turned to dust, only memories remain. They will be all you will have left, amidst the ruins of all the rest.” He turns towards her, squinting against the hard sunlight. “You will look upon them, Alina, and after a time, you will learn to cherish them, even the painful ones; they will be all that you will have to remind you of yourself.” Alina reaches a hand to brush an errand strand from his eyes. She tastes salt in the breeze, the promise of summer. “Eternity must be a terrible burden, if you have to define yourself through the things that you have lost.” “It is,” he allows after a while. “Everything comes at a cost, Alina. Even our power.”

I shared more than 2 sentences, this is my blog, I do what I want, etc, etc. Also yay for posting stuff that has not been proofread, have mercy on the non-english speaker.

Tagging anyone of my lovelies who wants to do it :)

[aranict]

I have stumbled quite by accident by "The Near Witch" by V.E. Schwab, which interestingly enough is her first published novel ... and its just so good ?

It's a simple enough premise, a story set in a village near the dark moors , about a girl who listens to the wind, who has a life on his own... Its just so lyrical and beautiful, a dark fairytale. I think this will be a good portion of my weekend :)

[aranict]

A personal milestone for a change, because its one of those rare times i feel good about working on something new :

What started off as a little S&B drabble, is now at ~17k words and not even half finished :)

Whether I manage to finish it is irrelevant; for me, this milestone matters, because I never expected I would be able to write anything, let alone something that can go into a full chapter fic.

Its funny because all it actually takes, is passion: be it for your OTP ( ie Aleksander/ Alina in my case), a theme you really love, or a prompt that just clicks.

I guess all Im saying is, do whatever makes you happy folks and dont let insecurity over your skills intimidate you out of it :) :) :)