#but I think it’s interesting my recs skew older-

[silencedrowns]

Could you help me with sci-fi book (or other media!) recommendations for my wife? I don't read much in that genre so all I can do is recommend anime and some movies I watched with my dad. We're currently watching Gunbuster. She likes Howl's Moving Castle (the book), Ancient Magus Bride, Yu Yu Hakusho, Fruits Basket, and Matilda (the movie), if that helps with her taste. Thanks for any help you can offer!

OHOHO I’m assuming she actually likes Gunbuster?

General recs: I recommend The Murderbot Diaries to anyone vaguely interested in sci-fi (and no, it doesn’t actually have much if any murder!). Same for Becky Chambers’ Monk and Robot series. 11/10, made me weep in joy and also weep like I went to a particularly good therapy session. And I cannot mention sci-fi without saying everyone should read some Octavia Butler. I was getting burned out on the entire genre until she blew my mind back open with what it could be.

For even more specific recs… my own tastes are pretty damn different, as I tend to skew more to fantasy and horror (I am extremely a Locked Tomb enjoyer), but from what you say she likes, I think she needs a copy of Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson and also to check out Seanan McGuire (the Wayward Children, October Daye, and InCryptid series). Also maybe Legends and Lattes, Space Opera by Catherynne M Valente, and Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward series! And OH IF SHE LIKES HOWL BOOK THE AUTHOR WROTE SO MUCH MORE and all of it is good. I love DWJ I owe her my life. It’s all kids and YA and they’re older books so some things wouldn’t fly today but most of it holds up so well as an adult!

A bunch of books that I have been blown away by reading recently and want to share just in case: A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (difficult and dry but the slow burn is chef’s kiss), Leech by Hiron Ennis (this skews very horror), the Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal, Priory of the Orange Tree, the Daevabad series by S. A. Chakraborty, The Luminous Dead (also skews extremely horror, please check content warnings), absolutely anything else by Catherynne M Valente, some John Scalzi for light sci-fi fun reading, and the requisite “I know it’s older books but reading Ursula K LeGuin is life changing”. I have left out most of my incredibly dry political space opera favorites because that is an acquired taste as well as most of my epic fantasy series favorites that are shaped like bricks and can be used in a home invasion. Same for the purely horror books and stuff like The Goblin Emperor and its spinoffs (which are incredible but also very dry and very difficult and therefore difficult to recommend to anyone whose taste I don’t know well enough to know they’d enjoy it).

EDIT: WATCH GUNDAM 0079

[ilikereadingactually]

Picturebook roundup: January 2024

another picturebook roundup, more things that caught my eye on various end of year lists! nothing nicer than coming home after work and sitting in bed reading these while dinner is in the oven, it makes me feel like i have my life all worked out jkldfkljdf

A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to School by Davide Calì and Benjamin Chaud

this is an older one, which i didn't realize until i went to look for it on Bookshop.org and found that it's out of print. as i was reading it i remember thinking, is this a sequel to that one i used to sell at the bookstore that was very similar to this?? and it turns out this is a followup to a previous book, but also this is the book i was thinking of that i used to sell! anyway, i loved it all over again. as you might guess by the title, a child is giving the teacher excuses for being late to school, and the book examines each increasingly outlandish step on the adventure. very funny, charming art, every page turn is a fun surprise! and i always adore a picturebook that has a little twist at the end to tell you what you thought was going on isn't quite what was going on.

age rec: i'd put this in the 3-8 range i think! the sweet spot is that nebulous time when kids start to have an understanding of school, either from preschool or from other books or tv or older siblings, and also are still entertained by zany and impossible and surprising things. if they still laugh at the game where you give blatantly wrong answers to questions, i think this book would be a crackup. also great for adults who still laugh at that game (me)!

a bit i really liked: the expression on this blob's face is a big mood

more under the cut!

***

Bunny & Tree by Balint Zsako

i'm such a sucker for a nice long wordless picturebook! this one is really interesting, and the imagery is delightful. a rabbit and a tree become friends when the tree scares off a wolf, and through a number of exciting transformations, the tree helps the rabbit to find their lost family and in turn the rabbits help the tree settle in a new place and grow a little forest of saplings. it's a bit about individual friendship and a bit about community, and it's very lovely to look at, a kind of painterly art style that's a little abstract but detailed at the same time.

age rec: this skews a little older to me because it's quite long, but the story is itself pretty simple. maybe 4 or 5 on up to adults? it takes a little bit of focused interest to follow the story through to the end, but it's very lovely to look at along the way there.

a bit i really liked: the tree has "eyes" for most of the book and on the cover, but this was the first page of the story where you get to see them, and i found it really striking!!

***

Something, Someday by Amanda Gorman and Christian Robinson

what a lovely little book. this is the kind of thing you give to a kid whose parents are really invested in social change and making the world better, and i don't mean that in a twee way. through lovely and poetic (natch) prose and very sweet collage art (i adore Christian Robinson), a little boy cleans up a heap of trash outside his city apartment and plants a garden instead. what i really love about this is that the specific story is taking place totally in the art; the text is much more encompassing, about seeing something you think is wrong in the world, all the obstacles and ideas and sentiments that get in the way of changing it, the feelings of sadness but also helplessness and anger, and then finally the steps toward change, a bit at a time. this one got me, i cried a little.

age rec: i'd put the target somewhere between 2-5 for this one, though i think the top end of that could easily go older depending on the kid.

a bit i really liked: this is the page that made me weepy

***

If I Was a Horse by Sophie Blackall

i admit, i wanted to read this one specifically because i was a horse girl. not the kind who had a horse or anything, i took a few lessons but had to stop because it was too expensive, but i was absolutely one of those girls who pretended to be a horse a lot (Craig of the Creek really had my number). this book does what it says on the tin--taps right into that childhood desire and makes it happen in Sophie Blackall's signature art style. because of that art style, it felt a tiny bit restrained to me? stiff maybe? but it was very charming and made me laugh.

age rec: maybe 3-6 for this one, and could go older for horse-loving kids. the text is quite simple and the art follows it with fun and pretty straightforward representation, most of the delight is in seeing these what-ifs play out.

a bit i really liked: this was my favorite page, i want to be this horse

***

This Story is Not About a Kitten by Randall de Sève and Carson Ellis

with this author and illustrator team, i knew i would love this book! it's a story that builds on itself, like The Green Grass Grows All Around, about all the neighbors on a suburban street coming together to rescue a stray kitten. another one about community action, i guess i have a theme this month! anyway, the building text is fantastic, and all the people in the art are so different and specific! i want to be their neighbor! and most importantly, the kitten is very, very cute.

age rec: this one feels like it has range to me, maybe 3-7 and also grownups, because i think it has some layers! the basic story is simple and repeats, great for little kids, and the art really adds depth and gives a lot of details to pick out and notice.

a bit i really liked: surprise, this one also made me cry! this wasn't the first page that did it, but it encapsulates the message so nicely

***

My Strange Shrinking Parents by Zeno Sworder

what a beautiful book. the art is absolutely stunning, on the realistic side and really beautiful and soft, and the story really went places i wasn't expecting! as the child telling the story grows up, his parents keep giving of themselves--literally, trading inches of their height for a birthday cake, for school tuition and books, for whatever he needs. by the time their son is grown they've shrunk to Borrowers size, so he builds them a dollhouse and makes furniture to fill it. i found it striking that this allegorical experience, explicitly an immigrant story but definitely more widely relatable too, isn't portrayed as particularly good or bad. it's allowed to just exist as a story. the systemic racism that makes life hard for these immigrant parents is there, very subtly, because this story wouldn't exist in the same way without that--but the story is really about the parents' love for their son, and his love for them, and the lives they all build for each other as best they can. the text and the art both have a beautiful circularity that really makes this one stand out to me.

age rec: there are a lot of quiet layers to this book! i'd put the sweet spot in the 5-8 range, but i think it can resonate at different levels all the way up to adults.

a bit i really liked: i'm obsessed with miniatures, so this page really made me happy

[birb-tangleblog]

Do you have any fic recs for brotherhood content?

Ok so! I feel like there's a decent amount of fics that include the Brotherhood out there, but full disclosure- I'm honestly pretty picky. So I can try! Just know that this list won't be exhaustive- and reflective of my prefs! Here we go:

on broken ribs and brethren traitors - One of my favs focusing on the relationship between Hector and Adira, and the aftermath of the Great Tree falling. Emotional beats, conflict, and catharsis I wish we’d gotten in the series. I think this is one of the few fics that captures the deep familiarity and shared history that exists between these two, and the bond that endures despite their ideological differences. Shades of angst and hurt/comfort, but with enough resolution and reconciliation to end on a hopeful note.

So Pardon the Dust & words cannot say (what I want them to say) - So both of these are actually Eugene’s POV, but touch on his relationships w/ the individual members of the Brotherhood- which is smth I hadn’t realized I wanted before, but now feel like we totally missed out on. Works that focus on the ‘negative space’ between characters are fascinating to me, and both of these accomplish that as post-humous character studies of King Edmund. Very bittersweet.  

Idt this one has a title? but it’s another one by Kingrey, and its adorable. Quirin’s relationships over the years, told through pie. Short and sweet.

Roots & its sequel, Uprooted - I feel like it’s cheating to feature these, b/c I commissioned them and had some input so... ofc they appeal to me lmao, but LEGIT they are both so good. Canon-divergent AU where Hector takes Var under his wing, and a mentor/mentee bond develops between them- but done with fidelity to Hector’s character, and the abrasiveness and hard edges that make him so interesting. An elegant take on ‘Uncle’ Hector thanks to Hic’s writing, thoughtfulness, and character voice.

Looking Through a Window & its sequel, Happy Endings Exist Only in Fairytales - Ok, this one is an OG villain!Quirin fic, from 2018, with the first one being written before S2 even premiered-  this author was a VISIONARY. I know some fans might not like fic that's been jossed or made outdated by canon, and this was published before Hector appeared and when moonsonas were just a wish- but I think it holds up really well and is still intriguing. An emotional, believable, and more subdued take on Quirin turning against the crown.

brilliant d’os - A sweet missing scene set immediately after the finale, with Var doting on his dad, Hector, and Adira. Quite fluffy, it’s literally them getting pampered and taken care of, but there’s a core to it. The descriptions of breakfast in this one remind me of an old Redwall book and make me hungry...

torche à flamme noire - Same author! Less fluffy, more angsty- of the Var and Hector variety. Grittier, but there’s a touching ending and some softness to it. Slight canon-divergent AU, set during and after the finale

everything stays (but nothing's quite the same) - Technically Quirin and Varian-focused, the other Brotherhood members don’t make an appearance- but I’m including it, because it’s nice to see a character study on Quirin as a father, with him as the POV character, and how he’s processing the events of S3. Canon-compliant. I like that this one has Quirin actively striving to become a better parent and learning to be emotionally available and present for his son.

It Wasn’t Just a Dream - LEILEEEEEIIII! I almost just linked her entire Ao3 lmao, b/c she deserves a shoutout for writing so many diff takes on these 3- but I really like the ideas in this one in particular, and the mindtrap being given a lot of gravity, recovery not happening overnight, and the exp having long-term effects on H + A’s lives. Angsty, but it’s still optimistic and healing. Somft... (also note her account features some Bhood ships.)

the outsider perspective - Another oldie, from just after the S2 premiere. A short character piece that still captures Adira’s quirks and personality nicely, and holds up well.

Memories of the Brotherhood - flashbacks mixed with scenes set in the present- glimpses of their history and conflicts, with an undercurrent of eeriness. Always cool to see formats like this.

I think there are also some good fics out there that feature parts of the trio in smaller roles or as solidly-written background/supporting characters! But I’m not including those b/c I wouldn’t quite class them as “Brotherhood” content, where they’re the focus.

I tried to think back on what I’ve read, but hopefully I didn’t miss anything obvious!

[unsettledink]

An interesting thread on comments and comment culture passed by on my dash, and for some reason it hooked me in. As usual, I started off wanting to say one thing and next thing I know, I'm 4k in with thoughts that everyone wants to hear. Right?

I left most of it on the post, talking about how comments used to be conversations, and how it never feels like people address the vulnerability of leaving a comment when they try and encourage more feedback.

I don't have answers. It's a cultural shift and how do things end up shifting again? Something big like a new platform or a radical change will probably have to appear before things go in a different direction, whatever it may be.

So no, I don't have an answer. I can say what helps me out, personally, when trying to remember why I want to go through the work of leaving a comment:

I write. I know from the other side what comments feel like. I remind myself of the excitement of seeing a notification pop up. (Obviously if you don't write, this doesn't help that much lol.)

Whatever I fear them judging me for, I can almost guarantee someone else has already judged me for something much worse. I mean, come on. I know the sort of things I write or rec.

I've done it enough I have a template in my head of how to write a comment. There are a few resources for that floating around that are good for getting started. Practice makes perfect.

Applying techniques from therapy. I'm not great at it, or have really internalized it, but at least aware that my fears are being egged on by anxiety, by past bad experiences, by the special hell of rejection sensitive dysphoria.

Easier said than done, especially on certain days, but just... running out of fucks to give. Like, oh my god self, so what if some author thinks I was too enthusiastic about their fic? What does it matter? They're just another random person on the internet, what are they going to do? Laugh at me? Then they're the one being a jackass, AND they don't get any more comments. Whatever.

And on that last one, if it's feeling impossible, like it'll never happen... holy shit this is going to sound condescending, but give it some time. Me from 10 years ago would have laughed at the idea of not caring what someone else thought. At some point, without me really noticing, I just could not care what some rando on the internet thought. It wasn't an active 'no I'm not going to care', it was 'wow I cannot find the energy to give a shit about you'. (But I can still find it to be mad when someone is Wrong on the Internet, so.)

I bring that up because every time I find out someone's age lately, I'm like, Jesus Christ. I forget how young fandom - esp tumblr - skews. Cause of course, I'm still young! It's not like I'm old, it's just that everyone is... younger... than... me. Wait. But for real, being in your late teens SUCKS. (Maybe you're lucky and they don't, but I doubt.) Being in your early 20's somehow sucks even more??? Being in your 20's period sucks. You couldn't pay me to be 20-anything again.

(Thinking of all the fandom people on here 20, 30 years older than me being like lol, you're still so freaking young :D )

Every comment I get these days I hoard like a dragon, and anytime I'm feeling crappy about writing or about some new thing being a bomb, I pull those suckers out and reread them for ages. I've got a whole doc just of tumblr comments, cause there's no other good way to find them again. if I'm really desperate, I go poke to see if there's any new bookmarks on my fic, in case they dropped a tag or put in a collection of favs or left a note of some sort (ya'll know authors can see those right?).

And I'd say I'm a pretty confident writer. I know I write a lot of niche stuff in tiny fandoms, so comparatively, I probably get a lot of comments. I have a moderately high opinion of my writing skills, so I'm mostly not sitting there going 'oh god I'm the worst writer ever', whereas I know that's the case for a LOT of fic writers. I'm mostly just sitting there like 'why didn't it hit the spot? why won't anyone say anything? I am so desperate to talk shop please anyone give me an excuse!!'.

So just... yeah. Throw an emoji at me. Throw a gif at me. Throw a novel that takes six comment boxes at me. Throw the exact same comment at fifteen different chapters/fics. I love it all.

(And hey. If you just lurk and read, it's okay. I get it. I still love you too.)

[snarktheater]

Hey, d'you have any French book recs? I'm trying to work on my French, and rn I have downloaded one of my favourite book series' French translations, but I figured maybe books already written in French might work better? Also have you read the Ranger's Apprentice series? 1/2

RA's def flawed - the books' narration does like to point bright arrows at the protagonists' intelligence, and the last few books def have the tone of 'old white man trying to write feminism', although at least he's trying? - and it's aimed more to the younger side of YA, but it is still a very fun series, and I can ignore the flaws fairly easily, at least partly due to nostalgia? This rather long lol but I'm wordy.

I'll start with the second question: no, although every time the series is brought up I have to check the French title and go "oh, right, I've seen these books in stores". But I've never purchased or read them. It sounds like something I probably would have enjoyed as a teen but I just missed the mark, and these days I'm trying to drown myself in queer books, so that probably isn't happening.

As for your first question, geez, I haven’t read a French book in years, so this is gonna skew middle grade/YA, though that may not be so bad if the point is to learn the language. I will also say that as a result, these may read a little outdated.

I'll put it under a cut, even if Tumblr has become really bad with correctly displaying read mores. Sorry, mobile crowd.

It's also likely that old readers of the blog will have seen me talk about most of these. I don't feel like going through old posts.

One last thing: while I was curating this list I took the time to make a Goodreads shelf to keep track of those.

The Ewilan books by Pierre Bottero

(It's a testament to how long ago I read these books that these are not the covers of the edition I own, and I can't even find those on Google. I'm settling for a more recent cover anyway since it'll make it easier to find them, presumably)

There are at least three trilogies (that I know of) set in the same world.

The first trilogy is essentially an isekai (so, French girl lands in parallel fantasy world by accident) with elements of chosen one trope, though I find the execution makes it worth the while anyway.

The second trilogy is a direct sequel, so same protagonist but new threat, and the world gets expanded.

The third one is centered around a supporting characters from the previous books, and the first couple of books in it are more her backstory than a continuation, though the third one concludes both that trilogy and advances the story of the other books as well.

Notably these books have a really fun magic system where the characters "draw" things into existence. It's just stuck with me for some reason.

A bunch of stuff by Erik L'Homme

I have read a lot of this man's books, starting with Le Livre des Etoiles.

They also skew towards the young end of YA, arguably middle grade, I never bothered to figure out where to draw the line. They're coincidentally also using the premise of a parallel world to our own (and yes, connected to France again, the French are just as susceptible of writing about their homeland), but interestingly are set from the point of view of characters native to the parallel world.

It also has a very unique magic system, this one based on a mix of a runic alphabet and sort-of poetry. I'll also say specifically for these books that the characters stuck with me way more than others on this list, which is worth mentioning.

This trilogy is my favorite by Erik L'Homme, but I'll also mention Les Maîtres des brisants, which is a fantasy space opera with a pirate steampunk(?) vibe. I think it's steampunk. I could be mistaken. But it's in that vein. It's also middle grade, in my opinion not as good, but it could just be that it came out when I was older.

Another one is Phaenomen, which was a deliberate attempt at skewing older (though still YA). This one is set in our (then-)modern world and centers a group of teens who happen to have supernatural powers. I guess the best way to describe it is a superhero thriller? If you take "superhero" in the sense of "people with individualized powers", since they don't really do a lot of heroing.

...I really need to brush up on genre terminology, don't I.

The Ji series by Pierre Grimbert

This one is actually adult fantasy, though it definitely falls under "probably outdated". It is very straight, for starters, and I'd have to give it another read to give a more critical reading of how it handles race (it attempts to do it, and is well meaning, but I'm not sure it survives the test of time & scrutiny, basically).

If I haven't lost you already, the premise is this: a few generations ago, a weird man named Nol gathered emissaries from each nation of the world and took them to a trip to the titular Ji island. Nobody knows what went down here, but now in the present day, someone is trying to kill off all descendants from those emissaries, who are as a result forced to team up and figure out what's going on.

I'm not going to spoil past that, though I will say it has (surprise) a really unique magic system! I guess you can start to piece together what my younger self was interested in. Which, admittedly, I still am.

Once again, this one also has a strong cast of characters, helped by rich world building and the premise forcing the characters to come from many different cultures (though, again, I can't vouch for the handling of race because it's been too long).

The first series is complete by itself, though it has two sequel series as well, each focusing on the next generation in these families. Because yes, of course they all pair up and have kids. Like I said: very straight.

A whole lot of books by Jean-Louis Fetjaine

OFetjaine is a historian, and I guess he's really interested in Arthurian mythos especially, because he loves it so much he's written two separate high fantasy retellings of them! I'm not criticizing, mind you, we all need a hobby.

The former, the Elves trilogy (pictures above) is very traditional high fantasy. Elves, dwarves, orcs, a world which is definitely fictionalized with a pan-Celtic vibe to it. The holy grail and excalibur are around, but they're relics possessed by the elves and dwarves with very different powers than usual. Et cetera.

Fetjaine also really loves his elves (as the titles might imply), and while they're not exactly Tolkien elves, there's a similar vibe to them. If you like Tolkien and his elf boner, you'll probably like this too. And conversely, if that turns you off, these books probably also won't work for you.

This series also has a prequel trilogy, centered around the backstory of one of the main characters. I...honestly don't remember too much about it, but I liked it, so, there you go, I guess.

I said Fetjaine did it twice. The other series is the Merlin duology, which, as the title implies, is a retelling of Merlin's story. Note that Merlin is also in the other trilogy, but it's a different Merlin; like I said, completely different continuities and stories.

This one is historical fantasy, so it's set in actual Great Britain, and Fetjaine attempts to connect Arthur to a "real" historical figure...but, you know, Merlin is also half-elf and elves totally exist in Brocéliande, so, you know. History.

Okay, that's probably enough fantasy, let me give some classics too.

L'Arbre des possibles et autres histoires - Bernard Werber

Bernard Werber is a pretty seminal author of French sci-fi and I should probably be embarrassed that the only book of his that I read was for school, but, it is a really good one, so I'll include it anyway.

It's a novella collection, and when I say "sci-fi" I want to make it clear that it's very old school science fiction. It's more Frankenstein or Black Mirror than Star Trek, what we in French call the anticipation genre of science fiction: you take one piece of technology or cultural norm and project it into the future.

It has a pretty wide range of topics and tones, so it's bound to have some better than others. My personal faves were Du pain et des jeux, where football (non-American) has evolved into basically a wargame, and Tel maître, tel lion, where any animal is considered acceptable as a pet, no matter how absurd it is to keep as a pet. They're both on a comedic end, but there's more heartfelt stuff too.

L'Ecume des Jours - Boris Vian

(no cover because I can't find the one I have, and the ones I find are ugly)

This book is surrealist. Like, literally a part of the surrealist movement. It features things such as a lilypad growing inside a woman's lungs (and, as you well know, lilypads double in size every day, wink wink), the protagonist's apartment becoming larger and smaller to go with his mood and current financial situation, and more that I can't even recall at the moment because remembering this book is like trying to remember having an aneurysm.

It is also really, really fun and touching. Oh, and it has a pretty solid movie adaptation, starring Audrey Tautou, who I think an international audience would probably recognize from Amelie or the Da Vinci Code movie.

I don't really know what else to say. It's a really cool read!

Le Roi se meurt - Eugène Ionesco

Ionesco is somewhat famous worldwide so I wasn't even sure to include him here. He's a playwright who wrote in the "Theater of the Absurd" movement, and this play is part of that.

The premise of this play is that the King (of an unnamed land) is dying, and the land is dying with him. I don't really know what else to say. It's theater of the absurd. It kind of has to be experienced (the published version works fine, btw, no need to track down an actual performance, in my humble opinion).

The Plague - Albert Camus

You've probably heard of this one, and if you haven't, let me tell you about a guy called Carlos Maza

I'm honestly more including this book out of a sense of duty. The other three are books I genuinely liked and happen to be classics. This book was an awful read. But, um. It's kind of relevant now in a way it wasn't (or didn't feel, anyway) back in 2008 or 2009, when I read it. And I don't just mean because of our own plague, since Camus's plague is pretty famously an allegory for fascism, which my teenage self sneered at, and my adult self really regrets every feeling that way.

Okay, finally, some more lighthearted stuff, we gotta talk about the Belgian and French art of bande dessinée. How is it different from comic books or manga? Functionally, it isn't. It really comes down more to what gets published in the Belgian-French industry compared to the American comics industry, which is dominated by superheroes, or the Japanese manga industry, which, while I'm less familiar with it, I know has some big genre trends as well that are completely separate.

The Lanfeust series - Arleston and Tarquin

This is a YA mega-series, and I can't recommend all of it because I've lost track of the franchise's growth. Also note that I say "YA", but in this case it means something very different from an American understanding of YA. These books are pretty full of sex.

No, when I say YA I mean it has that level of maturity, for better or worse. The original series (Lanfeust de Troy) is high fantasy in a world where everyone has an individual magical ability but two characters find out they're gifted with an absolute power to make anything happen, and while it gets dark at times, it's still very lighthearted throughout, and the humor is...well, I think it's best described as teen boy humor. And it has a tendency to objectify its female characters, as you'll quickly parse out from the one cover I used here or if you browse more covers.

But still, it holds a special place in my heart, I guess. And on my shelves.

The sequel series, Lanfeust des Etoiles, turns it into a space opera, and goes a little overboard with the pop culture reference at times, though overall still maintains that balance of serious/at times dark story and lighthearted comedy.

After that the franchise is utter chaos to me, and I've lost track. I know there was another sequel series, which I dropped partway through, and a spinoff that retold part of the original series from the PoV of the main love interest (in the period of time she spent away from the main group). There was a comedy spin-off about the troll species unique to this world, a prequel series, probably more I don't even know exist.

Les Démons d'Alexia

Something I can probably be a little less ashamed of including here.

Some backstory here. The Editions Dupuis are a giant of the Belgian bande dessinée industry, and for many, many years I was subscribed to their weekly magazine. That magazine was (mostly) made up of excerpts from the various books that the éditions were publishing at the time; those that were made of comic strips would usually get a couple pages of individual scripts, while the ongoing narratives got cut into episodes that were a few pages long (out of a typical 48 page count for a single BD album). Among those were this series.

For the first few volumes, I wasn't super into this series, probably because I was a little too young and smack dab in the middle of my "trying to be one of the boys" phase. But around book 3 I got really invested, to the point where I own the second half of the series because I had canceled by subscription by then but still wanted to know more.

Alexia is an exorcist with unusual talents, but little control, who's introduced to a group that specializes in researching paranormal phenomena, solving cases that involve the paranormal, that kinda stuff.

As a result of the premise, the series has a pretty slow start since it has to build up mystery around the source of Alexia's powers, but once it gets going and we get to what is essentially the series' main conflict, it gets really interesting.

Plus, witches. I'm a simple gay who likes strong protagonists and witches.

Murena

There was a point where my mtyhology nerdery led me to look for more stuff about the historical cultures that created them, and so I'd be super into stuff set in ancient Rome (I'd say "or Greece or Egypt" but let's face it, it was almost always Rome).

Murena is a series set just before the start of Emperor Nero's rule. You know, the one who was emperor when Rome burned, and according to urban legend either caused the fire or played the fiddle while it did (note: "fiddle" is a very English saying, it's usually the lyre in other languages). He probably didn't, it probably was propaganda, but he was a) a Roman Emperor, none of whom were particularly stellar guys and b) mean to Christians, who eventually got to rewrite history. So he's got a bad rep.

The series goes for a very historical take on events, albeit fictionalized (the protagonist and main PoV, the titular Lucius Murena, is himself fictional) and attempts to humanize the people involved in those events. Each book also includes some of the sources used to justify how events and characters are depicted, which is a nice touch.

It's also divided in subseries called "cycles" (books 1-4, 5-8 and the ongoing one starts at 9). I stopped after 9, though I think it's mostly a case of not going to bookstores often anymore. Plus it took four years between 9 and 10, and again between 10 and 11. But the first eight books made for a pretty solid story that honestly felt somewhat concluded as is, so it's a good place to start.

[gizkasparadise]

kdrama rec/review: bridal mask

KDRAMA AND CDRAMA MASTER LIST OF REVIEWS

Series: bridal mask / gaksital Episodes: 28 Genres: historical, action, drama, romance, tragedy, people screaming each others’ names in all capital letters 2006 anime style Spoilers in the Rec: im going to try to avoid them. im really, really going to try. but no guarantees If You Like, You’ll Like: zorro, robin hood, v for vendetta, chicago typewriter, vigilante shit, kate beaton comics on My Nemesis, mr sunshine, watching people become progressively unhinged, bad guys that become good guys, good guys that become bad guys, Parallel Narratives, cat and mouse games but they’re both cats, 2010 hair in a 1930s world, people in a room together internally thinking does he know that i know that he knows?

Rank: 9.5/10

GAKSITALLLLLLLLLLLLLL PREMISE

set during the japanese occupation of korea in the 1930s, bridal mask centers on lee kangto, an absolute shit weasel. like. good god, what an asshole. anyways.

kangto is a korean police officer who is employed by the japanese--meaning he’s essentially a rat/turncoat to his own people and supporting their colonization and abuse of power. it’s especially fucked up because kangto’s older brother was tortured so much by japanese police officers that he’s essentially lost his mind. people hate kangto. straight up hate him. 

as a lieutenant in the imperial police, kangto’s been working to catch members of the korean resistance movement, but left and right he’s been thwarted by...

THE BRIDAL MASK (gaksital in korean)

a mysterious figure who wears a mask resembling a korean bride’s traditional makeup. bridal mask is essentially zorro, fucking up shit left and right and generally making kangto lose his shit. he makes it his goal to be the one to apprehend and arrest this mysterious figure. seems straightforward, but as kangto’s search for the bridal mask continues, and the people around him are drawn into the hunt, it’s clear that shit’s not what it seems.

MAIN CHARACTERS

lee kangto/sato hiroshi/lee young

a korean man who works for the japanese as a police officer. 0% approval rating from the koreans and maybe a 5% approval rating from the japanese. kangto’s initial goals for joining the police force were to help his family get out of poverty, but his morality’s been cha-cha sliding progressively darker the longer he works for the police force. he becomes obsessed with catching the bridal mask and everyone would like him to really quit being an asshole but he will not.

catch phrase is bingo! takes over the nightclub stage when he’s feeling swaggy. would shoot the love interest. shoots pretty much anyone wearing a mask, really, then yells about it

oh mok dan / mild spoiler: esther / spoiler: boon yi

a patriotic korean woman associated with the independence army, mok dan commits acts of subterfuge and gathers intel against the japanese forces. her day job is a performer at a circus, where she lives and hides out from japanese officials whenever shit goes awry. when lee kangto sees her getting saved by bridal mask, he assumes she’s the bridal mask’s lover and therefore intends to use mok dan as The Bait. mild spoilers it turns out she was once childhood friends with lee kangto’s best friend, kimura shunji 

wears many amazing suits. has no problem with spitting or shooting. fears no boxes. can take a punch or 5. basically my dream girl it’s fine

kimura shunji

a japanese man and kangto’s best friend. coming from a family of influential, imperialist asshole samurai cops, shunji is the black sheep as he works as a music teacher for korean children, and is generally against the corruption and abuse of power when he sees it. basically the only one kangto’s never a straight up asshole to, including his family. the two practice what appears to be kendo together (i know jack shit about martial arts), and shunji’s a capable fighter. my default is to assume shunji is everyone’s favorite character, because he is my favorite character :’D, but if not i think he’s definitely the most compelling in the series.

wears bowties when he wants to dress to impress. rides bicycles both happily and tragically. has a thing for a childhood friend who saved his nanny. will give you a ride home after you’ve been tortured. save this man from his family. 

ueno rie/ra ra/ spoiler: chae hong joo

a korean woman from a rich family that was murdered by the independence army who later became a gisaeng. as a gisaeng, she crosses paths with a very important japanese man who later adopts her into his family. because the japanese police keep fucking up the apprehension of bridal mask, her adoptive father calls her to korea from japan in order to kill the vigilante

stealth fave?! will step all over you and makes grown men cry. hyper competent and hardcore. bridal mask’s best dressed (try again with the bow ties next year, shunji). men are weak

the bridal mask GAKSITAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the mysterious figure either ruining or making everyone’s day. dramatic horse escapes. dramatic rescues. generally just drama. symbolically destroys japanese flags/insignia a lot. GAKSITAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SOME SUPPORT CHARACTERS SELECTED BY HOW MUCH THEY ARE MY FAVORITES 

mok damsari

mok dan’s father and a general in the independence army. v good at being rescued dramatically. knows how to make an exit and also bombs. dispenses life wisdom when he’s got free time in between rounds of being torture

lee kang san

kang to’s older brother, who joined the independence army and was tortured by the japanese police to the extent that he’s now lost his mind/severely mentally ill. dude just needs a hug or 20 and to never chase after a car ever, ever again because it makes me sad.

katsuyama jun

ueno rie’s bodyguard, which is amusing to me because she can clearly kill anyone she needs to, so it’s kind of like he’s a butler as well. stoic af, says maybe 20 lines in the entire series, but look, he’s cool

i dont like any of the japanese police officers because they’re dicks so they don’t get a feature :| 

Drawbacks

the production value is something you gotta settle into LOL. there’s the cheesy martial arts sound effects, sometimes it skews a little narmy, but once you get used to it and once the show gets progressively darker (and how) you adjust and then don’t notice it

my main #1 beef: mok dan starts to disappear in the last fourth of the series. like she’s still there, but she’s doing bullshit like making soup and just sitting at a table with nothing to say. as a character that’s so important in the first half, it’s severely disappointing the route that her narrative takes toward the end/she does become something of a satellite character even though i still love her

there are main character deaths--more than one. some people would say the ending is bittersweet but to me i think it’s straight-up sad (which is fine with me/appropriate for the story, i just know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea)

there’s torture and for the most part it’s shown / it’s not off-camera

shit gets dark. the first handful of eps might lull one into thinking is something like zorro or robin hood, but there’s a lot of fuckery and death by the time you get to the end

Reasons to Watch

i mean, it’s fun! which is a messed up thing to say about a dark show, but there’s a lot of twists and the show’s an extended game of cat-and-mouse that’s a good time because the audience knows certain things but the main characters don’t. the drama of it all!

Now That’s What I Call Character Arcs. kang to + shunji’s respective character arcs are amazing and are referred to as the best part of the show for a reason. you’ll hate and love them both throughout the series and it’s great. shunji was my favorite

i love both the female leads a lot. they’re totally different in personality and the sides that they’re on, but they’re both compelling and they have their own troubles and goals to work through 

one of the main characters looks around the chaos happening and decides to just fucking leave all these people behind forever lmao i love it

acting is great! some people knock on mok dan’s actress but i thought she was perfectly fine for the character 

i’ll admit, i’m into characters who become progressively unhinged and the actor who plays the character who does is so so A+

there’s romance but gd does it get dark sometimes. this is a plus or a minus depending on who you are lol

Final Thoughts.

[because-cur-non]

Okay I know this is not the point of this one ask I got but I wanted to address this part too and then it got massively long so I’m doing it separately. I’m not sure what the feeling is in fandom on this, but I do not think that (currently, in the United States) writing about same-sex relationships involving famous historical figures will keep you from being published. I really, really do not. US history tends to be more conservative than many other subfields (but then again the ask wasn’t necessarily implying US history only, I’m just assuming this is where interest is), but if you do a good job with your research and with how you situate the acts/behaviors/identifications then, no, I don’t think that will keep you from being published. I think it may make your work more interesting to different kinds of publishers. If this is more of an academic work then I’d expect it to be published by a university press that also does a lot of women’s/gender studies but I could also easily see it published from one of the more across the board big name academic publishers. If this is a popular history then I don’t know the publishers or what they are looking for as well, but I do know that sex sells (this is true with the academic ones too lol). Again, can you make your case and can you situate what you’re talking about? I know academic publishing better than popular publishing so to switch gears back to there for the rest of this, people want to know how you are advancing the field and the discussion. It would not be something absolutely radical much less something that would get you blacklisted to bring in gender theory or to talk about other previously overlooked significant relationships. These are things that (again if done well) might actually get you more attention in a positive way. I’m saying this because I know and can sympathize with the feeling of “stodgy old white men are writing these books and are overlooking all the Truth because they’re too closed minded” and yes the field still skews white and male especially once you get more and more into the research side of things, but there has been a lot more nuanced handling of gender and sexuality in the last few decades. This varies by subfield. US history like I said tends to be more conservative, as does political history. (This is a tangent for another day but you can possibly already guess one big reason why and it involves funding.) If you’re looking for your more engaged works on sex and gender in the early American Republic, I can promise that they’re coming and if you have access look in academic journals because that’s where they’ll appear first. Instead of looking under “history” try looking under “gender” or “sexuality” (“masculinity studies,” “queer studies,” etc) because this is the sort of thing that might get published technically under another hat. Also this is not me saying that there are worlds of writings out there already—again, this is not my speciality and don’t ask me for detailed recs—but guaranteed there’s stuff being tossed around. What’s currently published may be piecemeal. I highly doubt that reflects censorship so much as simply the lack of time. It is not unusual for a book project to take a decade or more. Older and more established scholars may have already had their own interests (and were trained to use different tools and to look for different things) and so this may have been waiting for someone new—who would need something novel to research and write about anyway. That’s not to say that I’d necessarily place my money on a full-length academic monolith on Hamilton and Laurens that argues that they were romantically or sexually involved. I wouldn’t be too surprised at this point but I’m personally not sure there’s enough archival material to make that a viable project (for an article, sure, not convinced about a book, especially one that I’m assuming is coming out of a PhD dissertation or at least is by a younger scholar). What I would more expect would be to see them used as a case study for a chapter or one that’s reoccurring throughout a book on same-sex relationships during the period more broadly. (I wouldn’t be surprised if something like this didn’t already exist in some form.) Anyway. My 2c. There’s been some pretty dang not heteronormative stuff published for decades now, so it can be done. It just takes a while for academia to really catch up so that sort of thing isn’t cutting edge anymore.