#leigh bardugo our queen

[def-not-kaz-brekker]

Guys Inej ghafa is wonderful pass it on

[romajuliettemai]

Got some more prints for the prints wall! :D

[artemis-dawn8]

ITS SO FUNNY. (Btw I’m so sorry for making all of you put up with my bullshit)

I think im funny, Just let me have my moment.

[rmstitanics]

* FAMOUS INDIVIDUALS WITH YOUR MOON SIGN.

If you’re looking for suggestions on which authors and music artists to check out next, look to your moon sign! In Western astrology, the moon is said to represent your subconscious mind, emotions, and inner personality, so it is widely believed that we tend to relate to media by artists who share our moon sign.

♈️ ARIES MOON

WRITERS:

Gore Vidal

George R. R. Martin

Nicholas Sparks

Rick Riordan

Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Christopher Paolini

MUSICIANS:

P!nk

Whitney Houston

Céline Dion

Selena Gomez

Rihanna

Tupac

♉️ TAURUS MOON

WRITERS:

Jodi Picoult

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Hans Christian Anderson

Clive Barker

George Bernard Shaw

Aldous Huxley

MUSICIANS:

Pharrell Williams

Kelly Clarkson

Bob Dylan

Demi Lovato

Christina Aguilera

Pitbull

♊️ GEMINI MOON

WRITERS:

C. S. Lewis

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Orson Scott Card

Franz Kafka

Margaret Mitchell

R.A. Salvatore

T. S. Elliot

MUSICIANS:

Ella Fitzgerald

Florence Welch

Art Garfunkel

Billy Idol

Sia

Tina Turner

♋️ CANCER MOON

WRITERS:

George Orwell

Liu Cixin

Brandon Sanderson

Cassandra Clare

Diana Gabaldon

Lois Lowry

MUSICIANS:

Tchaikovsky

Taylor Swift

Kurt Cobain

Halsey

Aretha Franklin

Janis Joplin

♌️ LEO MOON

Oscar Wilde

Holly Black

Geraldine Brooks

James Dashner

Jack London

Ta Nehisi Coates

MUSICIANS:

Lana Del Ray

Paul McCartney

Queen Latifah

Niall Horan

Bruno Mars

David Bowie

♍️ VIRGO MOON

WRITERS:

Leo Tolstoy

John Grisham

Claudia Gray

Isabel Allende

Xiran Jay Zhao

Douglas Adams

MUSICIANS:

Dolly Parton

Nicki Manaj

Madonna

Lorde

Bo Burnham

Lizzo

♎️ LIBRA MOON

WRITERS:

Jane Austen

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Sylvia Plath

William Shakespeare

Maya Angelou

R.F. Kuang

MUSICIANS:

Ariana Grande

Charli XCX

Bruce Springsteen

Jay-Z

Harry Styles

Fergie

♏️ SCORPIO MOON

WRITERS:

Veronica Roth

Edith Wharton

V.E. Schwab

Harper Lee

Keira Cass

Meg Cabot

MUSICIANS:

Lady Gaga

Tyler the Creator

Cyndi Lauper

Beyoncé

Bob Marley

The Weeknd

♐️ SAGITTARIUS MOON

WRITERS:

Stephen King

Victor Hugo

Marie Lu

Suzanne Collins

Samantha Shannon

Adam Silvera

MUSICIANS

Hozier

Freddie Mercury

Adele

Ludwig Van Beethoven

Chappell Roan

John Legend

♑️ CAPRICORN MOON

WRITERS:

Sarah J. Maas

J.M. Barrie

Jeff Shaara

Joyce Carol Oates

Stephanie Meyer

Angie Thomas

MUSICIANS:

Frédéric Chopin

Neil Diamond

Jon Bon Jovi

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Stevie Nicks

Donna Summer

♒️ AQUARIUS MOON

WRITERS:

Margaret Atwood

Leigh Bardugo

Louisa May Alcott

Seth Grahame-Smith

Anthony Horowitz

S.E. Hinton

MUSICIANS:

Cody Simpson

Marilyn Monroe

Britney Spears

Billie Eilish

Tim McGraw

Carrie Underwood

♓️ PISCES MOON

WRITERS:

Toni Morrison

Edgar Allen Poe

Malcolm Gladwell

Lisa McMann

Alice Oseman

Philippa Gregory

MUSICIANS:

Kenny Chesney

Elvis Presley

Frank Sinatra

Prince

Kendrick Lamar

Sabrina Carpenter

[writingquestionsanswered]

Any tips on how to write a historical fiction? Like working out the historical placement, economy and the political state of the country, the situation of royalty etc. Love your blog!

Historical Fiction vs Other Historical Subgenres

I wonder if you're meaning to ask about writing "historical fantasy" or "alternate history" rather than historical fiction. Here's why...

Historical fiction is set in a real place, in a real, recognizable time in our history. For example, Melissa de la Cruz's Alex & Eliza follows the lives and marriage of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler, real U.S. historical figures who were featured in the recently popular musical, Hamilton. If you want to write historical fiction, fleshing out your setting's economy, political state, situation of royalty, etc. is a matter of researching your setting in that particular time. My post Researching an Historical Topic has some pointers that should help with that kind of research.

Historical fantasy can be one of two things: typically, historical fantasy refers to stories set in a real place and time in our history, but with the incorporation of fantastical elements, such as in Marie Lu's The Kingdom of Back which is set in 18th-century Europe and follows Mozart's older sister, who gets involved with a stranger from a magical realm who promises to make her musical dreams come true. Historical fantasy can also be set in a fictional place that heavily resembles a real historical time and place and incorporates magic, but since the emphasis is as much on the historical feel of the story as on the fantastical elements, it's historical fantasy rather than just fantasy. Here, too, fleshing out your setting will come down to doing research, then making your own decisions about how to plausibly differentiate your imaginary setting. You may find it easier to do this after you've fleshed out your plot and understand the needs of your story.

Alternate history imagines a historical place and time in our world but with a major difference, like what if the Titanic sailed through a time portal into 1970s New York. Or, what life in 1920s Los Angeles would have been like if the U.S. had lost the Revolutionary War and the king and queen had come to visit some of their American Dukes and Duchesses. Fleshing out an alternate history setting will require research of the real time and location as well as some educated brainstorming about how things would be different.

Fantasy stories are sometimes set in settings or worlds loosely or somewhat heavily based on our own. In Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse, Ravka is loosely based on early 1800s Russia, and in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, Westeros is loosely based on early-medieval Britain. However, because the emphasis is more on the fantastical elements than the historical similarities, these stories are straight up fantasy rather than historical fantasy. Much as with the other examples, here fleshing out your setting requires research of your inspiration setting as well as brainstorming to determine what you want to change.

Let me know if you have questions about whichever specific one you want to write!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[nazyazoya]

your daily mantra from our queen Zoya, eveyone:

"Men have been watching me my whole life. It's not worth taking note of."

-Leigh Bardugo | King of Scars

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Worldbuilding

Thanks so much for the interest in this series on my previous post, I’m excited to share it with you :)

One of the strengths of the Grishaverse worldbuilding is that the different countries and cultures take clear inspiration from the real world, so the reader is able to infer a lot of the small details without having to be spoon-fed the information. For example, we don't need a long, info-dump explanation as to why surnames in Shu Han are constructed from the prefixes "yul" or "kir" based on sex and the first name of the parent (eg Kuwei Yul-Bo, son of Bo Yul-Bayurr) because we understand that the country is partially inspired by Mongolia. And even if we don't make this immediate connection, looking at characters like Tolya Yul-Batar and Tamar Kir-Batar we understand how to infer the source of the name because of it's basis from many different naming conventions in our world, such as the -son, -dottier, or -bur suffixes in Iceland. Something I think I see authors do a lot is struggle with the balance in this kind of situation, but personally I find that Leigh Bardugo does it really well. We don't need to be told the extensive information about this, even if she knows it or has some idea about it for herself, because it isn't relevant to the story. If we were told about it in great detail during the Grisha Trilogy or the SOC duology, it would feel a lot like info dumping. But by telling us what it's necessary to know about the Shu royal family in KOS/ROW and letting us fill in the gaps, we feel that we have enough information to both understand and keep the story moving forwards. All we're actually told, to my recollection, is that the Shu queens maintain the given name of the first queen of Shu Han rather than their mother's name to unify the family and to maintain the status symbol of the royals. The information we've been given from this that's immediately relevant to the story is an explanation as to why the character doesn't take her mother's name, so we're not confused or distracted by that as we read on, but we also know that Shu Ha, or at least its aristocracy, is a matriarchy, that the Shu people still feel a great respect for their first queen, implying further that there is a great respect for heritage in the country, and that the Shu monarchy feel the need to remind people of that first queen for what is probably a fear of unsettlement in their power and therefore a need to remind people that this is their 'birth right'.

In my book, there are futuristic technologies made possible by the blending of science and magic, such as a scanner that can identify several genetic markers and is connected to a national database in order to identify anyone, that is used very similarly to a passport system, as well as by the justice system. But it's not necessary to explain the set up of the database, or that the earliest generation of the scanner was developed in the 16th Century, because that doesn't move the story forwards. Instead, I focus on the impact that the technology's usage has on one of the main characters, who has to have routine police and governmental contact because she witnessed the destruction of her home and the murder of her family at age 10. The case is so famous that at the equivalent of passport control to know that her information is about to appear on that database and the person is going to know what happened to her is deeply stressful for her, but there are no alternatives because this system is considered far safer than any paper-based system that could be cheated or faked. My aim is to actually say that the scanner recognises the person and brings up their information so that I can use it to move the story forward through the emotional response of the character, whilst letting the reader infer anything else about the system. I also don't have to tell you that the technology has been around for centuries, but if I have a stranger to the technology describe it and casually mention that 'Generation 18' or something similar is written on the side, you know that it's been around for an extended period of time.

I hope this made sense and was somewhat helpful, I thought I wouldn't go into too much detail and instead split this into multiple posts. Thanks for reading, and if there's anything in particular about worldbuilding you'd like me to talk about let me know and I can give it a try :)

[a-halo-for-you]

Grishaverse Tribute

I'm pissed. I'm vengeful. I'm going to march on Netflix.

The cancellation is uncalled for, now all we will see in return for the snubbing of one of the best series on Netflix, with one of the best fandoms, cast and creators another stupid documentary glorifying a serial killer, another shitty teen show with no plot but plenty of sex (because sexualizing children will be something they always get away with), and another over-marketed pointless action film with some former boxer or wrestler leading it who can't really act more than one type of nice-buff guy.

In my mournful and restless vengeful spirit, I have come up with another playlist dedicated to the Grishaverse, the fans, the cast and Leigh Bardugo. This breaks their hearts so much because we know how excited and passionate they were about telling this story, and to think now so many won't be able to go on and live their beloved characters through to the end. I can't stand it.

"None of this had been fated; none of it foretold. There had been no prophecies of a demon king or a dragon queen, a one-eyed Tailor, Heartrender twins. They were just the people who had shown up and managed to survive. But maybe that was the trick of it: to survive, to dare to stay alive, to forge your own hope when all hope had run out. For the survivors then, Zoya whispered to herself as the people before her knelt and chanted her name. And for the lost." - Leigh Bardugo, Rule of Wolves

I got to dream through them, Shadow and Bone saved my Covid years, when I was alone in a dorm learning online, unable to be with anyone else, with no friends and no family. I had little to no confidence and was stuck in a place that scared me. But then I had Shadow and Bone, I had these amazing characters and when I dove into the books, I found so much more. (A found family is my favourite literary trope for a reason.)

“Kaz leaned back. "What's the easiest way to steal a man's wallet?" "Knife to the throat?" asked Inej. "Gun to the back?" said Jesper. "Poison in his cup?" suggested Nina. "You're all horrible," said Matthias." - Leigh Barugo, Six of Crows

This is a playlist for all of us who are mourning and for all of us willing to fight on. I've seen petitions already posted on change.org, lets sign them all, share them all and try our best to change this while we can. Warrior Nun got their season 3. Who says we can't? Who says we shouldn't? Brick by Brick we will build our season 3, or we'll go down trying.

“Have any of you wondered what I did with all the cash Pekka Rollins gave us?" "Guns?" asked Jesper. "Ships?" queried Inej. "Bombs?" suggested Wylan. "Political bribes?" offered Nina. They all looked at Matthias. "This is where you tell us how awful we are," she whispered.” - Leigh Bardugo, Crooked Kingdom

Pardon the ecclectic taste of this long playlist, but there are so many types of song that I feel fit the plot, the charcaters and themes as well as their relationships to each other. This has sparked inspiration in me to create more playlists catering to the Grishaverse and I'll do that alongside my usual playlist posts.

I would also like to say that this playlist isn't just mine, it's for everyone and I would love for any fans of the show or books to let me know if they have any songs that they love to be added to the playlist and I will do so.

There are over 60 songs on this playlist, so I'm not going to write them all here for obvious reasons, I hope none of you mind that.

For our founding mother Leigh Bardugo. For the Six of Crows; Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey, Wylan Van Eck, Nina Zenik, Matthias Helvar. For our S+B crew; Alina Starkov, Malyen Oretsev, The Darkling, Baghra Morotzova, Nikolai Lantsov, Zoya Nazyalensky, Genya Safin, David Kostyk, Tolya Yul-Bataar, Tamar Kir- Bataar, Nadia and Adrik Zhabin.

Let the revival of Season 3 be our final grand mission.

Lets stream the show, post more art, more fanfics, more posts, more petitions. Let's fight for what we can.

No Mourners, No Funerals.

'Yuyey sesh'

'Ni weh sesh'

[notebookmusical]

books read in 2023

hi, hello! inspired by a few mutuals, i decided to do a reading thread of 2023! you can find my goodreads here, and my bookstagram here! as always, askbox + dms are open if have any questions or would like to chat about books!

january

book lovers by emily henry (reread; ★★★★★)

convenience store woman by sayaka murata + translated by ginny tapley takemori (★★★☆☆)

a wish in the dark by christina soontornvat (★★★★★)

so you want to talk about race by ijeoma oluo (audiobook; ★★★★★)

highly suspicious and unfairly cute by talia hibbert (★★★★☆)

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid (reread; (★★★★☆)

if not, winter by sappho + translated by anne carson (★★★★★)

when you wish upon a lantern by gloria chao (ARC; ★★★☆☆)

this time it's real by ann liang (ARC; ★★★★★)

love, theoretically by ali hazelwood (ARC; ★★☆☆☆)

hell bent by leigh bardugo (★★★★☆)

everything i know about love by dolly alderton (reread; ★★★★★)

the fraud squad by kyla zhao (★★★☆☆)

masters of death by olivie blake (★★★★☆)

enter the body by joy mccullough (★★★★☆)

the stranger by albert camus (reread; ★★★★★)

you'd be mine by erin hahn (★☆☆☆☆)

a hundred other girls by iman hariri-kia (★☆☆☆☆)

bloodmarked by tracy deonn (audiobook; ★★★☆☆)

fearless by mandy gonazales (★★★★☆)

february

the roommate by rosie danan (★★☆☆☆)

wuthering heights by emily brontë (book club pick; ★★★★☆)

the nanny by lana ferguson (ARC; ★★☆☆☆)

the writing retreat by julia bartz (ARC; ★★☆☆☆)

exes and o's by amy lea (★★★☆☆)

not here to stay friends by kaitlyn hill (ARC; ★★★★☆)

chloe and the kaishao boys by mae coyiuto (ARC; ★★★★☆)

isha, unscripted by sajni patel (gifted; ★★☆☆☆)

conversations on love by natasha lunn (★★★★★)

meet me at the lake by carley fortune (ARC; ★★★★☆)

emily wilde's encyclopedia of faeries by heather fawcett (★★★☆☆)

where echoes die by courtney gould (ARC; ★★★☆☆)

vintage contemporaries by dan kois (gifted; ★★☆☆☆)

how to be perfect: the correct answer to every moral question by michael schur (audiobook; ★★★★★)

half a soul by olivia atwater (★★★★★)

ten thousand stitches by olivia atwater (★★★★☆)

longshadow by olivia atwater (★★★★★)

between the world and me by ta-nehisi coates (audiobook; ★★★★★)

infamous by lex croucher (ARC; ★★☆☆☆)

the lord sorcier by olivia atwater (★★★★☆)

the latch key by olivia atwater (★★★★★)

made of stars by jenna voris (ARC; ★★★★☆)

march

when broadway was black: the triumphant story of the all-black musical that changed the world by caseen gaines (audiobook; ★★★★★)

leave it to the march sisters by annie sereno (ARC; ★★★☆☆)

once more with feeling by elissa sussman (ARC; ★☆☆☆☆)

moorewood family rules by helenkay dimon (ARC; ★★☆☆☆)

fleabag: the scriptures by phoebe waller-bridge (★★★★★)

fake dates and mooncakes by sher lee (ARC; ★☆☆☆☆)

vera wong's unsolicited advice for murderers by jesse q. sutanto (gifted; ★★★★☆)

emma of 83rd street by audrey bellezza and emily harding (ARC; ★★☆☆☆)

how to read now by elaine castillo (★★★★★)

constellations by nick payne (reread; ★★★★☆)

ching chong chinaman by lauren yee

devil in winter by lisa kleypas (★★★★☆)

the passing playbook by isaac fitzsimons ( ★★★★★)

infinite jest by david foster wallace

our wives under the sea by julia armfield (★★★★☆)

mrs. nash's ashes by sarah adler (ARC; ★★★★☆)

study break: 11 college tales from orientation to graduation edited by aashna avachat (★★★☆☆)

the love match by priyanka taslim (★★★★☆)

a lady for a duke by alexis hall (★★★★☆)

love and other consolation prizes by jamie ford (★★★☆☆)

april

spoiler alert by olivia dade (★★☆☆☆)

all the feels by olivia dade (★★☆☆☆)

ship wrecked by olivia dade (★★☆☆☆)

float plan by trish doller (★★★★☆)

yellowface by r.f. kuang

the ex hex by erin sterling (★★☆☆☆)

the kiss curse by erin sterling (★★★☆☆)

siren queen by nghi vo (audiobook; ★★★☆☆)

chloe and the kaishao boys by mae coyiuto (reread; ★★★★★)

wandering souls by cecile pin (gifted; ★★★★★)

heavy vinyl, vol. 1: riot on the radio by nina vakueva & carly usdin (★★★★☆)

heavy vinyl: y2k-o! by nina vakueva & carly usdin (★★★★☆)

never ever getting back together by sophie gonzales (★★☆☆☆)

book lovers by emily henry (reread; ★★★★★)

miss aldridge regrets by louise hare (gifted; ★★★☆☆)

if the shoe fits by julie murphy (★★★☆☆)

blackmail and bibingka by mia p. manansala (★★★★☆)

murder and mamon by mia p. manansala (ARC; ★★★☆☆)

icebreaker by hannah grace (★☆☆☆☆)

alone with you in the ether by olivie blake (reread; ★★★★★)

may

beautiful country: a memoir of an undocumented childhood by qian julie wang (★★★★★)

the other black girl by zakiya dalila harris (audiobook; ★★★★☆)

check & mate by ali hazelwood (ARC; ★★★☆☆)

if i'm being honest by emily wibberley & austin siegemund-broka (reread; ★★★★★)

always never yours by emily wibberley & austin siegemund-broka (reread; ★★★★★)

do i know you? by emily wibberley & austin siegemund-broka (reread; ★★★★★)

romeo and juliet by william shakespeare (audiobook, reread; ★★★★★)

joan is okay by weike wang (★★★★☆)

technically yours by denise williams (ARC; ★★★☆☆)

first position by melanie hamrick (ARC; ★☆☆☆☆)

the boy from kyiv: alexei ratmansky's life in ballet by marina harss (ARC; ★★★★★)

the boy you always wanted by michelle quach (ARC; ★★★★☆)

woman, eating by claire kohda (★★☆☆☆)

immortal longings by chloe gong (ARC; ★★☆☆☆)

heartburn by nora ephron (★★★☆☆)

a merry little meet cute by julie murphy & sierra simone (★★☆☆☆)

the deal by elle kennedy (★☆☆☆☆)

the mistake by elle kennedy (★☆☆☆☆)

the score by elle kennedy (★☆☆☆☆)

the goal by elle kennedy (★☆☆☆☆)

the legacy by elle kennedy (★☆☆☆☆)

open water by caleb azumah nelson (★★★★★)

painted devils by margaret owen (gifted; ★★★★★)

playing for keeps by kendall ryan (★☆☆☆☆)

june

the final revival of opal and nev by dawnie walton (★★★☆☆)

the missing of clairedelune by christelle dabos (audiobook; ★★★★★)

happy place by emily henry (reread; ★★★★★)

iris kelly doesn't date by ashley herring blake (ARC; ★★★★☆)

ghosts by dolly alderton (★★★★★)

you don't have a shot by racquel marie (gifted; ★★★★☆)

thank you for listening by julia whelan (audiobook; ★★★★★)

if you still recognize me by cynthia so (gifted; ★★☆☆☆)

imogen, obviously by becky albertalli (gifted; ★★★★☆)

for never & always by helena greer (ARC; ★☆☆☆☆)

all the dead lie down by kyrie mccauley (gifted; ★★★★☆)

one hundred days by alice pung (ARC; ★★☆☆☆)

much ado about nada by uzma jalaluddin (★★★★☆)

thieves gambit by kayvion lewis (ARC; ★★★☆☆)

deep in providence by riss m. neilson (★★★☆☆)

the burnout by sophie kinsella (ARC; ★★★★☆)

small worlds by caleb azumah nelson (ARC; ★★★★☆)

we ship it by lauren kay (★☆☆☆☆)

foul heart huntsman by chloe gong (ARC; ★★★☆☆)

the memory of babel by christelle dabos (audiobook; ★★★☆☆)

pride and prejudice and pittsburgh by rachael lippincott (ARC; ★★★☆☆)

a british girl's guide to hurricanes and heartbreak by laura taylor namey (ARC; ★★★★☆)

the reunion by kit frick (ARC; ★★★☆☆)

queer by william s. burroughs

when grumpy met sunshine by charlotte stein (ARC; ★☆☆☆☆)

july

the storm of echoes by christelle dabos (audiobook; ★★★☆☆)

will they or won't they by ava wilder (★★★☆☆)

fiona and jane by jean chen ho (audiobook; ★★☆☆☆)

business or pleasure by rachel lynn solomon (★★★☆☆)

teach the torches to burn: a romeo & juliet remix by caleb roehrig (ARC; ★★★☆☆)

a man called ove by fredrik backman (audiobook; ★★★★☆)

exciting times by naoise dolan (audiobook; ★☆☆☆☆)

the hobbit by j.r.r. tolkien (audiobook; ★★★★★)

the year of magical thinking by joan didion (★★★★★)

such a fun age by kiley reid (audiobook; ★★★☆☆)

tis the damn season by kimi freeman (ARC; ★☆☆☆☆)

august

a very nice girl by imogen crimp (audiobook; ★★☆☆☆)

bliss montage by ling ma (audiobook; ★★★☆☆)

the raven boys by maggie stiefvater (reread; ★★★★★)

freshwater by akwaeke emezi (audiobook; ★★☆☆☆)

the dream thieves by maggie stiefvater (reread; ★★★★★)

i'm not done with you yet by jesse q. sutanto (gifted; ★★☆☆☆)

blue lily, lily blue by maggie stiefvater (reread; ★★★★★)

the raven king by maggie stiefvater (reread; ★★★★★)

bellegarde by jamie lilac (gifted; ★★★☆☆)

red, white & royal blue by casey mcquiston (reread; ★★★★★)

some mistakes were made by kristin dwyer (gifted; ★★★☆☆)

september

beta read (★★★★★)

dogs of summer by andrea abreu lópez (audiobook; ★★☆☆☆)

in these hallowed halls: a dark academia anthology edited by maria o'regan and paul kane (ARC; ★★★☆☆)

together we rot by skyla arndt (★★★★☆)

stay with my heart by tashie bhuiyan (ARC; ★★☆☆☆)

before we say goodbye by toshikazu kawaguchi & translated by geoffrey trousselot (ARC; ★★★★★)

the dead romantics by ashley poston (★★★★☆)

the seven year slip by ashley poston( ★★★★★)

you, again by kate goldbeck (★★☆☆☆)

serpent & dove by shelby mahurin (gifted; ★★★☆☆)

harlem after midnight by louise hare (gifted; ★★★☆☆)

witch of wild things by raquel vasquez gilliland (gifted; ★★★☆☆)

the luis ortega survival club by sonora reyes (gifted; ★★★★☆)

blood & honey by shelby mahurin (audiobook; ★★★☆☆)

the picture of dorian gray by oscar wilde (audiobook; ★★★★★)

for the throne by hannah whitten (audiobook; ★★★☆☆)

the wake-up call by beth o'leary (★★★★★)

the book eaters by sunyi dean (audiobook; ★★★☆☆)

october

the moth keeper by kay o'neill (★★★★☆)

a fragile enchantment by allison saft (ARC; ★★★★☆)

just kids by patti smith (audiobook)

cult classic by sloane crosley (audiobook; ★★★★☆)

the atlas paradox by olivie blake (audiobook; ★★★★☆)

the goodbye cat by hiro arikawa (gifted; ★★★★★)

the appeal by janice hallett ( ★★★★☆)

the twyford code by janice hallett ( ★★★★☆)

wildfire by hannah grace (★★☆☆☆)

the roaring by t. katarina tayler (★★☆☆☆)

curious tides by pascale lacelle (audiobook; ★★★★☆)

the tempest by william shakespeare (audiobook; ★★★★☆)

murder on the orient express by agatha christie (audiobook; ★★★★☆)

canadian boyfriend by jenny holiday (ARC; ★★☆☆☆)

november

better than fiction by alexa martin (★★★☆☆)

the christmas appeal by janice hallett(★★★★☆)

kaikeyi by vaishnavi patel (audiobook; ★★★★☆)

finale: late conversations with stephen sondheim by d.t. max (audiobook; ★★★★☆)

cleopatra and frankenstein by coco mellors (★★★★☆)

the undertaking of hart and mercy by megan bannen (audiobook; ★★★☆☆)

december

how to stop time by matt haig (audioboook; ★★★☆☆)

the wake-up call by beth o'leary (reread; ★★★★★)

the break up tour by emily wibberley & austin siegemund-broka (arc; ★★☆☆☆)

bride by ali hazelwood (arc; ★☆☆☆☆)

the getaway list by emma lord (arc; review withheld due to st. martin's press boycott)

same time next year by tessa bailey (★☆☆☆☆)

the mountains sing by nguyễn phan quế mai (★★★★★)

normal people by sally rooney (audiobook, reread; ★★★★★)

the night circus by erin morgenstern (reread;★★★★★)

funny story by emily henry (arc; ★★★★★)

les misérables by victor hugo (★★★★★)

TOTAL BOOKS READ: 202

[ravenyenn19]

OKAY HERE IT IS:

So!!! Results from my poll indicated that some of you don’t want to see “face inspo/casts” for my OG “Dealing With Our Demons” characters (totally respect that!! I sometimes prefer my image not tainted while reading, too!🖤)

SOoo… here’s what we’re going to do. I will be posting the images BELOW the cut, so that way if you would rather not see, you don’t have to!🖤 no offense whatsoever taken.

Before you continue, a note: NONE of these pictures are exactly how I picture my characters. These are simply the closest I could get/who I took inspo from when describing them. 🖤 Please do not feel like you need to agree w me. That is the beauty of reading, is it not? Love you. ALSo. This is long, but I wanted to include my notes for clarification if you wanted them. This was fun, getting to have a lil in depth convo w you guys.🥹

PS- IF YOU HAVE NOT READ MY FANFIC “Dealing With Our Demons” on ao3 (by ravenyenn19) & are planning to do so (thx in advance ily) THIS POST WILL HAVE SPOILERSISH. I say this bc while no plot will be ruined, you will see faces you are not meant to yet. 🖤

First up we have: Khalid Runa (Inej’s childhood best friend) & Rahul Runa (Inej’s older cousin) *these two are married, hence the shared surname*

Notes: Khalid is pretty close, actually. In DWOD, he has aquamarine/green eyes due to his partially Kaelish heritage & I do picture his skin tone to be a tad lighter due to this. ALSO: Khalid does have burn scars across most of his hands, though I was unable to find such an image to include that piece of “DWOD lore”. (The burns are from his years mastering ‘flame eating/fire dancing’ in the caravans.

Rahul: This image is mostly chosen for his facial structure, however I do picture Rahul to have close cropped hair (a sort of subversion upon the suli culture that makes his training as a medic easier. I do picture him also remaining clean-shaven with a skin tone that is very similar to his cousin, Inej Ghafa.)

Next: Nani (Mitra) Ghafa (Inej’s maternal grandmother)

Notes: This actress is actually Iranian, for note. SO: I do want to make it very clear that I picture Nani’s skin tone to be darker like Inej (though also I do think this photo was filtered bc the actress does seem to have slightly darker skin in other pics, I chose this one bc of her face & HOW SHE HOLDS HERSELF SO MUCH LIKE NANI.) All this being said, this one is pretttttty dang similar to how I pictured Nani while writing her. Facial features specifically. What a queen. What more is there to say? She could divine my tea leaves any time.

Sharya & Kahir Ghafa, Inej’s parents (technically not OG characters, but never named in canon)

Notes: Sharya is pretty dang close to how I imagined her, which is super cool considering I never used an inspo pic for either of the Ghafas when writing them (I found them for this purpose!). It probably sounds a bit weird, but like… I just knew how Sharya & Kahir looked. They were just…BAM. Full formed people in my head. This is ultimately SUCH A FLEX ON LEIGH BARDUGO’s PART. Like, we only really experienced glimpses of Inej’s parents through the few memories in her POVs but they absolutely stuck with me & formed wonderful characters as my fic progressed. (Of course this is my opinion, but I do hope ya’ll agree.🥹)

Kahir: So…. This pic is the closest I could get, & similar to Nani, I chose it based more on facial structure/in this case facial hair. HOWEVER, Kahir is very special to me. I wrote some of his scenes in moments after I had lost my godfather, (whom was the truest father I had. He meant everything to me, being my actual dad’s best friend, he helped raise me after my dad passed when I was 4.), hence, I feel the need to clarify- as I feel a bit of my own dad is in Kahir, if only in the love.)This pic is missing a smile that I imagine near permanent on Kahir Ghafa’s face, and eyes that I cannot explain in any other word but kind. Similar to Inej’s. Sparkly. Idk. ALSO: I do picture true black hair & less gray. Maybe a sprinkle of pepper in his beard, but not much. I just imagine Inej’s parents aging like fine wine. Idk.

Next….*drum roll*…. Dr. Lily Arbor (I waited so long to bring this girl to life.)

NOTES: Ok. So. Two pics here for our Darling Death Defier Mortician. 🫶🏻 So, the one on the left is more youthful to me, a bit closer (although not the right age) to how I imagine the Lily of Kaz’s childhood. The right being far closer to how I imagine 24 year old Lily. Yet, neither of these are exactly right. But they are close. The changes that are distinct within my mind are as follows: the eyes. I distinctly see them like 2 shades darker. Navy. It’s a rare eye color, but not that different. Next, the hair. In the left image, the curls are just right, but I imagine she keeps her hair slightly longer than that- both in girlhood & adulthood. Not nearly the length of Inej’s, but you feel me. Also I do imagine her hair a bit darker, like that sort of red with hints of almost brown in it? Maroon? Gosh I can’t explain but I am certain you guys probably get it. Less like Wylan’s orangish red. Lastly: this girl has more freckles. I don’t make the rules. (Actually I do since she’s a daughter of my mind, but no I don’t.)

Bonus heartbreak:

Jordie.🥹💔 (obviously aged up to if he were alive.) notes: NO ONE. I REPEAT. NO ONE looks exactly how I imagine the elder Rietveld son. The actor here is in fact Jess from Gilmore Girls. Milo is the closest I’ve come to finding an older Jordie face cast, based more on book Kaz in relation. His hair would obviously not be styled like the early 00’s. Obviously dark eyes like his brother. In a way, like Kahir, I imagine Jordie’s eyes would have a permanent sparkle of amusement that one would sometimes see mirrored in Kaz. I can’t explain it. I love Jordie & I’m about to have a fit all over again. 🫡

Next…. Bram Rietveld (technically not OG character, but he is not named nor described whatsoever in the canon material. Kaz only says that he and his brother missed their Da.🥹)

Notes: DO NOT COME FOR ME. I AM DEFENDING MYSELF. Not to sound cringe, but from the moment I put Kaz’s Da into DWOD, back in memories at the very very early stages of the story, I pictured Pedro. This was before the internet craze (I mean obvs he was famous but iykyk), & I know that sounds cringe but it’s true. Pedro Pascal IS Bram Rietveld. Like, I would change next to nothing. Obviously his voice would have a “southern” ring. Maybe he’d have slightly lighter skin naturally being of Kerch descent, but actually I imagine him quite tan at most points of the year from running the Rietveld farm & harvesting the wheat fields. Obviously, you can picture him differently, but this is damn near exact for me. Also, Last of Us only solidified that belief for me. Gosh dangit, look at this treasure! Bram loved his kids so much.

Are you ready? (I’d say I saved the best for last, but… Actually, no. I certainly did.) I present…

Emilia Winstrad, The Butcher of Belendt🪡

Notes: I love her. I love Emilia as much as I love the protagonists from my actual novel. She means so much to me. 🥹 I don’t think I can quite explain how excited I was (& how long I waited) to introduce you guys to Emilia. I hope you love her as much as I do in DWOD. As far as technical notes: Rachel McAdams (this actress) has quite honestly the exact facial features I pictured on Emilia. Like Bram, I feel like this is Em. However, there are a few minor changes: dark eyes like Kaz rather than hazel (it’s hard to tell here), & also the same dark hair as Kaz. True black. Tbh, I was shocked when I stumbled upon images of McAdams randomly (after already describing Emilia in the story)- it felt like seeing a picture of an online friend you’ve never actually met but they somehow appear exactly as you thought they would? Make sense?

Bonus pics that show the darker hair I imagine on another actress. Also the pipe picture just for funsies (iykyk)🫶🏻🪓

She is my pride & joy. Not only that, but I think she and Kaz were meant to be family. I am not Leigh & have no canon voice, but I swear somewhere in the multiverse she is canon & I say that with fear because it’s not meant to sound precocious. She just feels so real to me, but I’m sure that’s silly bc I wrote her. Idk. Take my ramblings 🖤

Oops my hand slipped, have more pain: Elena Rietveld (I consider Elena an OG character of mine as Kaz’s mother is never mentioned in canon despite that he obviously had one. Technically, it is never said whether she lived or died.)

Sorry I killed her.

Notes: OBVIOUSLY these are pics of the same actress because Em & Elle are identical twins. However, I did choose an image of McAdams from earlier in her acting career as she did pass away younger than when Emilia appears in the story. The same notes apply here as to Em, dark hair & dark eyes would be the changes. Though, I do love this pic representing Elena as there is something a bit softer about her over her sister. Where Emilia applies blood red lipstick, Elle is a petal pink. I think that metaphor fits best, but undoubtedly I wanted Elena to have her own strength in the memories where we get to glimpse her. A woman who chose her baby son, Kaz’s life over her own. The type of mother who would have run into a burning building for her kids. A fierce little sun ray who deserved a yellow kitchen. 🥹

I actually have images & notes completed for Pim & Anika as well, plus a bonus lil one that I doubt ya’ll were expecting, but alas, there is a limit of 10 images on a post 🫠 So… let me know if you want them.

This was so long. I’m long winded, but ya’ll knew that. I love you all so much. Thank you for being here. 🖤🐦‍⬛

[sodaabaa]

his shadow chapter one; nikolai

nikolai lantsov x OC inessa, the darkling's daughter and a childhood friend of ravka's golden prince, joins nikolai and alina in their plan to fight against the darkling.

tw: just some angst

masterlist

disclaimer: some parts of this chapter are taken from the book in order to stay within the timeline of the actual grishaverse. i do not take credit for leigh bardugo’s work.

“I can give you the chance to change Ravka,” said Nikolai. He was starting to become irritated at the sun summoner’s defiance. He’d known Alina for weeks now and yet it seemed as though she was immune to his charm and his charm was what he relied on. Nikolai assumed it had something to do with a certain otkazat’sya. 

“I can give you the chance to bring your people hope,” He tried appealing to her loyalty to the grisha.

“Oh is that all?” Alina said sarcastically. “And just how am I supposed to do that?” 

Nikolai inhaled. This was going to get him killed. 

“By helping me unite the first and second armies. By becoming my queen.” 

Before Nikolai could even let out the breath he’d been holding, Mal stormed towards him, grabbing the lapels of his jacket and shoving him into the wall. Despite his initial instinct to fight back, Nikolai did not. He understood the love Mal had for Alina and what he’d just suggested would make their relationship difficult to manage. 

“Easy now, mustn’t get blood on the uniform, let me explain -”

“Try explaining with my fist in your mouth” Mal snarled.

Nikolai twisted and in a flash he’d slipped from Mal’s grip. A knife was in his hand, pulled from the strap in his sleeve.

“Step back Oretsev. I’m keeping my temper for her sake, but I’d just as soon gut you like a carp.” 

“Try it,” Mal spat.

Sudden movement pulled his attention to the shadowed entrance of the tent. Where Inessa was standing.

Inessa. Shit. 

Nikolai had sent for Inessa, a fact which he had completely forgotten in the midst of the chaos that was Mal and Alina’s unspoken love story. How long had she been standing there? What did she hear? 

He couldn’t linger too long, there were more pressing issues to deal with.

“Ah, Inessa. Good.” Nikolai clapped his hands, turning to Mal and Alina. 

“I would like to formally introduce the two of you to Inessa Mor-”

“We’ve met already. Briefly. On the Volkvolny.” She cut in, giving him a sharp look.

“Yes, but I think a proper introduction would be quite nice.” Nikolai glanced at her, raising his eyebrows. He shot her a glare back.

His eyes trailed to Inessa’s shoulders, they trembled as she inhaled. She lifted her arms and with the motion, shadows started creeping around them, surrounding them in a cloud of dark smoke.

Mal and Alina staggered back in shock, gasping at the sight before them. Nikolai couldn’t help feeling a seed of pride swell in his chest, his Nes was quite a sight. 

“She- How can she? Is she-” Alina stuttered, eyes wide.

“Related to the Darkling?” Inessa finished for her. “I’m his daughter.”

Nikolai watched the two of them battle with what this meant, unsure about the dark haired girl before them.

Nikolai’s gaze turned to Nes, watching the way she held her chin high, admiring her unwavering pride. 

Mal marched over, grabbing Nikolai by his coat and shoving him. Irritated by the interruption, Nikolai made a mental note to pay him back for that.

“How could you let that thing in here? She could be working for him!” Mal yelled.

Thing. Monster. Heretic. Demon. Nikolai knew Nes was used to the comments, she’d shrug it off and keep that stubborn chin of hers held high. But that didn’t mean he was okay with it. 

Nikolai pushed Mal off him, red hot anger burning through him.

“She is on our side. Inessa is nothing like her father, you needn’t worry, Oretsev.” He spat, his voice rising.

“How do you know?” Alina whispered. She looked up warily at Inessa. 

Nikolai’s gaze softened, looking at Inessa, “Because I know her. Better than anyone else.” 

Nes looked away. A pang of hurt resonated in his chest.

“I won’t hurt you, or anyone for that matter,” She said reassuringly to Alina. “I might make an exception for His Royal Highness though.” 

Banter, humor, insults. I can work with that.

“The promise of pain never scared me away, Nes.” Nikolai teased back. To his dismay, Inessa didn’t reply.

Mal sighed, “I think I’ll take that as my cue to leave.” He looked to Alina who nodded, “me too.” 

Despite Alina and Mal’s absence, the grand tent never felt stuffier. Nikolai found it hard to breathe, being this close in proximity to Inessa. Being alone with Nes for the first time in what felt like forever.

“And then there were two.” Nikolai finally broke the silence.

“I’m gonna head out as well, I’m still working on the map.” She replied, her voice impassive. 

Please don’t go. Not yet.

As she turned to leave, Nikolai called out. “Nes, wait.”

Inessa stopped but she didn’t turn, keeping herself turned away from Nikolai.

“Talk to me.” 

Saints Nikolai, way to sound pathetic.

“I have nothing to say to you.” 

“Then yell at me. Scold me. Hurt me. Hit me. Anything but this- this silence.” He pleaded. 

Nikolai stopped talking before he could lose his composure. His heart was racing, it felt like it would burst right through his sternum and onto the floor. In the silence of the room, he prayed Nes couldn’t hear the drumming of his heart. After an eternity, she finally broke the suffocating quiet.

“You have your fiance to do that for you, Moi Tsarevich.” And with that, her hand slipped from Nikolai’s grasp and she walked back into the shadows.

Nikolai cursed, running a hand through his hair. He walked to his desk, grabbing a glass filled with scotch and he threw it at a tent post. The glass shattered, leaving shards all over the ground. Every day Inessa’s hatred towards Nikolai grew, he could feel it. And who could blame her? Nikolai abandoned her. It’s a miracle she’s even working with him. He slumped to the floor, holding his head in his hands. Carrying the weight of an entire nation, a divided one at that, was taking a toll on him. To make matters worse, he didn’t even have anyone to share his grievances with. Nikolai was completely and utterly alone. 

[acotars]

books read in 2023

january

sweep in peace by ilona andrews

one fell sweep by ilona andrews

a court of mist and fury by sarah j. maas

sweep of the blade by ilona andrews

sweep with me by ilona andrews

my best friend’s exorcism by grady hendrix

kiss her once for me by alison cochrun

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid

i’m glad my mom died by jennette mccurdy

love and other words by christina lauren

sweep of the heart by ilona andrews

the only living girl on earth by charles yu

witches get stuff done by molly harper

you had me at hola by alexis daria

her vigilante by lillian lark

inconvenient daughter by lauren j. sharkey

anon pls. by deuxmoi

you are eating an orange. you are naked. by sheung-king

legends & lattes by travis baldree

bad vibes only (and other things i bring to the table) by nora mcinerny

signs of cupidity by raven kennedy

bonds of cupidity by raven kennedy

crimes of cupidity by raven kennedy

read: 23

february

exciting times by naoise dolan

sweethand by n.g. peltier

you made a fool of death with your beauty by akwaeke emezi

something wilder by christina lauren

highly suspicious and unfairly cute by talia hibbert

you deserve each other by sarah hogle

this is how you lose the time war by amal el-mohtar and max goldstone

would you rather by allison ashley

read: 8

march

meet me in the margins by melissa ferguson

king of battle and blood by scarlett st. clair

the exotic by hampton sides

river of shadows by karina halle

alone with you in the ether by olivie blake

lovelight farms by b.k. borison

the soulmate equation by christina lauren

before i let go by kennedy ryan

haunting adeline by h.d. carlson

the lies i tell by julie clark

one jump at a time by nathan chen

our wives under the sea by julia armfield

all systems red (the murderbot diaries #1) by martha wells

before the coffee gets cold by toshikazu kawaguchi

read: 14

april

funny you should ask by elissa sussman

make a scene by mimi grace

sweeter than chocolate by lizzie shane

the kiss quotient by helen hoang

my favorite half-night stand by christina lauren

romantic comedy by curtis sittenfeld

icebreaker by a.l. graziadei

the wedding proposal by john swansiger

circling back to you by julie tieu

by the book by amanda sellet

a lady’s guide to mischief and mayhem by manda collins

love in the time of serial killers by alicia thompson

if the shoe fits by julie murphy

whispers of you by catherine cowles

the kiss curse by erin sterling

by the book by jasmine guillory

honey & spice by bolu babalola

one night on the island by josie silver

the bodyguard by katherine center

the reunion by kayla olson

the neighbor favor by kristina forest

crooked kingdom by leigh bardugo

do i know you? by emily wibberley & austin siegemund-broka

just my type by falon ballard

delilah green doesn’t care by ashley herring blake

happy place by emily henry

dating dr. dil by nisha sharma

icebreaker by hannah grace

count your lucky stars by alexandria bellefleur

stone cold fox by rachel koller croft 

fake it till you bake it by jamie wesley

read: 31

may

the dead romantics

motherthing by ainslie hogarth

the woman in the library by sulari gentill

artificial condition (the murderbot diaries #2) by martha wells

the last word by taylor adams

you shouldn’t have come here by jeneva rose

read: 6

june

fourth wing (the empyrean #1) by rebecca yarros

the very secret society of irregular witches by sangu mandanna

love, theoretically by ali hazelwood

read: 3

july

the traitor queen (the bridge kingdom #2) by danielle l. jensen

the beast by katee robert

baldur's gate: descent into avernus by by james introcaso et. al

forget me not by julie soto

the wishing game by meg shaffer

read: 5

august

the true love experiment by christina lauren

pachinko by min jin lee

almond by sohn won-pyung, translated by joosun lee

hook, line, and sinker by tessa bailey

read: 4

september

hey, u up? (for a serious relationship): how to turn your booty call into your emergency contact by emily axford & brian murphy

everyone knows your mother is a witch by rivka galchen

fangs by sarah andersen

a room with a view by e.m. forster

juniper bean resorts to murder by gracie ruth mitchell

one's company by ashley hutson

the mysterious affair at styles by agatha christie

solita: a gothic romance by vivien rainn

you, again by kate goldbeck

the undertaking of hart and mercy by megan bannen

my roommate is a vampire by jenna levine

the picture of dorian gray by oscar wilde

the vampires of el norte by isabel cañas

her body and other parties by carmen maria machado

evil eye by etaf rum

the seven year slip by ashley poston

read: 17

october

keeper of enchanted rooms by charlie n. holmberg

the serpent and the wings of night by carissa broadbent

shy by max porter

down comes the night by allison saft

the unfortunate side effects of heartbreak and magic by breanne randall

the hurricane wars by thea guanzon

read: 6

november

a witch's guide to fake dating a demon by sarah hawley

the wake-up call by beth o'leary

when in rome by sarah adams

the view was exhausting by mikaella clements and onjuli datta

hello stranger by katherine center

practice makes perfect by sarah adams

do your worst by rosie danan

read: 7

december

bookshops & bonedust by travis baldree

the fake mate by lana ferguson

read: 2

final count: 127/100

[i-sveikata]

hey, just curious if you could rec any particular authors you love read or rec any books to read? I tend to only read fanfic and when I try to read anything out there...ugh just the storyline is predictable and the dialogue is cringe. I trust your judgment, so anything you recommend?!

appreciate you love, hope you're doing well and take care of your health 💟💟

hello anon! i mostly read fantasy/queer novels so i can defs rec some of my favourites but if you have any triggers or things you don't like to read etc id recommend a bit of research on them here for triggers or here for goodreads synopsis. But here you go in no particular order:

-iron widow series/ Xiran jay zhao (1st book out 2nd coming out this year) -the radiant emperor series/ Shelley Parker Chan -the queens thief series/ Megan Whalen turner -the graceling realm series/ Kristin cashore -mo dao zu shi series (grandmaster of demonic cultivation)- Mo xiang ton xiu -all for the game series/ Nora sakavic -the cruel prince series/ Holly black -the celestial kingdom series/ Sue lynn tan -six of crows series/ Leigh bardugo -dark rise series/ CS pacat -villains series/ VE Schwab -leviathan series/ Scott westerfeld -a great and terrible beauty series/ Libba bray -legend series/ Marie lu -anne of green gables series/ lucy maud montogomery

heres some i've read when i was younger that are a bit more y/a but still slap and i still reread them every now and again

-the lightning thief series/ rick riordan -deltora quest/ emily rodda -the missing series/1800 where are you series/ meg cabot -the mediator series/ meg cabot -a series of unfortunate events/ lemony snicket

Also just some stand alone books I’ve read and really enjoyed: -the binding/ Bridget Collins -where the crawdad sings/ Delia owens -the martian/ Andy weir -life of pi/ Yann martel -green lights/ Matthew McConaughey -song of Achilles/ Madeline miller -howls moving castle/ Diana Wynne Jones -holes/ Louis sachar -the invisible life of addie larue/ Ve Schwab -the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo/ Taylor Jenkins Reid -the island of sea women/ Lisa see -aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe / Benjamin alire saenz -all our shimmering skies/ Trent dalton -red, white & royal blue/ Casey mcquiston -ella minnow pea/ Mark dunn

you'll probably find a few of these titles familiar already but a lot of these are favs of mine or are just really damn well executed stories. happy reading!

[pookaseraph]

While looking out for some information about Leigh Bardugo’s perspective on Daenerys Targaryen I stumbled across this and it gave me… feelings? perspectives? thoughts? Now I want to talk about these three paragraphs quite a lot.

First I want to draw attention to the date: May 6, 2013; Siege and Storm released June 4, 2013 while Ruin and Rising was released June 17, 2014. We must take this as written by someone who: has released one book, has fully completed the second book but not released it, and likely either has the final book in outline or draft or is working on it. The questioner has probably only read Shadow and Bone, and GoT is almost done it’s third season. Dany’s main morally questionable action thus far has been paying to receive the Unsullied with a dragon and then killing the man she purchased the Unsullied from. This ignores book knowledge which could obviously go to the end of Dance, but things like the razing of King’s Landing are totally off the table for analysis. I point this out explicitly to note that the asker is not thinking of ‘Daenarys Targaryen, mad queen’ of season 8, but the more ‘good intentions, sloppy execution’ of seasons 1-3 and possibly Dany’s troubled good intentions with the Myranese Knot.

The first parts of the question, imo, directly concern the Darkling without ever saying his name. This is, after all, a question to Leigh Bardugo. The subtext of this question is clear: ‘is the Darkling a villain simply because he wants to rule?’ The asker wishes to know Leigh’s perspective on this. They ask if the reasons for seeking power matter, and express their own beliefs that despite Dany’s motive of the Iron Throne she is not a villain in the asker’s opinion. (NB: the asker only has S&B in their conception while Leigh will have S&S firmly fixed and R&R in draft or outline only).

Leigh, probably naturally, does not give a firm answer. The Darkling is almost fully up in the air at this point. Note she also makes no ruling on Dany, which, unfortunately, is also not unfair. So knowing that a firm pro or anti stance on either character is not really expected, what do we get out of Leigh’s response? I will note that Leigh moves into discussing Dany specifically rather than villains broadly here, which almost makes me wish the Dany angle was not brought up, but let’s take a look. I think we can all agree that the Darkling will be the main villain on Leigh’s mind here, she has no other books but S&B published atm (e.g. no Crows).

Dany’s hunger for power is tempered by her love of her people and a desire for just rule. As of S&B… the Darkling seems to fit this too. The Darkling hungers for power but we also see indications that he’s doing this for his people, he claims it repeatedly in S&B, although Alina completely dismissed this as lies or delusions. This falls apart a bit in S&S when the Darkling allies with Fjerda and destroys the Little Palace two things that are pretty rough to square with his love for grisha. Many who are Darkling fans are not fond of these actions because they feel counter to the set up of his character and these two elements were eventually completely removed in the show, but they will be in Leigh’s mind. I think it’s safe to say Leigh would be skeptical this boon applies to the Darkling as she’s written so far while the asker would think it’s an open question.

Dany is ruthless, she is not a liberator of Westeros, and she is seeking the throne first and foremost. We have a light… backpedal? qualifier? here to her answer. Above Leigh says Dany loves her people and wants to rule justly, but here we are at odds with the last sentence. Now ‘rule justly’ and ‘liberate’ are clearly not synonyms but wanting the throne and wanting to rule justly are complimentary aims. Our mind turns to the Darkling: is he ruthless? doubtless. Is he a liberator of Ravka? this is an open question as of S&B but takes on a note of ‘leans no’ as of S&S, since he will betray the Lantsov’s and more importantly the grisha to Fjerda.

What sort of ruler will Dany be? What will she become? Who will she become in pursuit of her aims? Interesting questions, let us apply them to the Darkling. This is again an open question in S&B but a ‘leans negative’ as of S&S. I would hope that Leigh thinks these are interesting ‘villain questions’ not just Dany questions, but interestingly I think we must assume this is a very solid case of ‘says one thing but means another’. Again the Darkling’s motives are very up in the air to the public, but Leigh knows the Darkling will slowly ‘fail’ these character tests; is Alina mistaken about her initial impressions of Aleksander? Leigh knows the answer is ‘no’.

In short, the first paragraph of the answer is almost a wash: Dany has good qualities and bad qualities and her journey is a work in progress. Fair… ish. It’s applicability to the Darkling is also a bit of a wash, most of these thoughts and questions are similarly confused for him, but keep in mind Leigh knows his S&S actions and likely knows he will go completely off the deep end in R&R (unless conspiracies re: changed endings are true in which case… who knows).

All told I think this paragraph leans to an answer of ‘no, the Darkling (and characters in general) are not villains just due to pursuit of rule.’ So… cool? She seems to be saying that pursuit of power is not fundamentally evil, but, thematically, this is directly at odds with Aleksander and Alina’s R&R endgames. (We ignore KoS completely, it was, doubtless, not even a twinkle in Leigh’s eyes yet).

Alina pursues power for seemingly noble ends, the destruction of the Fold and the Darkling, and yet she loses her powers for reaching too far. The idea that age and pursuit of power have tainted the Darkling irreparably is strong in R&R. This ask also may have been while Leigh was not yet certain if Nikolai would survive S&S, as his fate is uncertain and Leigh says she considered killing him, which would have also potentially punished him for his own pursuit of power. So… mixed messages to say the least.

Leigh now seems to step out of the specific (Dany, with potential Darkling overtones) and answers more broadly. Three sentences to say ‘who the villain is depends on your perspective’ and then a final to say that ‘if all good men abdicated for fear of corruption we’d be in trouble’. Not a bad answer, but again we run up hard against her (at the time quite limited) bibliography.

Thus far Leigh has published a singular novel that is strictly from Alina’s POV, Leigh’s answer can be read as saying ‘Alina may not give an accurate read on the Darkling’ and is basically saying that the Darkling is someone’s hero, Ivan’s at least, and perhaps 90% of all grisha or so besides, according to S&S and how small Alina’s support base is among grisha. To many, even S&S leaves open the possibility of a misunderstood (by Alina) Darkling as he struggles desperately for a way to achieve his ends which may still be noble even with his means which are growing darker. Leigh says that villainy is in the perspective, while writing a book from the perspective of an explicitly narrow minded protagonist, but (again, assuming no R&Retcon) she is already aware of the end of the Darkling’s story: he will grow increasingly out of control, commit more and more atrocities, and seemingly leave behind his only motivations for his actions that aren’t ‘I want power’.

Finally we have her closing line, basically assuring power is something that if good men and women abdicated their responsibility to hold, we’d be screwed. Y. I. K. E. S. Was Aleksander a good man who sought power for good reasons but was corrupted? seems a pretty unfortunate way of portraying your potential theme here. Is Alina a good woman who abdicated her responsibility and left us screwed? kinda a downer ending for your hero. A triple axel of yikes is on display if Leigh still held this perspective when Nikolai abdicates in KoS.

Leigh’s answer paints a picture of moral complexity, a need to understand motives as well as means, the assurance that perspectives on so-called villains are nuanced and varied between different people. An answer like this to me says that Leigh is promising these themes and perspectives, for why would we expect an author to say ‘Personally, I think villains depend on perspective’ and then grant no perspective of our villain, not from his own words or even the words of his myriad followers. We end with, instead, ‘the Darkling is bad and he has no principles and no line he won’t cross for his power’.

I think this answer clearly demonstrates why readers who liked the Darkling would feel betrayed by R&R but especially KoS.

[karouvas]

Top 5 fairytale remakes!

•Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie Mclemore I highly reccomend all the books I’ve read by them, When The Moon Was Ours and Wild Beauty aren’t directly inspired by any one fairytale as far as I know but are fairytale-esque magical realism tales and Dark and Deepest Red is a retelling of  Hans Anderson’s “The Red Shoes”. I also did just start reading Lakelore but it was a library book and my flight to move back to college is tomorrow so I had to return it. But I love all the books I’ve read by theknand this is my favorite one it’s a Snow White and the Red Rose retelling. I absolutely loved the two sisters and how their dynamic was written and explored, the writing is gorgeous to me. 

•Deathless by Catherine M. Valente I read this book in high school and at the time it was a challenge so I definitely need to reread it however despite me maybe not being mature enough at that point to grasp everything in the story what I loved about it, specifically the main heroine Marya Morevna and how much I adored her and her arc really stuck with me. And again, beautiful writing style I need to read more by this author (I did read her book Refrigerator Monologues but it didn’t land for me in the same way and other sff things she’s written look more my speed so I should get on that ). it’s a Koschei and the Deathless retelling and I would say out of the death and the maiden related stuff I’ve read it’s one I’d recommend above others. 

•The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer hard pivot xd, these are very popular so I’m sure you’ve heard of them sci-fi futuristic fairytale retellings of Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White primarily. It’s been literal ages since I read these (I remember anticipating the release of Winter in 8th grade and then lending it to my irl friend after I was done with it that long) but at the time I was so into them. I would definitely want to reread these before the animated series comes out (which I hope is successful not just because I’m fond of tlc and would like to see it adapted well but in a long-game sense I think more ya series adaptations should be animated series. More specific long game the tlc series doing well is how I eventually get a faithful Daughter of Smoke and Bone animated adaptation (delusionalcoded). Also, want to state for the record I thought Fairest slapped. 

•Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust I remember really enjoying it’s a Snow White retelling. I remember picking it up because I heard it was wlw Snow White but it was the Queen and the Princess character’s fucked up mother-daughter dynamic that made an impression on me over anything else in the book, and I remember they made me cry in a scene towards the end.

•When Water Sang Fire from The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo. This was a collection of grishaverse fairytales she wrote and most of the stories I read and forgot about but this is the last one in the collection and it’s lived rent free in my mind since I’m not joking, I think the anthology is worth reading (if you like the grishaverse) solely for this one story. It’s inspired by The Little Mermaid and the character it’s most focused on is the Ursula character Ulla Morozova (yes Morozova as in half-sister to the Darkling) who is a song-caster/siren of sorts and it’s about her codependent homoerotic best friendship with another mermaid that ends tragically and is her villain origin story it had no right to make me feel as many things as it did, again after the previous stories were relatively mid (Leigh’s my bestie so I can slander her works that aren’t as good as what she’s capable of I have a right <3)  I was so caught off guard by how good it was. 

Tysm for asking <3

(ask me top 5/10 of anything)