#how are we feeling about the new scholar? ✨

[dearlawdimasimp]

OMGGGGG

AHHHHHHHHHHH

So, if ever Marc and the Reader visits mountains here in Luzon (context, most of our mountains here are named after the main deity/mysterious woman who lives in them) to hike, ya think Marc will go like this:

Marc: hey looks theres a lady we should ask them for directions

Y/N: (knows the myth) yeah no better be careful.

Also, Khonshu and our moon deity (Mayari) interactions. Khonshu will be like “bitch are you even a deity, youre mortal” and Mayari is like “dude i lost an eye fighting my brother and you come here at a new moon” (yknow, since Khonshu appears in the series when the moon is bright and Mayari is strongest at the new moon)

Again, sorry for clogging up your inbox,

-marites anon

MARITES PLS STOP APOLOGIZING FOR CLOGGING UP MY INBOX i smile every time i see asks sent through my inbox🥺💞💞

ALSO YES OH MY GHAHAHAHHA I hc reader as a fricken ✨scholar✨ with the myths bc they got curious and started to delve deeper into each of the region's myths. Ynaguinid is their fact checker HAHHAHAHA Reader would not hesitate to chat with deities tho and it would look like they're just catching up:

After reader's convo w/ the deity:

Marc: *smiles at the lady then immediately goes to your side as you two continue your hike* was that the chieftain of the mountain or something?

Reader: Nope, that was a goddess.

Marc: say what now?😃

~~

YES I AGREE Mayari would NOT hesitate to throw hands with a deity who's a foreigner no less JAJJSJSSJSH BUT BUT i also feel like Mayari and Khonshu would gossip and talk shit about their relatives once they stop getting at each others throats

Khonshu: geez, your brother was an asshole..at least he apologized tho

Mayari: yeah..how could your family kick you out for caring for the humans? what a dick move if i say so myself.

Khonshu: SEE YOU GET IT!!

[thinking-bubbles]

Review: Fox Demon Cultivation Novel

Just completed this novel and wanted to record my honest opinion about it. Disclaimer: I apologise if my review comes off as scathing. I am by no means some super critical reader and I read with my brain mostly switched off so I can’t do intricate analyses of characterisation or themes like some of the prolific reviewers/writers here but I could offer a snapshot of this novel and give interested folks a glimpse into how it may fare for an ordinary and casual reader like me.

This is a pretty good read that's not too long.

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

✨ What's great about it ✨

Main CP and side CP(s) are cute af

ML is not annoying at all. He's a little cold at the start but becomes super sweet.

The r/s development is really *chef's kiss* 😌✨ I especially loved seeing how Song Ci realised how much he loves Rong Bai and once he acknowledged and accepted that fact, he just went all out LOL

However, sad to say, the novel did have many flaws.

😞 What I was disappointed about 😞

Most female characters were demonised and made into villains: Qingyuan, Situ Zhoulan, Madam Liang, Tu Shan Lian, Madam Feng, that girl Song Ci was engaged to... maybe a few more whom I don't remember at the moment. Rong Bai's mom was the only one who was spared, but even she was revealed to have made concessions to the Tu Shan family that possibly were at Rong Bai's expense.

Plot development was lacking. The author did not flesh out some key points. This would not have required delving deep into the lore/world-building but I think it would've been nice to fill some crucial gaps: think Yan Song, Lou Muge, Ning Shaosi, Yan Bei, Wen Chan and even Rong Bai himself. What's Lou Muge's role in all of this conflict? Where do Yan Bei and Wen Chan stand in the entire story? Why were these two characters intertwined in Song Ci's life? What was Yan Song's goal in offering Song Ci the demonic fruit? What exactly happened in those years after Rong Bai lost Song Ci? How did he come to commit the massacre that allowed him to rise to the top as Demon King? There were simply too many loose ends that the author did not tie up even by the end of the novel.

Villains were mostly one-dimensional—not all of them got equal treatment. A few of them had a whole arc behind them, the rest showed up, died and disappeared or did not have their motives explained.

Nice ensemble of side characters, but they were underdeveloped. This point links to the one above on plot.

The time-space reversal array was a convenient plot device that ended up creating a 'loop'. In FDCM, Song Ci went back to 'save' Rong Bai by altering the course of history, but this does not create an alternate timeline. Instead, we learn that the very reason why Rong Bai left the clan behind and scattered his soul was because of Song Ci's existence during that period of time. Maybe other readers are satisfied with the way time travel was used in this novel, but I found myself very unconvinced. BUT, I must say that that particular arc was exceptionally sweet! I had a blast seeing Song Ci enjoying his life as Rong Bai's new 'demon pet' and his determination to level up in spite of his fear of death.

Overall, this novel started off strong, but started showing its shortcomings towards the latter half. I understand that this book is part of a wider universe and there seems to be a prequel/sequel to it, but I feel that it was a waste the author did not manage to expand on pivotal parts of the novel.

Nonetheless, I did have some arcs I really enjoyed: special shout-out to the Mo Yao Sect arc. I adore Fu Chi x Dai Yanxing and their entire backstory; the development and bittersweet ending just takes the cake. What to do, I just love my romance with some angst LMAO

I would recommend this to those who don't mind the recurring issues with plot and characters. In spite of all its flaws, I enjoyed reading this novel. If you want a cute and sweet read, pick this up! I'm sure you'll love all the CPs!!! 💗

[circa-specturgia]

Happy world-building Wednesday!! In your first WIP intro, you describe your setting as a "high fantasy world with some magic realism set in the 1500-1700s!" Can you tell me a little bit about that? How does that particular time period inspire your story? What made you choose that particular era? Anything else particularly notable about the setting you'd like to share?

Happy WBW (no it’s not Thursday not at all), and thank you very much for this ask @jess-p-edits! ✨

Let’s maybe start with that first question and I’ll sprinkle in a bit of the others in there to give a bit of an idea!

Why that time period?

So, the short/simple answer: I love sci- fi too damn much.

The long and more detailed answer…? Well, several factors go into it.

Firstly, we have lots of published fantasy stories in media that happen in the mediaeval era, and I just don’t feel like writing anything like that. So, reason one is preference.

Secondly, the timeframe from the 1500’s to the 1700’s is quite a wide and varied timeframe (in our history) and so it’s a good basis for inspiration for the setting of my own WIP, Istra (I finally named it). From the Renaissance in the 16th century, to the Scentific Revolution in the 17th, to the start of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th, it’s a period with a very rapid and expansive evolution of the world in many fields.

Basing off of this and using it as inspiration, the current timeframe in Istra is equivalent in level of advancement to our history’s 16th-18th centuries!

Not only does this mean that I have the opportunity to describe the changes occurring in society in real time, over the course of the story, and add a lot more life to the setting, it gives me a lot more freedom in the fact that it wouldn’t be impossible for a new theory to be published or for a new invention to be invented from day to day! Simply put, reason 2 is that the timeframe is one which I like.

Thirdly: I hope to have the cast travel the whole world, across oceans and desserts and mountains and every corner, and so, considering the above reason: The further the timeframe is to the future, the more advanced and faster methods of transport will exists. People always, ALWAYS want to get from A to B as quickly and efficiently as possible so those technologies will always be improving so long as a destination exists.

Having the time frame set at the cusp of an industrial revolution, or rathe the equivalent so in reality there already exist several mechanisms in Istra, allows for me to come up with ways to let the characters travel and see more, like the Atzwerter and Aurecim engines, rather than just making them hop on a horse cart or travel with a caravan, as some travel just wouldn’t allow for these methods, ie through mountains. So, reason three? Travel is easier.

Fourth. Like I said in my simple reason, I love sci-fi too damn much. Using a timeframe post- a scientific revolution and in an age of easier travel means that scholars can go to new places, that engineers and mechanics and designers can meet each other better, and so sparking new ideas, pushing the world forward towards a technological revolution as well, as a result of the combining of great ideas.

A world where engineering, design, and technology allow for more precise manufacture and creating of things let’s me far more seamlessly add in complex machinery that would kinda belong in sci-fi but I want to include here, without having to shake the “hard-magic-system” vibe that it’s got! Ie, I can include stuff like Tams guns, or the engines, or other pieces of technology that would require precision to be made, without them feeling out of place. Reason quatro: Tech can be more seamlessly introduced if I feel like its cool and want it in the story.

How does that particular time period inspire your story? What made you choose that particular era?

I may have gone over some of the reasons as to why I chose that specific timeframe from the point of view of why I chose to write it; why I decided that it would be the era that I’d want to write, however I could give some reasons as to why it’s the era that I chose with the story in mind, and not just my creative freedom!

As mentioned above, the three centuries of human history hold three very important events that rocketed our society and culture forward, in comparison to the three before which had been stagnant, to oversimplify. The equivalent time frame in my setting allows me to explore a world that’s rapidly changing, where new cultural and social movements rise up or fall, it gives the world a very living breathing feeling, which matches my ideas for it which I described in an earlier post about the tone and aesthetic of my WIP!

It’s an era of history in which society as a whole evolved and grew and changed, and that sort of atmosphere is very much what I want to show in my setting, with the characters traveling to new places and seeing how the world shifts over the years. It’s something which just works.

Anything else particularly notable about the setting?

One thing that I want to try and add is the two very differing forces of the world, showing both countries and societies and their evolution, as well as nature and the past, the long forgotten times, so not only will there be plenty of travel between countries of differing cultures but also diving into the parts of the world forgotten by time!

I’m actually working on nailing down the history of the world right now! ✨

Hope this answered your questions! ✨ Thank you again so much for the ask, writing this out gave me a few ideas!