#i'm only just listening to the audiobook sorry about me

[number1wah]

ok so like, obviously Nina and Maggie are basically human versions on Crowley and Aziraphale right?? Right. And one wonderful example of that is when Crowley is about to lead everyone out of the bookshop, and Maggie (who has no idea what is going on but knows, knows, that whatever it is is dangerous), decides to stay. She wants to help. And she doesn't want Aziraphale to be on his own. Because she is brave. And because she stays, Nina (who was about to run away leave), also stays. (She's also just so curious about what's happening which is very familiar)

Aziraphale staying (to stop the apocalypse or in the book shop or on earth or in heaven) is him being brave. He's choosing to meet things head on. He's choosing to try and change the outcome. And because of that Crowley also stays.

But they're both idiots and Crowley doesn't understand that Aziraphale leaving for Heaven isn't actually him leaving it's Aziraphel choosing to stay and try and do good.

[thebibliosphere]

The second best thing about fourth wing is I suddenly feel like my own queer disabled genre novel (wip) is gonna be baller, actually. Imposter syndrome out the window.

The best thing about fourth wing is I have suddenly unlocked Power Of Listening To Audiobooks for the first time in my life. I suspect because only half the time my auditory processing crapping out is why I feel like I blacked out and lost the plot, the other half the time it's just the writing. (And I'm primarily spite motivated)

Thanks for triggering this happy afternoon of popcorn munching at this whole nonsense. Currently trying to wrangle a slowly flooding basement so it's the best day to suddenly have something slightly less infuriating to distract me while I can still do other stuff :)

Listen, if this can be an NY #1 bestseller, we all have nothing to worry about. Write that WIP.

And ooft, sorry about the basement. I hope it goes okay!

[bethanydelleman]

I'm listening to Emma as my falling-asleep audiobook right now and I'm thinking a lot about Harriet. The movie adaptations very often have her remaining friends with Emma after the end, but the book says their relationship sank into mere acquaintances after that. Is that a personality thing, do you think, or is it a class thing? And why the difference in the adaptations? I have my own thoughts but I'd like to hear yours.

It is definitely a class thing.

I think one of the reasons Emma can be unpalatable to modern audiences is because it ends with a restoration of a social order that we find repulsive today. How is it fair that Jane Fairfax, born as lower gentry, gets to marry into Enscombe but Harriet Smith, the natural daughter of a tradesman, 'deserves' only Robert Martin and is basically ejected from membership in Highbury's gentry class? And that's a good thing? The adaptations maintain the Emma and Harriet friendship because the way the book ends really appalls a lot of modern readers.

(Also, never really talking about the age difference between Emma and Knightley was a great choice in Emma 2020 because that is not people's favourite either.)

I think the most charitable way to look at it is that Harriet always wanted Robert Martin. She loved staying there over the summer, the family was extremely kind and loving towards her, and her status as a natural child would be largely ignored. Emma's interference gave her ideas above her station... ug, veering into territory I don't love again... but then again, could Harriet have ever succeeded at marrying into the gentry? Probably not on Emma's sponsorship.

There are only two characters that a member of the gentry tries to move from "middle class" (I know it's not really the middle class) to gentry, George Wickham and Harriet Smith. Both attempts are disasters. Captain Wentworth, Fanny/William Price, and Jane Fairfax are all born into the lower gentry and they climb higher, which seems to be fine. There are a bunch of characters who go from extremely wealthy trade to gentry, the Jennings (Mrs. Jennings, Lady Middleton, and Charlotte Palmer) and the Bingleys. They seem to be fine, Charles Bingley at least is portrayed positively.

I don't know what the message is there. The Gardiners are presented as gentleman-like but have no apparent intentions of jumping class. Does that make them good? As someone raised in Canada whose worldview is rooted in The American Dream Lite, it's hard for me to appreciate the upholding of a classist system. Jane Austen herself was clinging to gentry status by her fingernails, so why does she write a novel that glorifies almost everyone staying exactly where birth placed them? Jane Fairfax can improve herself and be worthy of a rich marriage but not Harriet? I guess Harriet never improves herself much though, but she hasn't had the same opportunities as Jane F...

But then the very next novel, Persuasion, seems very anti-classist!

Something about hubris...

I actually feel sorry for Emma at the end of the book. She got a husband, sure, but she loses a friend. She has Mrs. Weston still, but she'll be busy with her baby, she loses Harriet, Jane Fairfax is gone (again), and she's still stuck in Highbury, which has become worse because Mrs. Elton is there now. She just remains as much trapped and limited as she was before...

Anyway, that is my long and rambling answer. I'm not very happy with the ending of Emma. If someone who does like it wants to defend, you are more than welcome.

(I do think there might be something to like, this is how the class system could work well if everyone actually did their jobs. Knightley is the perfect, model landlord. Cares for the poor, lives at his estate, involved in running it etc. Emma does her duty to the poor, everyone seems to do well under their United management)

[tagedeszorns]

(Violetbirdie here) I think it's complicated due to a variety of issues. 40k as a franchise is huge, but it isn't the sort of thing that tends to have overlap with tumblr type fanspaces. It also doesn't help that 40k is a fractured fandom featuring tons of different factions, so it's not like a standard fandom where there are main characters and a main story that people will always flock to. The primarchs are the closest thing we have to that, which is why there is naturally more content for them. In addition, fandom itself is in a bit of a flux state and has been ever since the 2018 nsfw ban which caused a lot of people to leave for twitter, which is now undergoing its own huge changes right now (and I just hate twitter on principle).

I suppose the one thing I think would help, would be somehow getting the 40k tumblresque fandom space more consolidated as a whole. Like, somehow have a blog that is popular for all factions that posts headcanons about everything, thus getting people interested in parts they don't normally think about. Because 40k is a huge time investment to learn about. I've been listening to audiobooks for what feels like nonstop for over a month, and even then I could only ever feel confident telling people about Emperor's Children. So it naturally is harder for new people to get into the fandom and focus on some of the smaller things because there is just so much. It's almost how I view your blog. I check it daily for fun art/headcanons/just general character stuff, and you made me more interested in some of the captains and such. But even then, you have your focuses. So a space even more general where someone would reblog art from everything 40k would likely be nice? Maybe I just miss the livejournal days of fandom. As far as more engagement, I think having silly things like character weeks which encourages people to draw or write or talk about specific aspects is a huge benefit. It sets a schedule and makes people feel like they are shouting less into the void.

But as someone new here, maybe its my weird perspective, but I don't feel like things are getting less popular. If anything, from just checking AO3, it seems like things are only getting more popular for less of the reddit type and more for the Tumblr wanting to see hot dudes and their complicated feelings type. Also more people are getting into 40k in this side of the space through rogue trader. Like people I never talked to about 40k are starting to look into the series because they played Baldurs Gate 3, and needed a new RPG to play, and conveniently Rogue Trader is filling that for them. So, I'm optimistic if anything. Sorry about the long ramble! Just kinda dumping my thoughts out.

I love Tumblr because, unlike Twitter or Bluesky, it allows for way longer, way more elaborately structured posts. I love it when artists don't just slap their pics into a post and be done with it, but instead add stuff like maybe "I read this book, here's a quote, and it gave me this mighty need to draw this". Or "please listen to this music here while looking at my pic! It goes perfectly with it!". Or just a multi-paragraph-essay (preferably very unhinged) about the character in the upper left corner.

This in advance, so you can see I'm totally with you on the "miss Lifejournal"-thing, because blogs are so much better than just 500 characters, four pics and nothing else. And why I think Tumblr is a very good replacement for Lifejournal.

The multitude of Tumblr-blogs with their many different angles are such a treat and provide such a rich ecosystem! I follow artists posting exclusively admech-stuff, others solely Drukhari, some writers focussing on just one Astartes Legion ... it's phantastic and the depth of their niche-knowledge is mindblowing.

I agree with you that this will be overwhelming for new fans coming from rather monolithic stuff like Rogue Trader. And the key to keeping those new people involved and making them feel welcome is showing them all this variety without scaring them away.

Maybe this new feature Tumblr is working on, can be helpful here. I haven't read much about it yet, but it seems the "Community"-feature has the potential to bundle stuff in a way that's more approachable for new and old fans alike. Maybe there's room for your idea of having "character weeks" (I like that! Sounds very MacDonald's. I'll have Fabius with extra pickles, please! 😁).

I'm sharing your optimism that both the new games and maybe the new series/movies will bring a lot of new fans over and some of them may even stick around. I am a bit wary that there's the possibility of a MCU-situation starting to build up, but since Warhammer-lore is in a constant state of flux anyways this might just add some spice to the mix.

So, yeah, hope for the darkest of futures!

[hugs4lifesworld]

Never mind - Peter Parker x Stark! reader

Former relationship between peter and reader but it has been bad since Tony died. Reader is friends with Flash and met him before Peter from galas, charity things, and other events. In some ways he knows her better than anyone else. Very little of Peter.

"I can't believe you're really making me go." I grumble to Happy as he half drags, half guides me into the airport carrying my luggage given my refusal to even going on this trip. Happy having heard my complaints, bargaining, and weak threats the whole way continues to ignore me which he has done for the past half hour after simply arguing "Maybe this will be good for you." We make it to the large group of teenagers I call classmates where I am finally released only to be surrounded by my friends. As they chatter away I catch a glimpse of Happy speaking to the two teachers who are chaperoning before leaving. I roll my eyes and sit down beside Michelle knowing I won't get far if I even try to escape.

Before long the last member of the class comes and we go through to our gate. After that we board our plane. Out of habit I follow Flash to the first class area where we both have seats reserved, should we choose to use them. I laugh at him when the stewardess takes the drink from him when Michelle rats that he was blipped and therefore not 21. The two of us are instructed to sit with the rest of the class until after take off. We comply and I end up by Brad and Flash is a few rows back. In the seat across from me is Michelle with Betty beside her. The crew begins their safety demonstration and then we take off.

Flash and I decide to stay with the rest of the class for the time being and he sleeps while I continue the book I have been reading. Roughly half way into the flight I finish the book and am not tired. The cabin crew is also making rounds, checking on everyone so it would be pointless to even attempt to sleep. Looking around the cabin I catch Peter's eyes already looking at me, feelings I have been pushing down bubble and overwhelm me and I have to rip my eyes away. Sighing, I divert my gaze onto the screen in front of me so they don't gravitate back to Peter. 'Might as well' I think before grabbing the headphones and putting them on. I reach forward flicking on the screen and pushing the listening option. Scrolling through I find only audiobooks about The Avengers, some older books about Steve and one on the blip.

I simultaneously feel angry, annoyed, and get a lump in my throat and my eyes burn. Quickly switching to the in-flight movies I hope and pray that it's something different. I quickly find that they are different but this is worse, so much worse.

All I see are "documentaries" on my dad. My breath hitches and the more I scroll through the less I seem to be able to catch my breath. I am startled when I feel a hand on my arm and look to see it's Flash giving me a questioning look and I nod. I know he doesn't believe me but he, thankfully, lets it go for now. I switch the screen off, practically ripping the headphones off. Michelle looks over at me while Betty gasps "Y/n!" causing several members of our class including Brad, Ned, and Peter to look at me which I try my best to ignore.

Just then a stewardess walks by, "Excuse me." I say to the blonde woman who has an incredibly fake smile plastered on her face. I think I catch the end of an eye roll as she turns to me answering, "Yes, how can I help you?". "Do you happen to have any other movies?" I ask her hoping I don't have too much emotion in my voice. Because Ned, Flash, MJ, and Peter are all focused on me but I can tell I failed. "I'm afraid we don't, Miss. I'm sorry." she answers and goes to walk away "How about a book then?" I ask her. With a barely concealed sigh she answers "I'll check." and she leaves. She is back in a few minuets with 3 books. Glancing at the spines I read the titles. Once again they are about the Avengers and the blip, Steve, and my father. This time I don't bother to hide anything, with a heavy sigh and a seemingly exasperated tone I ask. "Do you have anything that's NOT about Tony Stark? A magazine, anything?" I stress. "No, Ma'-" I interrupt "Fine, a sleeping pill then?" I ask snapping at her trying to keep from crying. she scoffs and straitens wiping the fake grin from her plump red lips and narrowing her brown eyes at me. "What is your problem?" She questions me and I shoot back "I just don't want to read or listen to anything about Tony Stark!" I exclaim thankful the two teachers are sleeping and I easily ignore everyone else.

She gapes at me looking indignant "How dare you. Tony Stark was an amazing man who sacrificed everything." she practically yells at me. "Never mind." I huff out sitting back in my seat "I don't want to hear about it. Okay?" I tell her in a clipped tone.

"Tony Stark was the founder and leader of the Avengers! He housed S.H.E.I.L.D. He was an incredibly selfless man who died for the world." She raises her voice slightly becoming more frantic as she speaks. I only hold my tongue for a few moments before I burst. Jumping to my feet "Okay. First, he was not the founder of the Avengers. That was Nick Fury who came up with the original idea and Phil Coulson and Maria Hill helped execute said idea. Second, He was not the leader. Steve Rogers is," I pause "Was. Captain America was the leader. Tony did however pay for everything. Third, He never housed S.H.E.I.L.D, only gave former agents new jobs. Finally, He was an incredibly selfish man." I list off, finishing emotionally and scornfully before rushing away only barely taking notice of Flash angrily send her away to get the head steward and not come back.

Leaning on the sink I heave, trying to catch my breath and not let the sobs out but one escapes.

Then another...

And another.

Crap.

Next thing I know I'm in the hallway between coach and first class and Peter is kneeling in front of me telling me to breathe. The black at the edges of my vision slowly recedes and I can hear Flash shouting at who I assume is the head stewardess. I gather myself and push Peter away and stand. "I'm fine. You can go." I tell him making my way back to Flash and our seats to gather my things before he can say anything. "You and your staff should read the manifest." Flash states as I shoulder my bag. "I'm sorry, sir, but your friend was belligerent and Mr. Stark was a hero." She says trying to dismiss the issue. "If you had read the manifest you would have seen that Y/N Stark was on this flight. If anyone has the right to be selfish, it's her." He bites to her and snatches up his bag, I assume from the sound.

The last thing I hear before passing through the curtain to first class is "She is his daughter after all." and him stomping after me. Throwing ourselves in our new plush seats we sigh and Flash silently reaches over putting his hand on mine and we sit that way in silence for a while until he squeezes my hand. "What's going on in that head of yours?" He asks. My first response is a simple shrug but he gives me a look and I can't help sighing again, "I just still can't believe they made me come on this stupid trip." I tell him. "Maybe they thought it would be good for you." He tells me. "Yeah, right." I reply with a scoff.

"They get five years with him and I ... lost five. Sure, I'm not the only one in the world. No one else got blipped, came back, had to fight, and then watch their dad sacrifice himself." Feeling the tickle of the tears I angrily wipe my face and sniff before continuing, "Then I go home and find my dad married Pepper, which is great and I love her, she is the only mom I've ever known and on top of it I have a little sister." Flash just lets me rant. "Then, I have to go to work helping everyone else. I didn't even get to hug him or tell him I love him." I finally burst and Flash pulls me into a hug, holding me as I cry. Eventually succumbing to my emotions and exhaustion and falling asleep in one of my best friends arms.

A few hours later I'm lightly shaken awake by Flash so he can tell me we will be landing soon. I sit up staring at the floor before whispering "Thank you." to Flash who squeezes my shoulder as if to say "no problem" while holding out my make up bag out to me in the other. I raise an eyebrow at him and he simply said "Parker brought it.". I grab it with a huff and stand knowing I'm going to have to talk to him ... eventually. I make my way to the restroom I had previously tried to gain control in with a new determination but find the door locked. I stand and wait for only a few seconds before the door swings open to reveal Peter. Once he sees me his eyes widen and he slams the door. Okay I think and see Brad coming so I decide to try another restroom to fix my make up so when we land I will appear to be all together, just in case.

It only takes me about seven minuets to redo my makeup and make sure my hair is presentable. Once I finish that I go back to my seat, buckle my seat belt, and wait for the plane to land. "Your teachers want you to disembark the plane with the rest of your class." The head steward appears and instructs Flash and I and I simply roll my eyes while Flash gives a simple nod and she disappears.

"So, why are you pissed at Parker?" Flash asks as the plane slowly descends. "I'm not." I say. "That's bullshit and you know it." He shoots back. With a sigh I try again, "I'm not pissed at him. Why do you think that?". He gives me a look and answers "You two were good together. As much as I hate it. You were happy and now you'll barely even look at him." He points out. "We both have a lot of things to work out ... with my dad and stuff. You know the internship." I shrug. "So talk to him." "It's not that easy." I answer. He just looks at me as we land on the tarmac.

The plane finally comes to a stop and Flash and I join our class to disembark. Somehow I end up by Peter, MJ, Ned, and Betty. It is quickly revealed that Betty and Ned are dating. After a few awkward interactions between peter and I, the whole class exits the airport. With that our trip officially begins.

[thegrimreaperisanerd]

hi :) binge read your de fic that you have posted on ao3 last night and really enjoyed all of it! excited to see any updates. was wondering if you have any rec for other fic youve read and enjoyed-- i am not god's bravest soldier and do not enjoy trudging through tags and was wondering if you had read anything yourself that you really enjoyed lolol

Hey, thanks so much!!! Sorry it's taken a couple days to answer this, I'm poor as shit and have two jobs now wah... capitilism...

I'm working on the next 46' chapter, It's about 70% complete and I generally let it sit for an evening once it's done then re-read it the next day to catch the vast majority of mistakes (I edit everything myself) so I'd say expect that in the coming days.

I have some thoughts! I... Have never been asked for fic recs before so I'm gonna list a bunch in no particular order that I enjoyed, and reasons why. I will note that I tend to enjoy meaty plot-based works over fluff, so that's what I'll be recommending. Anyway!

Paddling Out (THE REPEATER CORPSE CONUNDRUM) - @transhitman - So this is the first DE fic I read and it set the bar pretty fucking high. YOU'VE GOT: a very cool and insular setting (don't get me wrong I like fics where they travel around Revachol too, but there's something to be said for building a set and living in it for a while) YOU'VE GOT: extremely harrowing tension and pale-fuckery YOU'VE GOT: some genuinely beautiful, heartfelt moments (I don't want to spoil anything but "people don't need your permission to care about you" kinda undid me) YOU'VE ALSO GOT: Amazing art?! Always a bonus, I wish I could draw people lol

Have You Heard The News That You're Dead? - Wizardlover - Time Loop shenanigans hell yeah! Basic premise: Kim is *unable* to save Harry's life after he's shot at the tribunal, each time he dies he Reawakens in Martinaise on the first day and desperately has to try and find a way to either prevent the Tribunal entirely, or survive it. I think the major draw to this one is how well it's characterised and how well that lends to the major source of tension: trying to convince THE WORLD'S BIGGEST SKEPTIC that you *a man he 'has only just met'* is actually stuck in a time loop. Juicy shit.

The Case Of The Man Who Two-Thirds Wasn't There - @glisteningceruleaneyes - We got another case fic here, gang. This is one of those "they travel around Revachol" numbers I previously mentioned. A lot to love about this fic; the minor OCs are all loveable (or at least well-written, looking at you Mr. Bigot-All-Rounder), the elements of writing in the game's style (particularly use of Harry's 'to do' list that you find in the ledger, you don't see that as often!) are all fantastic. Also without spoiling too much I'm a sucker for hurt/ comfort :) I like when bad things happen to our specialist guy :) ALSO! alternating chapters, Kim vs Harry's perspectives contrast REALLY well! Just a super enjoyable read. - On that note I also wanna include a special mention: there's a podfic for this one and since I mentioned my two jobs, I've been listening to audiobooks at work (I'm a cleaner. It's very boring) and that was a fun change of pace!

The Emergent Causeway - hal_incandenza - Now you KNOW this one is good because it's the only *unfinished* fic I'm recommending. Again, We've got art! We've got a brand new (non-Revachol!) setting that still feels excellently Elysium! We got that excellent balance of humour and misery from the get go! EXCELLENT murder mystery so far, I am intrigued AND also there's a fucking puppy. Hell yeah. This one's from Kim's perspective and does a really good job of it, nothing like a man being begrudgingly sent on holiday and being somewhat relieved to have a corpse to deal with.

A Spilled Kaleidoscope - @spilledkaleidoscope - I'm actually recommending a series here. Real definition of "came for the art, stayed for the writing" I mostly have a soft spot because I got to watch a few "haha, what if-?" musing text posts become a series of written chapters and INCREDIBLE DRAWINGS HOLY SHIT. Like, you really just draw hands for fun, huh? This person made a pact with some sort of devil beasts to draw hands very good, at the bare minimum we can read their fiction.

Nothing To Lose But Our Chains - Lepak - I almost forgot this one and I honestly can't believe it because this is one of these ones that you need a cigarette afterwards. Good fucking god. This is probably the best fic I've ever read in terms of not shying away from the heavy themes that make Disco Elysium such a beautiful, moving game. It tackles a racism in many forms, particularly how people like Kim (in working for the RCM) and immigration laws do their part in upholding racist systems, despite the way it hurts him too. Of course, it's also excellently written with tense scenes and some real funny moments. A real good'un here.

The Catacomb Killer - SupposedToBeWriting - Give Harry more memory loss. Make him convinced he killed a kid. Make *Kim* convinced he killed a kid... Then the plot thickens. I won't lie I can't remember fuck all about this one because I was mostly drunk when I read it, but if it was good enough that I kept reading instead of smoking a spliff or something then it must have been excellent... I will re-read it when I have the time, lmao.

MURDER ON THE AIRWAVES - @randomisedmongoose - I'm just a really big fan of murder mysteries and gore. You show me somebody with brain matter pouring from their earholes and I'm like "yum yum, more of that please." I am a sucker for curious methods of murder and this one's good for that. Lots of trekking back and forth like in the game again. More ACAB - always good.

I did not mean to include this many...........................

Oh well. Here's my list, there are plenty of others I've enjoyed but these are just the ones that came to mind! Thanks again for reading my fic! Always makes me happy when people let me know they enjoy my writing :3

[chen-chen-chen-again-chen]

Things about AWTWB that I forgot about or just noticed for the first time, upon a recent re-listen:

Lady Ruth as an unreliable narrator: “I’m not one to hold grudges” but next page “I would dance on his grave and throw a fiesta and then resurrect him so I could kill him again” (My poor paraphrase) 

Baz, about vampires: “They’re less like murderers - more like sexy bedbugs” 

Baz, about Petra and Sophie: “I thought twins were supposed to be best friends, but all they do is eat jam and butter sandwiches and throw things at each other" (Me, adding to my Jelly Babies notes folder: “Yup, that tracks”)  

Simon (about Baz): “I mean, have a look at him. He’s the most fuckable person alive. Or otherwise” (#facts)

Dev is a PITCH cousin, not a GRIMM fuck me why did I think he was a Grimm sljk;dskljdskjldsaljks

The door knocker for Salisbury House is shaped like a SMILING CYCLOPS (adding to my Rosethorn girl notes folder) 

Simon, to Baz: “I’m not letting you fuck with my face. Although I’m starting to get the feeling you really want to.” Oh-okay, horny boi 

Simon notes like three times in three pages that Smith Smith-Richards is fit like hmmmmmm-kay

Every time Smith Smith-Richards mentions Simon: "I'm not jealous okay I'm a little jealous how is he so hot" they're a li'l mutual admiration club

Simon, to Baz: “I can get one of those poles” (clothes racks) but because of Yuri on Ice!!, my brain went “pole-dancing Simon Snow??” 

Shepherd holds the secret key to being magic even when you don’t speak magic: “The world is magic, and I’m a part of the world.” 

THE GRIMM KIDS HAVE A DOG: “a Tibetan mastiff that they bought when they moved to Oxford.” (In my head canon this dog is named Amblewise, or another name from this list of medieval dog names, THANK YOU GOOD NIGHT)

I continue to have Complicated Feelings about Malcolm Grimm but he is So Soft for Daphne: “He treats her with as much polite tenderness as ever. He dotes on her, in his way. Caters to her every whim without making a show of it.” 

JAMIE knew about the Goats of Watford when none of the folks who actually went to Watford did, besides Niamh, like JKASDJKLDSAJKLSADKLJADSKLADSKLJADSKJL UNCLE JAMBY FOR THE WIN

Penelope Bunce is a Fucking Queen: “Being comforting isn’t one of my core competencies. Breaking people out of towers is.” 

Pippa Stainton is a Goddamn Empress: “I don’t forgive you. I never want to see you again. Tell Simon I say thank you.” 

Simon and Jamie get fucking KFC in a stolen van after the hullabaloo with Smith-Richards and if that’s not nephew-uncle bonding at its finest, I don’t what is 

Miss Christie, the school nurse, is the only person (I think) who basically says to Simon, “I’m sorry for your loss” instead of “The Mage was a flaming sack of shit” 

I’m not crazy… Penny really is a year younger than the rest of them (thought I was mixing this up with Hermione)

LUCY also started Watford a year early fsalkjsadsjlkfsdljkdfs (now I have to go back and fix my timelines for Rosethorn girl, FUCK) 

Just like Lady Ruth, Mitali hoped that Lucy would come out of hiding after the Mage died (just stab me harder in the heart, Rainbow)

I DO really want a fic of bisexual Martin Bunce making bread; I feel like our core competencies overlap in many ways

There are magical swans in Oxford. I bet they r gay

Simon cries when Baz plays the violin 

They're all good dogs, Bront. 16/10 will listen to this audiobook again for like..... the sixth time

[msmargaretmurry]

Get to know you game! Answer the questions and tag people you want to know better!

I was tagged by the lovely @irrelevanttous <3

Last song listened to: she's a lady by forever the sickest kids. my current daylist is "old school punk millennial monday evening" and i put it on while making dinner and this was the last song it spun up before i had to go to class. EXTREMELY silly song but very fun to bop to in the kitchen. transports me instantly to drinking in a parking lot in allentown pennsylvania in 2008.

Currently reading: i JUST finished empire of cotton: a global history by sven beckert, which was my big read for school this week… fascinating and deeply depressing book lmao. i am also in the middle of the audiobook of courtney milan's the duke who didn't; i am enjoying a lot of things about it and think it is a very good historical romance even though it has the same shortfalls for me that most romances have, even very good ones, which is not an issue with the book but just with romance as a genre being unable to do the things that makes me truly feral about a book. i am also one chapter into robin hobb's ship of magic as part of my big ongoing robin hobb reread (up until i hit the end of the tawny man trilogy, at which point i will be treading new robin hobb ground… excited 4 me)

Currently watching: i got a paramount+ account so we could watch the superbowl so i've been using my access to watch stuff on there before i cancel it in a month, lol. currently that means finally watching the last 5 seasons of criminal minds, which is a deeply stupid show that for some reason i love very much. due to my grad school agonies i can only watch things that makes my brain feel smooth, and criminal minds makes my brain feel VERY smooth. i have also been rewatching doctor who, but i got through the first four seasons which are the important seasons so i might quit that rewatch.

Currently obsessed with: my big robin hobb reread, haha. idk, i don't really have the brainpower to be obsessed with much outside of my classes right now; my free time and energy are SO limited 😭 i have a couple of my own fic ideas that i'm pretty obsessed with! but tragically haven't been able to do much with them besides rotate them in my mind and make notes in my notes app.

tagging: @bropunzeling @vivathewilddog @larsnicklas @warmupbrawl @plaintoast but only if you want to! also sorry if you already did it and i missed it, if that is the case then i blame the shambles that tumblr has my dashboard in 🥴

[cailynwrites]

Harry Potter Rec Fest Day 21 - Thought-provoking

@hprecfest - this prompt was itself very thought-provoking, it made me go back and think about the fics that made me close my Kindle and stare at a wall for a while. The fics I love best make me re-examine canon and rethink the things I knew about characters and situations, or even my own life.

The Audacity of Lavender Brown by @malpal132 Pairing: Lavender x Charlie Word count: 6,457 Rating: E

Canon did Lavender Brown dirty. I'm not sure who did her dirtier - JKR or the movies - but I really think she's unfortunately a one-dimensional plot device in a series of books already bereft of strong, admirable female characters. @malpal132 sets out to change this. This fic not only made me rethink Lavender in and out of canon, but female characters in general. Come for the feminism, stay for the sexy smut with Charlie Weasley.

Pop Up Pals by bambimoss Pairing: Draco x Harry Word count: 62,447 Rating: E

I love down-and-out Draco. I think it's a good impetus for a redemption arc and humanizes him for Harry and others who spent years villainizing him. This fic takes it to another level. I got literal stomach aches feeling so sorry and sad for Draco in this fic. As an introvert who doesn't love leaving the house but still experiences loneliness like all humans, I related to his "imaginary friends" and the embarrassment of having your lackluster (as judged by others) personal life outed. I don't want to spoil too much, because this fic is so small and heartbreaking and wonderful. You all need to experience it for yourselves.

************************************************************************

And finally, a couple of little self-recs ...

Keep Your Eyes on Me by @ahhhnorealnamesallowed - a Podfic (Spotify) Pairing: Draco x Harry Word count: 2,786 Length: 17:55 Rating: T

How Harry became a tattoo artist. The descriptions of art in this fic are so beautiful; I can picture them clearly. The writing is efficient and minimalist but evokes so much emotion. I love this alternate journey for Harry - a way for him to work through some of his trauma.

A Gift of True Esteem by @teledild0nix - a Podfic (Spotify) Pairing: Draco x Harry Word count: 53,965 Length: 5:37:00 Rating: E

This is a personal one. I recorded this for the wonderful @teledild0nix at the request of their partner for an anniversary gift. Of course, I said yes! It's a sweet and thought-provoking fic: Hogwarts professors Drarry, educational reform, werewolves, actual queer representation, adorable magical pets. For me, the educational reform was the thought-provoking part, and Liddy does a great job laying out some of the problems with Hogwarts curriculum and then trying to fix it. I so enjoyed recording it, and even moreso the thought of @teledild0nix listening to it.

Mini-soapbox rant to hopefully make my post meta-thought-provoking: Liddy's partner asked me, when recording this, if they could compensate me for my work. I do some paid audiobook work in my free time, but this is fanfic, and I would have done this for free just because it's such a sweet thing for someone to do for a loved one.

(Shouting into the void and very much not at @teledild0nix's lovely partner:) But also don't try to monetize fandom!!! We do this out of love for the fandom and to increase accessibility for those who might not always be able to read. It's fun, it brings people together, and no one should be making money off it! Let's just all scream on the internet about how great and fun it is, okay?

[scarletsaphire]

tell me about kit!

*cracks knuckles* You have fallen into my trap. Prepare to hear about the singular best character that has ever been created.

Kit Baxter, also known as the Flying Squirrel, is the sidekick to Canada's greatest superhero, the marvelous masked man known only as the Red Panda from the radio show Adventures of the Red Panda. She is also his chauffeur for his secret identity (which remains secret even to the listeners for most of the show.) One other important bit of context is that the show is set during the great depression in Toronto, Canada, so life kinda sucks ass a little bit.

Kit is a first generation Russian immigrant, her father ran a boxing ring and taught her to drive. She's quick witted and quick on her feet, can throw a mean right hook, and drives better than most other people in the city, which earned her a spot as a taxi driver. Panda ended up in her car in his Secret Identity, asked her to drive (recklessly) to a crime scene he wanted to stop, and she, obviously, refused. She wasn't going to be running around like an idiot for some rich asshole. Panda than waved some money in her face to try and get her to listen, and what did she do? She said no, because she isn't some trained dog that'll bark for some rich asshole the moment he gives her a bone. She'd rather go hungry tonight than do that kind of shit for him, and if he's gonna act like he doesn't even know what manners are, he can get the hell out of her cab. (Once he says sorry and asks nicely, than she puts the petal to the metal.)

She's also like. So smart and cool and good with people, she's a jokester and flirtatious (mostly with Panda because she likes flustering him, its really funny) but she's allowed to be all of those things without ever feeling like "Oh she's just there to be the attractive side kick." Kit is very much her own person, its just that she happens to like being a thorn in Panda's side and sometimes that means batting her eyelids (and climbing up walls in a skintight cat suit).

Kit became the Flying Squirrel after, and I quote "I figured out your secret identity and then blackmailed you into letting me play." She cares so, so deeply about the people of her city, especially the people on the streets she comes from because she did not grow up in a nice area of town, and she is constantly trying to fight for the most vulnerable parts of town, despite many of them looking down on her as a woman, especially a woman in her field. She never takes anyone's shit, either towards herself or anyone else, and she is always ready to throw hands with someone she thinks deserves it.

(I'm going to be getting into spoiler stuff underneath the cut. I am asking so very nicely for you to listen to the Adventures of the Red Panda. They're on spotify here ad free, and you can also find them on their website decoderringtheatre.com along with all of their other shows and their audiobooks. It truly is one of the most impressive, fun, and thrilling stories I have ever read, watched, or heard, and it is Criminally Underrated. If you think this is even like. A Tiny Bit Interesting, throw on the first episode, its only 20 minutes, see if you like it. If you don't mind spoilers, or ended up not liking it, keep going.)

Something that I really, really like about Kit is how she's handled later on in the story, once we get into WWII. Her and Panda get married, and she ends up pregnant right as he ends up MIA (presumed dead by most of the world) and she is left to try and defend all of Toronto largely by herself with a child on the way and Archangel, a nazi spy whose manipulating p much everything, bringing havoc upon her city.

It would be super easy to let her fade into the background during all of this. It would be so, so easy to write her off as so many different things do as a mother and a wife and leave her at that. But they don't. She steps up as the mastermind behind everything, pulling the strings of their connections they've forged over the years, continues to fight in her suit until she physically can't anymore, working as hard as she can in and out of costume to make sure that her city, because with Panda gone (not dead. She never believes he's dead for a second and has and will fight anyone who says otherwise.) It is her city and her people and she will not let it fall to ruin. She will not let anyone else, Nazi or American or Canadian or anyone take her city from her.

Katya Baxter is a wonderful character who is just so, so funny and amazing and if anybody knew what the Adventures of the Red Panda were she would be an absolute HIT of a character on here. I love her so, so much.

[k-ate1288]

~Drogon sketch

It took me a long time to draw it. For the most part, I was waiting for a detailed description of the dragons from the book, but I found nothing except the color. Therefore, relying on the series. My style of drawing also affected me, but in the end, thanks to the spikes, it seems to be similar😬

I would like to describe a little the emotions after reading and watching "A Song of Ice and Fire" / "Game of Thrones".

I was reading and watching the series at the same time, because I wanted to compare the plot. And I liked the fact that I know a lot of moments that were not shown in the series and at the same time I did not like that some moments were not shown. Therefore, there were two attitudes towards the series, but after the book ended, but the plot of the series developed further, I completely fell in love.

I used to be skeptical about "Game of Thrones", and I didn't even think about the book, but after getting acquainted with this universe, I want to study everything thoroughly and find out. Therefore, I did not stop only at the Song of Ice and Fire cycle, but continued reading others. So far, it's "Fire and Blood." It's hard for me to read it, but my interest takes over. I am also looking forward to the rest of the books that are still being written and in development.

I want to add a little more about the last episodes of the series. My first post about mentioning game of thrones was a tournament horse in Lannister colors, where I wrote that I did not support them. At that time, yes, but when I reached the final, I was amazed by the Lannister brothers' changes and Cersei courage. I don't think that "I felt sorry for them" will fit here, for the most part I'm sad that the characters who went through such serious trials died, including Deni (and besides Tyrion, he's alive, but it's hard for me to imagine how he went through all this emotionally). At the time of reading the last part of the book, I was thinking about a happy ending for Daenerys and mercy towards Cersei, but this turn of events in the series is probably correct but sad. I saw the spoilers that Daenerys was going to die, and as soon as everything came to this, I assumed that either Aria or Tyrion would do it, but I didn't expect John to do it. It was a shock to me.

I immersed myself in this world with all my soul and now I'm a fan of it. I already have a lot of ideas for drawings. Unfortunately, I'm limited to dragons and horses, but I think I have to try to portray wolves😵‍💫

It is difficult to convey emotions in writing, but I really wanted to do it.

This acquaintance happened by chance, as I was listening to an audiobook at work. I lost the sequence of chapters in all the books except "A Song of Ice and Fire", so out of desperation I started listening to it and was surprised that I liked it so much. And from that moment on, I was rushing to work just to continue listening to the book 👉👈

[feysandfeels]

LUISA READS FOURTH WING :)

Right fam, time for some dragon riding (non sexual… from what I have been able to gather)

Ngl, but reading (listening) the "a dragon without its rider is a tragedy, a rider without its dragon is dead" after seeing so many tiktoks about it and them being all epic, has me giddy, has me excited. Here we go.

So far we have a cunty yet caring elder sister, a dead dad, a rude as fuck mum, a dead brother (who apparently was beloved above all) and a girl severely lacking in calcium.

"you won't get any special treatment just for being my daughter" my sister in christ, what special treatment? so far you have been nothing like an ass.

I cannot judge Violet for wanting to take her books with her....but babygirl from what I have seen you truly have no strength.. so like..sugar.. either develop some muscle or like let it go.

What's so wrong about being a scribe? like what do you all have against academia?

Okay no wait... what are they prepping her for? What the fuck is this subscription day? isn't it like just first day of uni?? Is she fighting? is it a race? to like the first dragon they can find? the first tunnel of their respective career?

aaaaaaaand here comes the childhood friend with soft brown eyes that laughs with his whole body.

Seems like extremely poor parenting to send your extremly untrained daughter into such a challenge... like she has to climb some rocks... and like run a lot, there's going to be wind. Like no. And for what? for the glory of your name? SHE CAN'T EVEN LIFT HER OWN BOOKS!

Gotta love a "This isn't America's TOP BEST FRIEND" moment.

I'm sorry but how is conscribing (?) all children from the traitors to the best school in the kingdom/republic/empire/country and give them a solid ass chance of becoming riders, and therefore climb to the top of the social and military pyramid a fitting punishment? They should have ended their respective bloodlines. You rebel you and your entire bloodline die.

Colombian brain translating Xaden to Xavier.

I should have asked... can dragons talk in this world?

What is the parapit?? Is that how it is written?

Mira (?) is a badass. Queen behaviour.

Mira being like "don't die Violet, I'd hate to be an only child." And having seen her mother? Honestly same. Like no. Hard Pass.

Wait is the blonde guy she is befriending the one with the scar from the betrayal?? Dylan? yes? no?

Oh and they get to marry after graduating. Why do I feel I am walking straight into another early 20s marriage.

Most riders are legacies... good to see nepotism is alive and well. Neporiders.

Oh so Xaden has tattoos from his wrist up to his jaw.. okay, okay.

AND HIS FATHER KILLED HER OLDER BROTHER. AND THEY WERE ROOMATES!

My girl really went "He is #SoTall and #HandsomeAsHell"

I don't get what this challenge is about and apparently Dylan is not making it, he liked slipped or smth and is like hanging...

yeah no he fell to his death. RIP Dylan.

My girl is like screaming history facts to distract herself while she [insert the challenge.... I think it's walking a very slippery bridge]

Okay so Jack is an asshole... it's giving Cato.

Kinda want to bet that he will try to eventually fight Violet and Xaden will defend her.

Got confirmation, it is in fact a bridge.

Rihannon made it. Which is a personal win because she seems sweet.

Oh my god Jack focus on your own thing, you are being and asshole, no one cares. Fuck off, fall to your death, shut up. Like why are you so pressed about this random ass calcium lacking girl. GET A JOB. STAY AWAY FROM HER.

Not her reciting the codex lol it is giving Elizabeth Swann citing The Pirate Code to Captain Barbossa. Babygirl, bless you, but he clearly does not give a fuck.

Violet truly made that crossing out of delulu energy and history facts and honestly? respect.

Wait, hold the fuck on... this audiobook is 21h long? what on god's green earth is going to happen in this book? oh my god this thread is going to be huge. Apologies to all.

omg Jack why are you still talking? either shut up or jump infront of a dragon and die. LIKE WHY ARE YOU SO OBSESSED WITH HER? He is giving blonde guy energy (but not the one you gave Dylan. RIP Dylan. You will never be forgotten)

aaaaaahhh there we go Jack threatened her and when he makes the move to kill her Xaden will be like "the fuck bro" and kill him instead.

Here comes the childhood best friend. I feel he is hot. Dane? Dane Atos?? Kinda hot of him. Wait he is Squad Leader? that's hot.

[ofmermaidstories]

Hello mermsie! Forever and ever ago you brought up a rejected mates fic idea and at the time I was like 👀 but hadn't read any... well this last week I read like three and a half rejected mates books so now I'm all 👀👀👀!!! So - if you were gonna write a rejected mates fic, what reason would the boys have for rejecting a reader? I can see bakugo doing it out of stubborn pride pre-character development but I wanna know what you think!

Also I know the One True Soulmate thing makes you bitey so if you want an interesting subversion of the trope, may I recommend Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh? The psy-changeling series is one of my all-time favorites, I've listened to the audiobooks a dozen times each while working in the studio. My favorite book in the series is a tie between Shards of Hope and Silver Silence.

Love, 💎

did you enjoy the ones you read, gemmy? i couldn’t rec any, bc i was reading mine through tiktok LMAO whoops. 💀 luv that app. 🩷 but as for how i’d write one… idk! 🧐 i’m too much of a sook—i couldn’t write anything where bakugou or deku or whoever else rejects us, LOL. that would be their first and only chance with us, the fic would immediately devolve into a different pairing from there on out LMAO. like, bakugou rejects us because he’s a fucking wanker, and then reader runs away to a small rural town and ends up washing radishes for a living and ends up falling in love with like, shoji or something. someone kind and patient, who’s overcome his own hurt. 🥺 NOT deku bc he is basically an extension of kacchan, the fucking traitor. 🔪 die die die. 🔪

i’m sorry gemmy. 💀 you’re asking out of genuine interest and i’m like “REJECT US? NO! 🔪” LOL. u were right about bitey. 😭 i’m possessive. 😭 ur my person forever, or one of us dies. 😙 easy peasy.

i think if was doing it in a proper attempt though, and not just going with my “immediately deviating off-course into a different pairing” idea, i guessss i’d try to subvert the trope by making our Reader be the one to reject the love interest? but my concerns with that would be: is it stripping what people enjoy out of said trope, and am i doing the subversion for the right reasons? like, subverting tropes or cliches only works if you love and respect the original recipe, and as someone who’s never been particularly interested in soulmate-and-related tropes, i would wanna afford it the same dignity and earnestness that a mega-fan would.

like, idk if this is your experience with reading them, you’ll have to chime in gem-anon, but like, to me rejected-mates type stories are about the high-octane angst and drama (being roughly and cruelly shunted to the side, regardless of the MC’s genuine feelings) and then the grovelling (the way the Love Interest comes crawling back, begging forgiveness for their mistake and thus showering our poor mistreated MC with non-stop love and affection). so i think my question would be, could you deliver that in a different package (Reader being the one to do the Rejecting TM)? is it even possible? 🧐 like, why would Reader be rejecting them in the first place (fear, i guess? 🧐 of what? them? what being fated-mates would mean? is there an inherent loss of personal freedom involved in that (like, is Reader free to pursue their interests still, like schooling, even if it meant having to move away from ur Mate for a few years?), or is Reader just like, paranoid, LOL)? what’s the appeal? like, where is the fantasy fulfilment if it’s Reader pushing the guy away??? i guesssss off the top of my head, i’d say it’d be like: oh, the fantasy here is even though you have thrown a wall up between u (the rejection of ur magical bond), ur would-be boyfie would relentlessly still try to prove that he wants to be there, that he wants to stick around, that he will wait and that he considers u something precious to wait for. 🥺 which i think is fun, LOL, but it’s like: does it work as a point of difference to the melodrama of the original trope? 🥺😭

‘cause like, you’re right gemmy—pre-development bakugou would be good for the trope in it’s original packaging. 😩 unfortunately, LOL. tbh im kind of sitting here like, why do i like him again….. LOL dsflkjsdklfjdslkf. hmmmm. 🧐 if we strictly had to write this trope, as-is, then i guess i’d probably employ a “doing it for your protection” type trope/reasoning. 😩 and then there’s a bit of miscommunication, bc Reader is like, understandably hurt (although tbh if had to rework how the soulmates thing worked, in this AU, i would make rejection instantly painful LMFAO. bam, now Reader’s disabled for most of the fic thanks to fantasy-sad-heartbreak disease. which actually hm… could be interesting. 🧐 living with illness that wipes you out and makes day-to-day living is hard enough as it is, without having that be inflicted on us by someone who is, ostensibly, meant to not hurt us 🥺).

idk idk!!! i guess what im saying is that we could probably go one of several ways, if we were trying to introduce a rejected-mates fic into the WIP pile. 🥹 i think it would just depend on what the others here would like—expect and want out of it!!! 🥺 what would you want out of it, gemmy? what would you wanna see? 🥺

(p.s., i added the three titles you rec’d to my library wishlist—i have a series to try and speed through first (i’ve been so bad with reading this past month 💀) but then i will borrow them out, unless you recommend reading the series chronologically??? 🥺)

[p4nishers]

i don't know if you even posted about it but

which discworld books have you read already?? and maybe you have some favourites like I STRONGLY SUSPECT THAT IT'S NIGHT WATCH but what if im absolutely wrong..please share

anon i will lay my life down for you i've been waiting for this for so so long (literally since november. but whatever)

so. from the rincewind series i've only read the last continent and unseen academicals bc reasons. one of them being is that i am weirdly passionate about the ridcully/bursar ship only i care about and they're developed enough characters by those books for me to actually have something to ship. i can't think of other reasons but. they're there definitely i promise. oh yeah unseen academicals was by FAR my fav from the two but i found the ending a little eh so i dont consider that one a FAVORITE favorite. but its still insanely fucking good.

then i've read all of the witches novels except equal rites and that's only cause i was listening to the audiobook and then i forgot where i left off and i just didn't finish it. anyway the clear winner for me is and always will be carpe jugulum and it's DEFINITELY one of my top 3 discworld books. like i know you didn't ask for this to be a hundred pages long but fuck me that BOOK. i could write ESSAYS. also wyrd sisters is a fucking masterpiece and i wont hear a WORD against it. thank you.

all of the death books expect thief of time and i honestly i just dont want to end the series yet so i'm still putting it off. give me some time. favorites from that hmm well hogfather DUH but also reaper man. listen man it's about found family it's about bill door it's about death giving his TIME for a little girl it's about I NEVER WORE A CROWN YOU NEVER WANTED TO RULE it's THE FIRST FUCKING TIME WE MEET REG SHOE also the wizards are fucking GREAT in that one i just love it. not top 3 material but definitely a comfort read.

from the watch books i've read up to thud! which i'm still half way thru bc i'm not ready to move on from night watch like i had to listen to it on audiobook two days after i've first read it bc it just sucks you in man. does NOT let go. and yeah you're so so so right and true about night watch being one of my absolute favorites that book changed me as a person i'm still definitely not over it. like at all. also feet of clay and fifth elephant will always ALWAYS be my children and have my heart for obvious reasons (cheery. its cheery).

from the moist books i only have raising steam left and yes again im putting it off bc i dont wanna finish the series whatever dont look too deep into my issues

uh. shit this is so fucking long ok sorry. from tiffany novels i've read up to wintersmith and so far the wee free men is my absolute favorite i cried so much reading that book it's embarrassing.

small gods was my very first discworld novel and let me fucking tell you man absolutely HILARIOUS place to start when you dont know shit about the world building that's all im gonna say. also it's just so fucking good it's insane to me like yeah maybe it's not as funny as the others but the way terry wrote about faith and gods and devotion and the church and ugghh. (sidenote i read an brutha/om fic a few weeks ago that changed my fucking LIFE im being so so serious rn that was a masterpiece)

and i think the only one left is the truth which is in my opinion one of the best written discworld books from what i've read and definitely in my top 3. like otto chriek would be enough to convince me and THEN there's mr tulip's backstory and william confronting his dad (man that scene where william gives his father thousands of dollars to pay back for what he "cost" him over his life. anyone got reminded of that one ladybird scene? yeah.) and it's just like the best thing you've ever read.

im so sorry this got so long im insane i hope u got some kind of answer out of it

[uglierdaikon]

I've decided this is going to be a tradition now so here's

My favorite books I read in 2023

(in no particular order)

"Siren Queen" by Nghi Vo

this book is so fucking cool. I said this list is in no particular order but this is without a doubt my favorite book I read this year. This book takes place in a fantasy version of Hollywood in roughly the 1920s-1940s. It has everything: deals with shady nonhuman creatures, fantasy violence, old Hollywood glamour, lesbians. What else do you need? Genuinely the most unique worldbuilding for a fantasy story I've ever seen. Please, if you only take one recommendation from me ever, take this one. The audiobook SLAPS also.

"The Empress of Salt and Fortune" by Nghi Vo

Shoutout to Nghi Vo because I genuinely didn't even realize both of these books were by the same author. Queen. Anyways. So you know how the movie Titanic is told through the lens of people hearing the story from Rose as an old woman? Similar set up but also not similar at all. A sort of nun/monk person on a mission of historical and anthropological chronicling comes to the long abandoned residence where a recently deceased empress once lived in exile. There, they meet the empress' personal maid. As the main character (I can't remember the name off the top of my head, sorry) goes through and archives artifacts from the home, they get to hear stories of the empress' early life in their kingdom as well as her time in exile leading up to her rise to power. I'm not selling this well but it's REALLY good and a very quick read.

"And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie

She's the queen of mystery for a fucking reason!!! This was apparently the year of Nghi Vo and Agatha Christie because Queen Agatha was the other author that just dominated my reading list. Anyways, the set up of this is that 10 people are lured to a mansion on a remote island and start getting killed off. I had a lot of fun trying to figure out who among them was The Killer (even though I ultimately failed to get it right).

"I'm Glad My Mom Died" by Jennette McCurdy

Look. Reading and loving this book in the year 2023 is not a unique experience. This book is a tough read in that a lot of really terrible things have happened to her, but I (like everyone else who's read it) need to give her a lot of props for her skill, frankness, and humor about writing this book, as well as just her strength for getting through all that. Go Jennette!

"Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver

Reading and loving Demon Copperhead in 2023 is ALSO not a unique experience. It won awards for a reason. But I liked it so it goes on the list This is a modern take on David Copperfield that follows a boy from the Appalachians as he grows up in the foster system (and through the opioid crisis). I know that sounds bleak, but he's a character that you really wanna follow and root for, even at his lowest. It's a LONG book, but well worth every page in my opinion.

"The Monster of Florence" by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi

One of the authors got kicked out of Italy for writing this book! Doesn't that already catch your interest???

Anyways, this is a nonfiction book. Half of it chronicles the twists and turns in the investigation of the still-unsolved Monster of Florence serial killer case (which is. Horrifying. To give fair warning). But it also delves into the corruption and mismanagement of the Florence police department, culminating in a frame job intended to make the authors keep their mouths shut about this case. It's definitely a creepy case, so if you don't have much of a stomach for true crime I'd skip this one, but I could not put this book down (figuratively - I listened to the audiobook, lol). I went on runs solely so that I would have more time to listen to it some days.

That concludes this list of 2023 book recommendations. Hope y'all enjoyed! See you again this time next year.

[iasmelaion]

what happens when you listen to three audiobooks in like a week and a half

We've been at trial for like the past two weeks at work, which means I have been alone in the office, with approximately 2 hours worth of work to do every day max, mostly just there to answer frantic emails and texts about "what exhibit number is [vague and potentially inaccurate description of email or other document]?" and occasionally file supplemental trial briefs. Anyway, it's all up to the jury now! Only not now now because it is a court holiday and because this case lives to torment me and never ever ever finish ahahaha it's fine i'm fine, we better win.

Anyway, all of that is to say I was bored as hell so I decided to finally finish listening to the audiobook of Gideon the Ninth, which I had started listening to LAST FEBRUARY. You can perhaps guess that, as good as the audiobook narration was, I was not entirely feeling the book. Ahaha. Ha. I was already mentally writing my Goodreads review, complaining about how yes, the narrative voice is great, and yeah, the set up and genre mashup are fun (lesbian necromancers in space! country manor mystery! slasher horror!), but there's just not enough context and the worldbuilding is so vague and what are the overarching stakes even. And then the last 1/3 of the book happened, and I listened to all three current books in the series in like a week and a half and I have spent the last two days rotating these characters in my head and reading meta and such. Sorry in advance about how in approximately two weeks time, my queue will be full of TLT shit.

Spoilers and assorted jumbled reactions below, because I'm not about to ramble like this on goodreads. But real talk, I have skimmed so much spoilery talk/fan art/etc about these books and absolutely none of it made any sense at the time so tbh I don't think it matters all that much if you're spoiled. The spoilers won't even make any damn sense most of the time.

I wish I could give this series some kind of pitch that would, idk, explain it or make it seem enticing, but lol I have no idea where I'd even start. I'll just say that if you are in need of Enrichment in your Enclosure, these books are like being tossed a very meaty bone full of delicious marrow which you can gnaw upon for a good long while.

Gideon's narrative voice is a lot of fun, and I do quite enjoy how she's basically a big lesbian jock, even if that did make a lot of the first book rough going for me because alas, Gideon, bless her, is not interested in much beyond hot ladies, swords, staying alive, and getting off her home planet. And Harrow, of course.

HARROW. For 2/3 of the first book, Gideon hates her passionately, they've been enemies their entire lives, they are vicious and awful to each other. Now, I knew Gideon/Harrow was like THE ship for these books, and I was like "...hm. Listen, I simply do not vibe with this kind of enemyship." But then that last third happened, and auuughhhhh. They're enemies, they were all the other had, they were two rats trapped in a barrel, desperate to get out, clawing and biting and snarling and hurting each other, they were each other's only solace, they were doomed from the start. They've been trapped in a cycle of terrible violence, and I have no idea if they can ever get out. And the love Gideon wants from Harrow is to be used and consumed and destroyed by love, and the love Harrow wants to give is to save her and keep her even if it means forgetting her. Like, y'all, I ship it, but I have no idea how there's any kind of future in it.

And then Harrow the Ninth happened, and goddamn, poor fucking Harrow. I felt for her already after the revelation in Gideon the Ninth, but Harrow the Ninth made me so desperately sad for her.

Good job on the soup though, Harrow!

Also the low key comedy of all of them stuck with each other on the Mithraeum was *chef's kiss*. Just like THE most demented and toxic workplace sitcom while poor Harrow is descending into a total mental breakdown.

The worldbuilding is so fascinatingly, complicatedly BONKERS. Also it's so SPACE CATHOLICISM that I don't even know what to say about it. I'm not qualified. But like. It is. It's so Space Catholicism, but also make it More Goth. And it's clearly concerned with religion and faith and all that, but not in a Narnia kind of way, and I am FASCINATED about where it's all leading to.

What a fucking villain this series has in John Gaius aka God aka Necrolord Prime aka the Prince Undying aka the Emperor of the Nine Houses aka Jod. Just absolutely skin-crawlingly horrible, the literal Worst Person Who Ever Lived, even as he's affable and funny and occasionally endearing and pathetic. And like I'm not even sure all of that stuff is a mask or a cover for his monstrousness! Like I think he genuinely is affable and funny and endearing and pathetic! He is just also quite literally History's Greatest Monster. I'm not sure if he was always like this, though I'm leaning towards him having been an awful man before he became god, in all those quiet, too-easily unnoticed ways men are awful, the moment they have any power over someone. And then Jod gets all the power so of course his awfulness becomes correspondingly greater.

I will say though that Jod's origin story is an actual horror movie, the stuff of nightmares. It's the end of the world because climate change and he and his team are frantically working on some way to save everybody but it doesn't quite work, not well enough, and no one is listening to him, and the clock is ticking down and of course the billionaires have a way out, of course they're gonna get on some space ships and bounce, but what about everyone else? Jod is sure he can save everyone else, if only he had the resources, if only they'd listen to him. And someone was listening, it turns out. Someone--something gives him power. Terrible, terrible power over life and death. And he becomes something else and makes choice after terrible choice, enabled by his friends, and then whoops not whoops! He's killed everybody on the fucking planet and ate the sun and the whole solar system too!! Absolutely terrifying reveal, and it's built up to so well. We spend so much time listening to Jod and so much of what he says is reasonable or understandable, but every so often there's a hint that under his commendable politics and goals and general hapless nerd vibes, there's something else, something much, much worse.

Actually, this whole part would make a truly great horror movie, especially if it starts off as an almost dark comedy that shifts genres as it goes: from dark comedy to suspenseful thriller to eldritch horror.

Also he gets, like, super weird about the cadavers he's been experimenting on. Like, deeply, horrifying creepy and weird about them.

Lotta people get weird about corpses in this series, if I'm being honest.

CAMILLA AND PALAMEDES. I am UNWELL about these two. I am UNHINGED. I am still rotating them in my mind, unable to do much but WEEP. "So...do you ship them??" you might ask. To which I say idk and idc, what does to ship these two even MEAN at this point, they are platonic, they are romantic, they are eros, philia, AND agape, and they're the Love that Is Perfected in Death. The absolute fucking pinnacle of insane codependence. Childhood BFFs who crawled into each other's skins and hearts and souls and never crawled back out. How much more codependent is it possible to get? NONE. NONE MORE CODEPENDENT. They have MERGED THEIR SOULS AND BODIES TOGETHER INTO ONE BEING. [actually, real talk, i am uncertain of the Soul Situation, I am pretty sure they've merged their souls together, but like. idk. they do also say they will be known as themselves "beyond the River" after death] I am WEEPING just THINKING ABOUT IT. That is not fucking hyperbole btw, the mere thought of them basically makes me cry, it's fine, i'm fine. They love each other SO MUCH. I CANNOT HANDLE IT.

Anyway, rather difficult to "ship" a pairing that has become...one person. Like, still willing to make a game go of it even during the period where they're sharing a body, but like. Now they are one person??? Because this is not a Steven Universe-style fusion where Ruby and Sapphire can unfuse from Garnet, Camilla and Palamedes are now one person, no takebacks while they live. I do love Paul though! Fucking adore that some of Paul's first acts as a new person were acts of kindness and mercy. Jod's lyctors are called saints, but I think Paul is the only one who is a saint in truth.

So, a triumph or a tragedy or both that Camilla and Palamedes died to become Paul? Idk! I adored Camilla and Palamedes as individual characters, I adored how in many ways they're the certain, just moral center of this entire series, I love their intelligence and ferocity, and oh, after Nona the Ninth, I loved so much how they loved. Each other, and other people. I loved Camilla using truths like her swords, her dry humor, how she was still so kind even while being an absolute stone cold fucking badass. I loved Palamedes, his brilliance and how he bent basically all that brilliance into helping people. I loved so fucking much that he was the one who figured out that there was a better way to achieve lyctorhood than the way Jod and his lyctors set out for them. I loved that stuck in a bubble in the underworld, with nothing but a terrible erotic novel, he started having serious opinions about said erotic novel and undoubtedly wrote terrible fanfiction in his head about it.

Ahem. Anyway. Abigail Pent and Magnus Quinn were also delightful, and I was especially charmed by the lovely Welsh accents Moira Quirk gives them in the audiobook. Love that Abigail has immensely powerful, friendly mom friend energy while simultaneously being an immensely powerful Eldritch Speaker for the Dead. Gideon observing her all like "ah, her eye contact is...extremely very unsettlingly intense! but also she is wearing an apron and is cheerful so that's alright then."

God, this is really long, sorry to anyone who actually read it, possibly i will reblog with more disjointed thoughts.