#like literally since when was his last name leigh??

[totallysora]

right so who was gonna tell me that Damians last name was only changed to hubbard in the 2024 movie??

[aleksanderscult]

I have loved your other metas. Can I make a request too? I wanted you to analyse the Grisha vows with respect to Aleksander and Alina. No problem if not. Good day.

Of course you can!

Literally anyone can ask me anything and there's nothing to be shy about. ❤️

So. We're finally doing this, huh?🥲

We're going to analyze THAT scene?🥲

I'm assuming you mean Aleksander's and "Alina's" funeral (if that's not the scene you mean then please tell me!😭) and I'm not gonna lie, I was avoiding writing a meta about it because it's SO painful🫠

But at the same time I've got some things to say here as well.

(Btw, I had already made two drafts about this scene commenting on some things. HOW DO YOU GUYS ALWAYS KNOW WHAT I'M SECRETLY CREATING??😭😶‍🌫️. But now that I'll write a meta about this scene, I won't post them until many, many weeks later)

Okay. Not gonna stall anymore. Let's do this.🥲

Gonna start from here because I don't have anything to say about the previous lines (but if there's something in particular you want me to analyze before this, dear anon, then just say so❤️).

This line by itself is extremely sad.

The imagery that comes to your mind.

After four hundred years of existence full of war and battles, the Darkling is dead.

And Alina could easily say "You know what? Burn his body somewhere else. Not beside mine."

No, she wanted their bodies to burn side by side.

That says a lot by itself.

When a fan asked Bardugo who truly tended to the Darkling's body, the latter refused to answer saying that she's leaving that for the readers to guess.

My personal guess, after what happened in Nikolai's duology, is Sankta Elizaveta. If the duology never existed then I would say a random otkazat'sya woman. I don't know, it just fits.

Apart from this, it's really heartbreaking how here the Darkling is described neither as a powerful Grisha nor as a cunning warrior. But as a handsome boy that fell in battle and now in death he looks so innocent. So peaceful at last.

And Alina wants to know. Cares to know. Who treated him so gently?

Just like I said before, Alina decided this. Not for the people, not for Nikolai, not for Mal.

But for herself. And I bet for the Darkling too. Perhaps she didn't want him to be alone in his funeral pyre either. 🥲

The crowd was complaining 'cause for them the Darkling was the villain, the man that frightened them and put them through too much.

What did an evil man do to deserve a funeral pyre beside a Saint that was so beloved and revered?

But for Alina (right now) he is just the boy Aleksander Morozova and he deserves this funeral alongside her body.

I'm kinda confused here.

I understand why the Soldat Sol attended the funeral since they were devoted to the Sun Saint but I expected for the Grisha to be mentioned more here.

Two of their leaders are dead.

The Darkling, that was their General for God-knows-how-many-years, and Alina, who also led them from a point afterwards.

I'm not saying that I expected them to mourn the Darkling. But where are the Etherealki? The order that the late Aleksander and "late" Alina also belonged to? They should be at the front lines, right?

Why aren't the Grisha mentioned at all in this scene?

(I swear Leigh created the Grisha, gave them a sad, violent history and then threw them into the bin😭)

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if some Grisha really felt sad about the Darkling's death. For some he really represented an end to the constant Ravkan wars and bloodshed. The man that would give them freedom from all of these. He was their safety, their leader, a guardian even. And the fact that so many (supposed) Darklings existed for centuries now, that feeling of safety was only enhanced 'cause he was a constant presence to the Grisha's side.

It's kinda cringe to me that these people mourn Alina even though they had never truly known her. They had touched her and prayed to her name but they didn't know her truly. As a person. They mourn an idol.

Also, the fact that Alina doesn't want to be recognized particularly from the Apparat. If she still had her powers she would use the Cut to him LMAO Those bitter feelings haven't left her. (And I agree with her, he was a creep and a jerk).

(Also, how the FUCK is Nikolai immaculate 24/7?? NIKOLAI WHAT'S YOUR HAIR AND SKINCARE ROUTINE??😭😭)

It's kinda sweet how Nikolai searches for Alina and her approval to begin this.🥹

These two🫶

The crowd is weeping and yelling for Sankta Alina. The polished, idolized version of her that they created. For them she was a Saint that they considered a legend.

But with Alina here it's different. She's mourning for a person that she truly knew. Not a Saint. Not an idolized person created by dreams and fantasies, no. But for a boy that she knew and loved and killed out of mercy and that no one else mourns but her.

It's that contradiction for me.

The crowd mourns a holy person that they never knew but glamorized in their mind.

And Alina mourns for a flawed human being that she knew, loved and felt pity for.

The crowd also showed their grief loudly. While Alina did it in her own quiet and private way.

Alina's name was chanted again and again loudly in a showy manner.

But Aleksander's was whispered with genuine care by a girl that loved him. She said it as a final goodbye to him. From a girl that the Darkling trusted to give his name. And she, in turn, respected it by keeping it a secret and paying tribute to it one final time.

Now she's the only person in the world that knows that name.

(UNTIL "RULE OF WOLVES" CAME OUT AND FUCKED THIS UP BUT LET'S PRETEND THAT NEVER HAPPENED, SHALL WE??😀😀)

I love that scene so much but at the same time it just hurts.so.much.

But just like I said I loved the contradiction between the devoted followers who grieved loudly about a woman that they barely knew and a girl who cried soundlessly, mourned in silence and paid tribute to a boy that she loved and he loved her in return and made sure to honor all his final wishes even after he died.

"No grave. For them to desecrate" = She burned his body.

"Someone to mourn me" = Mourned him in his funeral.

"Speak my name once more" = She did in his funeral as well.

"Don't let me be alone" = He didn't let him be alone in his funeral pyre either.

Gonna go cry now.✌️

[whumpcloud]

Things End | People Change - Long Enough

masterlist

content: vampire whumpee, whumper turned whumpee, captivity, multiple whumpers, sadistic whumper, lady whumper, non-binary whumper, dehumanisation, whipping, sun and silver burning, knives, cigarette burns, muzzles, restraints, stress positions, collars, begging, literal bootlicking, gagging, whumpee believing they deserve it

Sawyer is the smoker and makes you call him sir. Vincent can remember that because of the alliteration. Leigh-Ann has bright pink hair, the colour of the sky before the sun rises when she chains him up outside. Ezekiel is the sadistic one, and brings his own knives, sharp like the sound of his name. Ainsley is also sir, but Vincent doesn't really have anything clever for them. They're just more merciful, and Vincent's pain-wracked mind latches onto that.

He doesn't know why he bothers remembering. It isn't as though they ever told him their names, he just overheard. But it's something. Something to hold onto. It's a different pain every day, but it's the same four people. Consistency.

How long has it been since the hunters captured him?

Vincent doesn't know.

—

When Sawyer pulls the blindfold from Vincent's face, the vampire keeps his eyes closed anyway, whimpering softly.

"Come on, parasite." Sawyer, smoker, sir. "If ya make me drag you up it'll only get worse. Knees, now."

Vincent whines, but pulls himself upright. Sawyer turns him around and shoves him against the wall with his boot, tugging on Vincent's hair to make him straighten his back. There's no arguing with Sawyer. The one time Vincent tried, Sawyer stabbed a silver knife through his palm to pin him to the leg of the table, and left him there until every nerve in his arm went numb from holding it up.

The muzzle comes off. Vincent doesn't need to be told to count anymore. Sawyer cuts him open with the silver tipped whip and in between screams he obediently counts, multiples of six. Sawyer always stops on a multiple of six.

It's twenty-four, today - either he has something else planned or he's already getting tired. Vincent doesn't dare to slump, to think it's over before he gets confirmation.

"Hands behind your head," Sawyer grins.

Vincent doesn't have the instinct to make a sound when it doesn't really hurt in comparison to much worse things, but he cries out anyway as Sawyer cuffs him, using the chains dangling from the ceiling instead of the ones on his belt, just so Vincent can't lower his arms, and lights a cigarette.

"If you didn't scream so nice we'd never take the muzzle off," Sawyer muses.

"I know," Vincent mutters. "That's why you took me. You remind me all the time."

Sawyer narrows his eyes, and presses his cigarette to the base of Vincent's neck, making him sharply scream and try to writhe away.

"Don't get mouthy, bloodsucker," Sawyer snaps.

"I- I'm sorry, sir!" Vincent says quickly, tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry, p-please don't-- hnn-- th-thank you for reminding me…"

Sawyer has his favourites and he sticks to them. Whipping and cigarette burns and stress positions and beatings. Vincent knows what to expect. It doesn't hurt any less.

—

Vincent is almost immediately let out of the chains when Leigh-Ann arrives, but he quickly scrambles away, shaking his head frantically. He whimpers and whines, but Leigh-Ann grabs him by the wrist and drags him across the floor like he weighs nothing. She hums to herself, punctuated by Vincent's strangled sounds as his broken body hits every stair on the way up.

Both of them know he could run, if he really tried, but he can't remember the last time he even got to stand.

More chains, this one attached to a post. Vincent struggles until Leigh-Ann kicks him in the face, and he can only sob pathetically as she puts the collar around his throat. It's close, it's so close, but it doesn't burn, because he begged desperately at Ainsley until they agreed to give him a bandage for his neck. He doesn't know why it hurts worse there. He guesses it's something to do with the scars. She pulls off the muzzle too. Just to hear him scream.

Leigh-Ann sits down at the picnic table they've set up just outside the door. She has a book with her. Vincent's vision is too blurred to be able to read the title. It doesn't matter, what matters is that it's almost certainly minutes before the sun begins to creep over the horizon.

"Thank you for letting me keep the shirt on, this time," Vincent says softly.

Leigh-Ann snorts. "You're adorable. Yeah, you should be grateful."

He knows. He should be grateful for every tiny mercy, even though he should know there's no real mercy here at all.

Vincent starts crying before it actually burns. The anticipation is almost as bad as the pain. He knows it's coming. He can't stop it. All he can do is play this game. He feels the first bit of warmth on his body. It doesn't burn, yet.

It creeps and coils up his legs, and he tries to take comfort in the cold concrete as the sunlight reaches the back of his knees. He knows it's no fun if he starts to struggle too quickly, but he wants to, he so badly wants to beg, even though Leigh-Ann won't give him anything for begging.

He chokes himself on his first scream, the collar digging into his larynx and making him gag as he rushes forward. They set up an umbrella to create shade, shade that, logically, Vincent knows he will always be just a few inches short of. It doesn't stop him from bruising his throat trying to get to it.

"PLEASE!" he screams, tears streaming down his face. "Please, p-please!"

His only saving grace is that he's allowed to have his back to the sun. It won't burn his face more than it already is. But the sun is already blistering his pale skin and he feels like he's inside a bonfire and it's another hour before he's allowed under the shade to grovel at Leigh-Ann's feet.

All she does is smirk lazily and smother his face into the concrete as he babbles thank yous.

—

Vincent sleeps for a little while before Ezekiel comes. He isn't sure how long. Ezekiel isn't a morning person, he knows that, so maybe it was even a few hours. Vincent feels like a fool for being so happy at that idea.

"Oh, they've already fucked you up today, huh?" Ezekiel laughs, pulling Vincent up by the hair. "Well, there's always more I can do."

Vincent limply lets himself be cuffed to the table, sobbing quietly when the silver burns his skin. He wishes Ezekiel would get sick of the knives, just once, but it's never going to happen. Ezekiel stuffs Vincent's shirt into his mouth as a gag. He could just use the muzzle, but that would be far less humiliating.

Fangs tear holes into the fabric as Vincent cries out and bites down, trying to handle the pain. He fixes his eyes to the ceiling so that he doesn't have to watch his skin blister where it's meant to bleed. He screams himself hoarse and that's about all he can remember of the whole ordeal.

Ezekiel doesn't replace the muzzle. No, Ezekiel has never feared Vincent, and for good reason. How stupid to believe that he was ever something to be feared. Ever anything more than something to be abused until he breaks and lets his animalistic monstrosity consume him.

Vincent curls up tightly in the corner when Ezekiel throws him down. He couldn't even drag himself back onto the floor. He doesn't put his shirt back on. It's filthy, anyway.

Ezekiel puts his shoe under Vincent's chin, pressing against his throat. "Don't you have something to say?"

"Thank… thank you," Vincent murmurs.

Ezekiel presses harder. "For what, leech?"

"F-For hurting me," Vincent replies, eyes fluttering. He's so tired.

"God, I love that you say that!" Ezekiel laughs delightedly and gives Vincent one last kick for good measure. Vincent barely feels it at all.

—

"N-No, please," are the first words out of Vincent's mouth when the door opens again. "Please, I can't, I'll do whatever else you want…"

Vincent hates Ainsley's commanding silence. He feels so small, even though he's sure he's taller than Ainsley by a good few inches. But his place is on his bruised and burned knees, and he forces himself onto them as Ainsley approaches, bending so that his forehead rests on the floor.

"Please, sir," Vincent whimpers. "I- I'm in so much pain, I--"

"So?" Ainsley says montonely. "Get up."

"Please!" Vincent's hands curl into fists. "A-Anything else. Whatever you want, p-please, I don't care how humiliating it is! Please j-just don't hurt me anymore, just for a little while, please, sir."

Ainsley doesn't reply for a long moment.

"Alright then, go on," Ainsley finally says, shoving their boots under Vincent's nose. "Lick my boots clean and you can sleep for the entire night."

Vincent doesn't even hesitate. He fills his mouth with leather and thanks them for the privilege, because it isn't pain, because he knows it's all that he deserves, because the only thing he's useful for is being hurt and used and if they aren't going to kill him at least he can still be useful.

How long has it been?

Vincent doesn't know. Long enough that the taste of Ainsley's boots is something he's willing to be grateful for.

—

taglist: @whumpsday @whumpycries @whumpwillow @why-not-ask-me-a-better-question @whumpshaped @suspicious-whumping-egg @chibichibivale @melancholy-in-the-morning @zillastar13 @bloodinkandashes @whump-me-all-night-long @sickophantic @itsmyworld98 @kira-the-whump-enthusiast @annablogsposts

[bathroomtrapped]

What are the basic differences between saws original script and the outcome? Why did they not play those scenes?

theres a lot of superficial changes, like their ages and adams last name being denlon. honestly still not sure where faulkner-stanheight got confirmed as his last name!

a lot of the things that were cut had to do with adams character and im not entirely sure why it was cut. his reason for being there was because he was suicidal. jigsaw said something along the lines of "everyday youve wanted to die". he wanted to go to vet school and had an interaction with some cat in his apartment. theres a scene where his mother calls, saying his father isnt mad and that he should call them. he writes on a sticky note "call mom" then adds a "?"

he has an interaction with a shitty neighbor, begs god to become a better person

theres probably a few small details about him im forgetting bc its been a while since ive reread the screenplay but the common theme is that the saw movie cut out a MASSIVE amount of context for adams character.

im not entirely sure why, i think some scenes might have to do with cutting down on time (the cat scene would probably get cut for time before filming once they actually start working on the project) vs something that was cut to make the story tighter and change adams role in the story.

he tells lawrence that basically, be hid the photo because he "didnt know what he would do". aka he was scared that itd motivate lawrence to kill him more. not sure why this is cut because some people clearly did not pick up on that lol

basically everything we know about adam is only known to us because it has something to do with lawrence. we know it because lawrence needs to. its unfortunately bc i like adam enough to want to know more but it serves the story better. hes the audience. we know what we know bc adam knows it or learns it. hes the one behind the camera. hes a voyeur. hes literally nothing. he died forgotten by basically everyone and hes just BARELY there in the narrative bc hes just... nothing.

at the end of the day, he was just a pawn. hes not important to anyone but lawrence because this is his story. this is his test and were just the people chained up and forced to watch it play out. i imagine his backstory and personal information was cut for this reason.

during the editing process, there were scenes cut. i know the trap was supposed to be more elaborate originally. i think the cat scene was cut out to save time and the mom scene/motivation/history was cut to firmly center the narrative on lawrence

one change that fucking BAFFLES me is that at the end during the love scene, adam originally asks lawrence "am i going to be okay?". in the film its "are WE going to be okay?" umm im honestly not quite sure what series of thoughts propelled them to make such a gay film by accident, call the end the LOVE SCENE publicly, and then proceed to be shocked when people call them on it? leigh was shocked to see chainshipping fics back during the ff.net days (fun fact: the first ever chainshipping fanfic was published on ffnet called rebirth. its still up)

my best guess is that leigh wanted to push their "relationship" (whatever they think that is) further for more emotional pay off. most of the changes seem to pull their themes tighter. it ends up working in its favor. adam is lawrences test and his moral core or whatever, so they have a pretty instant connection. it was probably done to make lawrence suffer more! or maybe make it gayer and leigh is just doing a bit

theres also the lampshade song lol. some dumb shit leigh made up and cary refused to do, so they changed it to the weird little piggy thing instead. MINOR minor improvement

certain words were changed because cary just kinda... rolled with it. he adjusted the script a few times bc he rly liked lawrence for some reason. he still does. leigh just accepted it and let him do his thing

amanda was also amanda denlon in the screenplay im pretty sure

tapp was dunked on by john as he assassins creed-ed him in the throat for being a 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN! absolutely insane

the way adam finds out lawrence is a doctor is different, he talks about possibly being injected with rohypnol LOL

the heart was actually a clue leading to the word toilet written over his heart, under his shirt. the blood heart wasnt in the script LOL. i imagine cary didnt want to have toilet written on his bare chest for the film? a shame

theres more interactions with tapp, sing, lawrence, and brett (his lawyer) im assuming its what happened before they asked lawrence to sit and watch amandas testimony. they say his fingerprints were found at the scene, not a pen. i think either way its interesting because. wow! lawrences prints are in the system which means he has a record. the implications are kinda funny, it makes how baffled he is that tapp dare accuse him of such a thing! even more ironic. now we know that mark was involved in the police and planted the pen, so he probably just out his prints into the system as well

amanda works at lawrences hospital. not sure why this is cut? possibly bc shawnee was begged to join bc james had a big crush on her and she didnt even want to originally. she might notve wanted to do multiple scenes or something at the time before she decided on returning as amanda (for whatever reason, im not quite sure why she became so attached to the series after not joining as enthusiastically as cary did after watching the 2003 short)

amandas reason is also different. i think jigsaw literally hated depressed ppl so much in the script bc she was there for therapy or something LOL. not drugs. prob just cut to improve it

thats all i got. theres a lot of changes for logics sake related to the trap, wording changes for flow (im assuming), time constraints, and to streamline the themes and center it on lawrence

[keudjd]

insane over a song again. yk what that means sunflower by michele leigh okkk focusing on emilio’s life before the institute or when he was around 4 or 5 basically. the institute would provide basic education and extra classes more indepth about different subjects and stuff just as a school would so for those 5 years, emilio just had a bunch of social interactions with other since for like. the next 11 years of his life he wouldn’t be talking to anyone but adults. noel/francis was probably the closest friend one had. kinda obvious the two meet again when you see the names of literally THE first people he meets in chapter 1. (well the first named characters i guess. not even amelia is named until chapter 2..) anyways it takes a while before they remember each other obviously. its been like 21 years since they last met?? i cant do math brah. but no shit theyre gonna be a lot different than when they were just silly 5 year olds.. well both of them think the other became a lot more cold and distant, like how the lyrics say “how did you get so cold?”  while neither of them would exactly say they think of a sunflower if ever asked to assign each other a flower, sunflowers represent loyalty and adoration, something they both had for each other. “sunflower, cant let you go” basically refers to the loyalty part of the symbolism and adoration is just something else sunflowers are also associated with but it fits in with what im saying so why not :3 also the intro of the song is probably what applies most to them imo. though they do end up making up and becoming qpps, what im talking about is the stage where they’re kind of awkwardly catching up and stuff. “what happened to us?” is talking about both how emilio just. one day stopped showing up at the park they’d always be at together and the fact that theyre both so different theyre not even sure if they could both be friends again. and this is before emilio becomes a priest in lancaster/florence county (still cant decide between which names yet :( soon maybe) so no mr egoist whos afraid of vulnerability yet lol. and the meaning of “we used to be best friends” is pretty obvious. i dont have any secret second meaning for this lmao

[bee-a-lover]

I am not completely against the possibility of Kanej having kids; I think it’s possible, but for it to make sense with their characters it would have to:

a.) be far into the future. Years and years from where they are currently in the timeline

b.) their characters would have had to actively been progressing in their healing process across the course of those years, which IS WHAT WE’RE HOPING TO SEE (cough cough SOC 3)

c.) I don’t think their child would be planned. That could mean two things, depending, once again, on where they’ve gotten in their healing process: sudden adoption (which doesn’t seem far-fetched for Ketterdam since the government doesn’t do anything to help its parent-less children) or the kid’s an accident

d.) Either way, Kaz would be the one to have a really difficult time wrapping his head around the thought of him being a parent. Inej might also struggle, but the support of her entire family would help (the kid would have some awesome acrobat grandparents). It wouldn’t really sink in for Kaz until he literally holds his kid for the first time, and then it clicks. He wouldn’t really know how to place the strong emotions he feels at first, but I rly think he would love their child more than he thought capable of himself loving anyone other than Inej

e.) AND THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT: they would move out of Ketterdam right after she (I see them with a daughter) is born, completing Kaz’s character arc because he’s finally leaving the city that he made (almost) everything to him because it took everything from him. Kaz Brekker achieved everything he sought out to do in Ketterdam. The only surprise is, that he now gets to be free at the end. So he sells the Crow Club, the Silver Six, and everything with it. And as he and Inej and their daughter sail away and he watches it disappear on the horizon, the city seems so much smaller than he ever thought.

f.) this is my personal take, but I think they’d join the Suli with Inej’s family in Ravka. It’s a life of movement (I can’t see them settling-down settling down) and Inej gets to raise their daughter the way she was raised, a childhood full of joy and love (that kid would also be a killer acrobat in the future) and Kaz and Inej would go to the ends of the world to keep her safe and protect her.

g.) And just like that, Kaz Brekker is dead. Not actually dead of course (pls, I’m not Leigh Bardugo writing SOC 3 (which better stay a joke)) but he dies when Kaz leaves Ketterdam, in the same way Kaz Rietveld died in the harbor

h.) Kaz and Inej didn’t plan on getting married. They’re already in love, everybody knows it, a ceremony won’t change anything. But Inej’s parents insist on a proper Suli ceremony, and Inej wants to humor them, Kaz is only a tiny bit horrified at the idea, but if Inej is in, so is he

i.) the wedding is small and low-key at the Suli settlement, but of course the guest list includes Jesper, Wylan, their family, everyone’s favorite DILF Colm Fahey (for legal reasons that is a joke), Nina, Hanne, and even Nikolai and Zoya BECAUSE KAZ AND NIKOLAI ARE FRIENDS I DON’T MAKE THE RULES. I also feel like Kuwei would somehow find out and crash the after party because…, he’s Kuwei? And obviously Inej’s parents and Kaz and Inej’s daughter

j.) Kaz hadn’t planned on taking another last name. He’d just been Kaz, but then Inej’s father, who’s conducting the ceremony, refers to him as “Kaz Ghafa” before they make their vows and yeah, that sounds right. He’ll stick with that.

k.) things aren’t perfect after that, but they do their best, for each other, for their daughter, to be people their teenage-selves wouldn’t recognize, would never have expected to be in their future. Their trauma doesn’t just go away. Kaz still finds skin-to-skin contact hard sometimes, but the gloves are long gone. Inej sometimes fears for their daughter because of what happened to her. But for every bad day, there are more good ones, and they’re still capable of getting better

Bonus: they name their daughter Kruge

For legal reasons, that is also a joke (but her middle name is Jordie)

Just…, Kanej happy and at peace. They could use some of that.

OH also, I should mention that this is all after Inej tears down the entire slave trade and Inej has convinced (with help from Queen Zoya of Ravka, King Rasmus and Queen Mila of Fjerda themselves) each country’s government to outlaw and place ample protections against slavery cause c’mon, we all know she could

[nikadoesanart]

Taking a look at Fyodor and Nikolai's friendship

Before I start, I will preface this by mentioning that I am looking at both one of the fan translations as well as the official English translation because I am pretty well aware as someone that's bilingual that with translation, there can multiple ways to translate a phrase (or longer). As I've seen some people start describing it recently, it is both interpreting as much as it is translating. For reference, I am a native speaker of both English and Russian.

I’m primarily going to be looking at how Gogol describes his relationship with Fyodor (well how he sees it from his end to be specific), but will be showing the prior page for more context of the conversation. Spoilers for Ch 78, p 29-30 (vol 18).

Context

^fan translation^

I don’t have scans of the official version but the key differences that I’ll be looking at are Gogol saying (fan → official translation):

“Yet” “Dos-kun was different” → “...Except...” “...for Dostoy.”

“Dos-kun was the one person in my life who understood. My intimate friend. That’s what I thought.” → “Dostoy’s my only friend...the only one who gets me. That’s what I thought.”

Analysis

Gogol describes Fyodor as “my intimate friend” in the fan translation and “my only friend” in the official translation → I don’t know that much about levels of friendship in Japanese and how those translate to nicknames and naming diminutives being used, but fun fact about Russian (coming from a Russian): although the literal translation for "friend" is друг, it’s actually closer to the Russian equivalent of "close friend" or "best friend" with how it is used. Hence why (at least from my experience) the literal translation for “best friend” isn’t really used among Russians.

Also, although Gogol calls Dostoyevsky “Dos-kun” in the fan translations (and the original Japanese version too) and “Dostoy” in the Yen Press translation (vol 18), the actual Russian equivalent/usage of this would most likely be Fedya, considering them being close friends and basically using nicknames. The more appropriate terminology for this would actually be (naming) diminutive (you learn something new every day lol).

I'm not necessarily calling any of the official versions (Japanese or English) wrong, but I guess I'm pretty much calling them a little bit inaccurate from the perspective of a native Russian speaker. Since we can already see Gogol calling Fyodor by what is comparably a very similar nicknaming convention to what he'd be using in Russian (as the two of them are that after all), to me it just makes more sense for Gogol to use Fedya instead, especially given how he describes their closeness from his own point of view on the relationship. Gogol calling Fyodor "my intimate friend" in the fan translation and "my only friend" in the official one to be specific. In fact, Gogol could’ve almost equally likely referred to Fyodor by his middle name, Mikhailovich, or a diminutive of that instead. We’ve seen characters refer to each other by their real names and not their pen names a couple of times already (Elise calling Mori “Rintaro” and Fukuzawa calling Fukuchi “Genichiro”), so it wouldn’t be too strange to see middle names being used as well.

Whether someone is referred to by their first or last name in Russian is very much comparable to English. Last names are more so for formalities and showing respect (ie. professors and teachers, historical figures, etc). Close friends are typically on a first-name basis, sometimes nicknames (ie. a shortening of their first name).

Sources:

Ch 78 raws: @akutagawaprize (full ver.)

Ch 78 fan translation referenced: @akai-koutei (full ver.)

Ch 78 official translation: Yen Press (thank you Leigh for providing me with this as I don't have a copy of vol 18 yet)

Also thank you @chazukekani for helping to confirm what the Japanese text said (in Japanese)

Additional source when you can see a description of different ways to describe levels of friendship among Russians

More in-depth info and a list of some Russian name diminutives

[sheikah]

Hello! I'm sorry to ask this, but can you explain what spoilers you mean and the thing with Darklina? I just read the first book in the series; only managed to finish it because of The Darkling - love him. But I stopped reading the series/world after that one. So I'm a bit unsure if you mean spoilers regarding the books or the show? I'm a little late to the part. Reason for asking as an anon is because I got blocked by another when I asked a question about The Darkling...

Wow, someone blocked you for asking a question about the Darkling? I honestly don’t know how some people get through life being this sensitive haha... Relatively speaking he’s far from the worst villain out there??? 

Anyway, sorry it took so long to answer this. I wanted to get some distance from the spoilers so my answer wouldn’t be so emotional haha. Spoilers for ROW under the cut. Also, since you say you’ve just read the first book, I’ll be making brief mention of key plot moments from Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising as well, so those would be spoiled for you, anon!

We don’t have all of Rule of Wolves yet, obviously, but people with early review copies posted photographs of pages on Twitter, and I’ll link them below

From those pages, we can gather the following:

The Darkling (as we know from the ending of King of Scars) has returned in Yuri’s body but basically looks and sounds like his old self.

A darkness/blight much like the Fold is spreading and killing. Nikolai and Zoya need the Darkling’s help with combatting it because of his magical power/past experience with merzost.

In the early parts of the book they keep him prisoner in a cell flooded with sunlight to prevent him from summoning shadows.

At some point during the story they trust him enough to release him. They bargain with him. He will help them in exchange for a meeting with Alina Starkov. Bear in mind that prior to this Alina would have assumed him dead.

They are concerned by this request but they agree. In the Darkling’s POV he muses that he needs to meet with her to “get his power back” or something. Not sure how this make sense since Alina lost her own powers. 

Anyway, so far, none of the above bothers me at all. But then...

When they meet with Alina it’s one of the most bizarre and OOC encounters I could imagine. Mal is there, and the Darkling randomly, out of nowhere, comments on how they’re related and Mal is like “lol we all hate our relatives amirite???”

Alina’s reaction to seeing the Darkling again is... no reaction at all. She doesn’t seem shocked, happy, upset, nothing. This man who loomed so large in her life and her destiny, this man she was forced to murder in Ruin and Rising... is BACK FROM THE DEAD, and everyone is just sitting around like it’s afternoon tea.

The Darkling looks at her and comments that she looks different. Here is the first thing to really and truly pisses me off: Alina says the reason she looks different is because she’s happy now and “[he] never really saw her that way.” As in, Alina was never once happy around the Darkling. If you just read Shadow and Bone, you know this is obviously not even remotely true. But it isn’t treated like a lie from Alina in the narrative. It’s treated like the truth the big, bad Darkling deserves to hear from her. 

Eventually they come to an agreement and the Darkling agrees to help at the cost of his own life. [Here is where I want to interject something. I’ve seen a lot of people insinuate that Darkling stans are upset because Leigh killed the villain of her story. In other words, they’re suggesting that we’re stupid for being upset because obviously villains die. I just want to say for the record that I 100% expected the Darkling to die in Rule of Wolves. That is not the issue here.]

Before the Darkling sacrifices himself (something that is, at least, somewhat framed as a selfless act to save Grisha and Ravkans), some truly odd writing from Leigh. First, he tells a whole bunch of people his real name. No one asked??? He just tells everyone. A lot of Darklinas are angry because prior to this, his name was a secret only known by Alina. It was something they shared, an intimacy, and it was significant because in “Demon in the Wood,” the Darkling’s backstory, we see the target his true name put on his back all his life, and that Baghra cautioned him to tell no one. So him telling Alina was a gesture of trust. Him telling everyone destroys that.

The second weird thing about the death scene is that he basically screams something along the lines of, “I’m not sorry.” Again, this feels so weird. Like deliberate spite from Leigh. Making sure not to redeem him before killing him off.

So I don’t know all the magical/lore details, but when the Darkling sacrifices himself it is in some ritual where his body is pierced and mutilated by a bunch of magical tree branches??? Supposedly he will continue to exist this way in some sort of eternal super-hell where he just suffers in pain without dying forever, all to keep the darkness from spreading. Zoya and Nikolai bear witness.

This last part is the part that upsets me the most, more than anything else I guess. So later, at the end of the book, Zoya is with Genya and Alina. Zoya reveals that she’s been having nightmares wherein she sees things from the Darkling’s point of view--destryoing Novokribirsk, etc. She realizes how easy it could be to lose yourself with the kind of power the Darkling--and now Zoya herself--possesses. She wonders if he really deserves this eternal and unimaginable suffering and torture. Zoya proposes letting him out to mercy kill him. Genya and Alina are doubtful, but even Genya is swayed before Alina is. And this is the heart of the issue for me. Zoya, who loathes the Darkling more than anyone, is the one having mercy and taking pity on him, while Alina is utterly apathetic to his suffering. Alina, who wept openly over his body and held him as he died. Alina, who honored his last wishes and saw to it that he had a funeral of honor alongside what the people believed to be a literal saint in Ruin and Rising. Alina, who struggled with wanting and feeling for him all the way to the end of the trilogy, whose last word in the trilogy was his name. Alina, who had compassion for the animals she had to kill for the amplifiers. That is Alina Starkov. But the Alina Starkov in Rule of Wolves is completely unaffected when this man she seemingly used to love is being tortured literally forever. She couldn’t care less. And so all of this together feels like a deliberate slight to Darklinas, and that’s why we’re angry. 

Anyway, Alina eventually agrees that the Darkling can be freed and killed, so Zoya says they’re going to replace the Darkling with the relic heart of a saint or something, and hire Kaz to steal it. So SOC3 is coming.

We did get one tiny crumb of Darklina. In the Darkling’s POV, he admits to himself that the real reason he wants to see Alina again is because “with her, he was human again.” He also ponders on why she was always able to defeat him and best him, and thinks that it’s because of something more than her stubbornness and bravery: “something he knew the name of a hundred lifetimes ago.” Most people are interpreting this as him finally admitting to himself that he loved her. It’s something!

Pics for reference.

[she-who-fights-and-writes]

About Me!

So I’ve been running this writing advice blog since 2016 (It seems like such a long time ago holy crap!!) and I realize that I haven’t made an an “About Me” page to go along with it! 

Sure, I have my tag #maddytalks and sometimes participate in tag games, but I haven’t done an About Me page before!

So....without further ado, hello everyone!!!!! 

I’m Maddy for short and I’m a recent college student from New York who’s currently double graduate with a BA in Anthropology and Art History. I enjoy reading and writing (obviously lmao), but I’m also a big fan of hiking, art, puzzles, history, video games, and listening to music! 

I’ve been writing since third grade, and finished my first novel in fifth grade (Though that’s been shelved since it was basically a glorified PJO fanfiction lmaoooo). My current WIP that I hope to get published is Wings of Faith, a young adult fantasy novel about a one-winged angel and his ragtag band of demon friends trying to break out of Hell! 

I have Twitter, Spotify, and an art account on Instagram where I post all my artwork if you guys want to check those out!

Idk what else to say without rambling, so here are some lil’  random facts about me beneath the cut!

Where are you from?

I’m from New York, U.S., but both sides of my family moved here in the early 1900s from Italy and Sicily! My Italian heritage still plays a huge role in my life, especially when it comes to my commitment to family (and to good food!)

What made you get into writing?

My third grade teacher really liked the short stories I wrote in my little journal and encouraged me to take it up as a hobby, and had it not been for him, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today! My first published book will definitely be dedicated to him!

Any goals for the future?

My primary career goal is to become a museum curator! My bucket list also includes getting my book published and going to every one of the 62 major National Parks of the United States! (Nine down, fifty-three to go!)

Any pets?

Yes! I have a cat named Carly (after Carly from iCarly)! I used to have a bearded dragon named Gizmo, who passed at the ripe old age of 10! I’ve always wanted a dog, but I know in the end I’ll just be a cat lady for life.

Some things you’re not a fan of?

Math, ketchup, being cold, scary movies that are 90% jumpscares and no actual horror, artificial grape flavor

Astrological Sign?

I’m a July Cancer (And yes, I fit the stereotypes...oops)

Favorite Color?

Up until recently I was a hardcore Blue enthusiast, but now I think my favorite color is Green!

Favorite Food? 

My mom’s pasta with sauce. It’s a recipe that’s been passed down for generations!

Favorite Animal?

I love elephants and orcas! I’m super drawn to their intelligence. 

Honorable mentions: Red pandas, okapis, opossums, snow leopards, frogs

Favorite Book?

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo! Leigh is my favorite author of all time, and was a huge inspiration for my own writing!.

Honorable mentions: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee, Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, and The Round House by Louise Erdrich

Favorite TV show?

Game of Thrones! A little basic, I know, but I’m a sucker for hot people, medieval settings, and dragons. 

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a very close second. 

Favorite Movie?

I really like My Cousin Vinny, but Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse is close up there, too.

Favorite Video Game?

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild! I logged over 100 hours on that game, did every single possible quest there was to do, and tried to find all nine hundred korok seeds but failed miserably. I LOVED exploring the huge open world, and literally cried when I finished it. 

Honorable mentions: Cult of the Lamb, Hades, Minecraft, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Animal Crossing New Horizons, Super Smash Bros., and Darksiders I

Favorite Singer?

Hozier!!!!! I am in love with that Irish giant and can listen to all his songs on repeat for weeks at a time!! My favorite song of his is either Francesca or Cherry Wine.

Honorable mentions: Black Sabbath, Van Halen, Vundabar

Any other weird things you want to confess?

I LOVE bugs, amphibians, and reptiles!!! Idk why but whenever I’m on a hike and I see a cool bug or a nice lizard or a fat frog I just gotta pick it up.

And if you have any more questions, my ask box is always open unless otherwise stated!

[lizziestudieshistory]

Books of 2021 - March

I had a very strange reading month in March, I read more than I usually do when studying but then fell into a reading slump in the last 10 days or so... It was all a certain book's fault!

The Burning God - R.F. Kuang (Poppy War #3)

I've already got a post somewhere explaining how I felt about The Burning God. I had a wonderful(? feels like the wrong word but I'm sticking with it) time with this series, in a morbid kind of way. It was highly worth the read and The Poppy War is one of the best debut fantasy stories I've read to date! I was slightly disappointed in some of the elements (the Trifecta still spring to mind, I was expecting so much more...) but it was a great series. Highly recommended if you haven't given them a go.

Shadow and Bone/Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo (This includes all three books, plus the Demon in the Woods)

I read this entire series back to back in the space of about 10 days... I haven't read a series this fast since I was in high school! And I LOVED it! The Grisha Trilogy is a stereotypical YA as you can get - it's clichéd, tropey, and predictable. However, I still had a fantastic time reading them, much to my surprise.

Unfortunately, I loathed Mal (don't kill me), he was one of the most toxic "heroes" I've met in YA fantasy and I'm not over the infuriating conclusion with him and Alina (if Alina had to have a partner she should have married Nikolai, come on! Roguish pirate AND a dashing prince in one man!) I'm genuinely angry that the message Bardugo gave young girls with the conclusion to Alina and Mal's relationship arc was 'sacrifice everything, including your identity, to be play housewife with a boy with such a fragile ego he ignored you for an entire book'.

I really hope the TV series removes some of his controlling and manipulative behaviour - and yes I can stomach it with the Darkling because HE IS THE VILLAIN and not framed as the paragon of virtue Mal is... I did very much like the Darkling as a hot villain, and I'm looking forward to seeing my childhood crush, Ben Barnes, do him justice ;) Seriously though, the Darkling was the most interesting character in the series, maybe tied with Nikolai, and I'm sad we didn't see more of him in the second and third books.

The Hatmakers - Tamzin Merchant

I ADORED this book! I was expecting to enjoy it but not love it, however, I fell in love. This is a debut middle grade novel set in an alternate version of 18th century London. We follow Cordelia Hatmaker, the youngest Hatmaker, attempt to find her father after he's lost at sea. The Hatmakers are an old family of magic users who make hats to effect people's mood and behaviour.

This book was so heartwarming - it was fun, sweet, and enchanting to read. I wasn't sure of Merchant's writing style at first, it was a bit too much! She's very lyrical in her style, for a children's author, and I thought it was going to grate. But it fits the tone of her world and characters so well I didn't notice it after the first few chapters. It's honestly beautifully written. Characters were great, the plot was predictable but hilarious (I'm not the target audience so that's fine), and the world was well realised, if small. Overall, it was a wonderful novel and I'd highly recommend it to everyone - I enjoyed it as much as I did Nevermoor!

There's also the BEST tiny side story about a couple of young fops who want hats to help them duel! Absolutely AMAZING and I hope they turn up in the second book!

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

Here is where the month fell down for me and I fell into a slump... So A Thousand Splendid Suns is the story of two women in Afghanistan during the late 20th century. We see the Russian occupation and the rise of the Taliban through their eyes, as well as the devastating effects the almost constant warfare had on Kabul and their lives. However, this is more the background to exploring these women's lives, starting with Mariam as a child in the 1950s and following her life after she's married off by her father to Rasheed. We also follow Laila, who's literally the girl next door, and how their lives intersect during the course of the novel. It is a powerful story about the strength of women, the bonds they form, and the consequences the attitudes of men have on their lives.

So I'm conflicted about this book, on the one hand I can very much see its merit. It's a beautifully written, engaging, and thought provoking novel. It's one of those reads that stick with you and you mull over for weeks afterwards. It makes you think and I am glad I've read it.

On the other hand, I HATED every second I was reading it. On top of the general misery you'd expect (given the description above), this book discusses domestic violence, marital rape, forced child abandonment, miscarriages, imprisonment, etc. You name it, it'll be here. I could see the reason for this but it made for such a miserable reading experience that I could barely keep myself going at times. I seriously considered DNFing it at the end of part 2 and the only reason I didn't is because it's my book club book.

It's one of those reads that are immensely powerful and worth while, they open your eyes and make you think. However, it's reading experience is so miserable it's hard to see whether it was actually worth it while you'rein the book. I would say give it a go if you're interested because it really is a masterpiece and beautifully achieves what it set out to do. But please do go into it having done your research and aware of the trigger warnings.

On the Currently Reading Stack

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Technically on the pile, if we're dating this to 31st March. Although as of writing this (3rd April) I've finished this. I had fun but still don't like heist stories... Great characters though!

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

I'm dipping in and out of this, as it's my 5th time reading it... I will finish it eventually but don't hold your breath because I'm only picking it up when I'm REALLY in the mood for Sanderson or feeling slumpy.

The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien

Another long term read, I'm slowly finishing off my annotation reread of the Lord of the Rings. Very much enjoying this read but I'm taking it slowly so I can do my annotations justice.

Bleak House - Charles Dickens

Still going, it's just an enormous and slow book... I'm going to try and finish it in April but this isn't a promise...

[thelivebookproject]

Talking Books With @belle-anne-the-book!

[What is this and how can I participate?]

Important note: I haven’t changed or edited any of the answers. I’ve only formatted the book titles so they were clearer, but nothing else. Because I’m incapable of shutting up, my comments are between brackets and in italics, so you can distinguish them clearly.

----------------------------------------------------

[Image description: a square titled “Know the blogger”. Name & pronouns: Belle, she/her; country: United States; three adjectives to describe her: creative, determined & spirit cheerleader /end]

Here is how Belle self-describes, I felt bad cutting it out so here is in full!

1) Creative because I love creating things and I love consuming creative content, like books;

2) Determined, which is really just a nice way of saying I’m naturally stubborn. But, I’ve tried to channel this into having good follow-through, and this is probably why when I got into reading again after high school I not only started reading, but I started reading a lot;

3).....I can’t think of a third word 😂 😂 I guess spirit cheerleader because I love watching/helping other people be successful/happy, and I prefer happy endings in books.

1. What is your favourite (or top three) book series?

My favorite series is the Cosmere by Brandon Sanderson (which is technically multiple series, but oh well) and the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold. Both of them are very character driven series that also exist in interesting and expansive SFF worlds.

2. Last romance book you've read?

According to my goodreads, the last strictly romance book I read was Misfits by Garrett Leigh, which I guess I would recommend if you read adult erotic romance because it was good, but not my thing. The last book with a central romance in it was probably Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, which I would solidly recommend reading if you like fantasy.

3. Do you personally know any authors?

Yes, my dad’s close friend and co-worker is an author. But I never interacted with him much since he lives in a different state. And I’ve never read any of his books either. I have close friends who are aspiring authors though, and I read their drafts.

4. Is there a book that everyone loved except you?

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and Jurassic Park by Micheal Crichton are both widely read books probably widely considered classics that I almost always hear praise for and don’t care for.

[I haven’t read any of them because I also don’t care for them! But I did watch half of the Jurassic Park film once, I think]

5. Favourite male character?

Favorite male character..... you’re asking me to choose one????? lol Kaladin and Miles Vorkosigan from my 2 aforementioned fave series are definitely the top.... along with Bartimaeus from the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud because he’s also great!!

Free space to say/add/recommend anything!

I guess I’ll add that I’m down to read literally any genre (even though SFF genres are my faves) and if anyone has a rec for an weird or obscure book, I am always down to look into it!!!! I really enjoy finding hidden gems, and I’m always down to give or receive recs whether they’re books or other media!

You can follow her at @belle-anne-the-book and on Goodreads.

--------------------------------------

Thank you, Belle! This was nice.

Next interview: Wednesday, 23rd of December

[aion-rsa]

Shadow and Bone: Why Netflix Cast Its Fantasy Adaptation With Relative Unknowns

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

In the film and television industry, the idea of an “unknown” is extremely relative. Just because an actor isn’t one of the Hollywood Chrises doesn’t mean a media-literate viewer hasn’t seen them before. That being said, there is a difference between Chris Evans and an actor from a Doctor Who guest spot, and Netflix’s latest series—Shadow and Bone, an adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse books—is mostly banking on the latter. While Ben Barnes, who you will probably recognize as Logan from Westworld or Prince Caspian from The Chronicles of Narnia series, will be playing the mysterious and enigmatic General Kirigan in Shadow & Bone, most of the young cast have only a few mainstream credits to their names—and, frankly, I think it’s really working for the fantasy adaptation.

“This is a story about young people who have been overlooked and who’ve never had the chance to show people what they can do, who have all this talent and all of this power,” Leigh Bardugo told Den of Geek, thematically connecting this cast of young actors getting the opportunity to demonstrate their talent with their characters’ own efforts to make their mark on the world. “So it made a lot of sense in terms of the soul of the books for us to have all these incredibly gifted young people that arrived on our doorstep, like a magical gift in the show.”

Particularly when bringing a fantasy world to life, casting relative unknowns can be an excellent strategy for creating a sense of otherworldly newness. When you’ve seen an actor in something before, there is a mental path to be pulled out of the narrative. If you have no prior associations with that actor, it can be a bit easier to believe in the wholeness of this rich fantasy world. That being said, the decision to go with relative unknowns for Shadow and Bone was also a financial one, as actors with fewer or no previous successful screen projects to their name tend to be paid less for their work.

“This is an area where philosophy and practicality merge with me,” showrunner Eric Heisserer told Den of Geek. “On the one hand, I tend to be more enamored with actors who step into a role and they aren’t branded with the fame of a role that I identify with them elsewhere. I don’t see them as so-and-so playing Jesper or Alina or whatever the case may be. And then I discovered that we didn’t have a lot of money. So honestly, this was a modest budget. Hopefully you see every kruge on the screen so it feels it’s a big show, but … it’s trying to make itself as big as possible. With that comes the fact that we got a chance to give some of these performers a break.”

Meet the young and talented cast of Shadow & Bone…

Jessie Mei Li as Alina Starkov

Netflix cast English actress Jessie Mei Li in Shadow and Bone‘s central role of Alina Starkov, the orphan mapmaker who may hold the power to destroying the Shadow Fold. While you may not know who Li is yet, she’s probably about to become a big star. Though the 25-year-old Chinese-British actress only has a few credits under her belt, they’re impressive ones. Li made her stage debut in 2019’s National Theatre Live production of All About Eve, starring Gillian Anderson and Lily James. Before filming Shadow and Bone, she filmed a supporting role in Edgar Wright’s upcoming Last Night in Soho, in which she will play Lara Chung.

Archie Renaux as Mal Oretsev

Archie Renaux plays Mal, aka Alina’s oldest friend, in Shadow and Bone. The 23-year-old British actor and model had a brief role in Amazon Prime’s Hanna (he played Feliciano in Season 1’s “Friend”) before appearing as Leo Day in 2019’s Gold Digger (alongside Shadow and Bone co-star Ben Barnes). In addition to Shadow and Bone, Renaux has upcoming film roles in Marvel’s Morbius and Neil Burger’s sci-fi film Voyagers.

Freddy Carter as Kaz Brekker

Freddy Carter stars as Kaz, one of the main characters from the Six of Crows duology, which is also being adapted as part of the Shadow and Bone Netflix series. Comics fans may recognize Carter from his three-episode turn as Jason Ripper in Pennyworth, but he got far more screen time in his main role in Netflix’s family-friendly horse drama series Free Rein, in which he played stable boy with a secret Pin Hawthorne.

Amita Suman as Inej Ghafa

Inej is played by Amita Suman, a 23-year-old Nepalese-born British actress who you may remember from her turn on Doctor Who. Suman gave a very memorable performance as the young version of Yaz’s grandmother Umbreen in Season 11 standout “Demons of the Punjab.” Suman has also recurred as Naya in Season 2 of The CW’s The Outpost.

Kit Young as Jesper Fahey

Kit Young, who plays sharpshooter Jesper in Shadow and Bone, graduated from RADA in 2017 and has mostly done stage work since then, including a role as Lysander in a 2019 National Theatre Live production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The 26-year-old actor of Scottish and Ugandan descent is set to appear in Netflix’s upcoming film adaptation of The School For Good and Evil, directed by Paul Feig and starring Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Laurence Fishburne, and Michelle Yeoh.

Danielle Galligan as Nina Zenik

Irish actress Danielle Galligan plays Heartrender Nina Zenik in Shadow and Bone. The 28-year-old actress has mostly done theater before this, but has snagged guest roles in Irish-based productions Game of Thrones (she played Sarra in Season 8’s “The Last of the Starks”) and Krypton (she played Enaj in two episodes).

Calahan Skogman as Matthias Helvar

Oh hey, an American! Wisconsin native Calahan Skogman plays Drüskelle Matthias in Shadow and Bone. To say that this is Skogman’s first screen role would not literally be true, but… it is basically true.

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Shadow & Bone premieres April 26th on Netflix.

The post Shadow and Bone: Why Netflix Cast Its Fantasy Adaptation With Relative Unknowns appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3r9AZ6d

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Rude Britannia: the weird and the silly behind British place names

Long before the Coronavirus outbreak I had a good American friend - a former military veteran I knew from my time in Afghanistan - who having Anglo roots always expressed a desire to drive around rural southern England one summer. Not so much to dig up his Anglo family roots but also get a broad sense of where his ancestors came from. Unlike the British, Americans think a two hour drive as nothing more than a quick trip down to the shops. So I was little unconvinced by his plans to breezily jaunt through the whole of rural Southern England in one summer. But off he went with his wife and kids in tow. By all accounts they had a fun trip but now and again I would get a text showing me a picture of a village sign board with a rude, funny, or weird name such as Shitterton in Dorset, Puddletown also in Dorset. My friend would text ‘Are you guys serious?!’

And yet it’s true. Britain does have some really weird, silly, and very rude names for villages, towns, and even streets. The more rural the more bizarre seems to be the rule of thumb.

Ae Beer Bitchfield Brawl Brokenwind Brown Willy Catbrain Crackpot Cockermouth Dull Fingeringhoe Fryup Great Snoring in Fakenham Grumbla Ham Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch Lost Loose Bottom Matching Tye Mumbles Nasty Nempnett Thrubwell Pity Me Plwmp Scratchy Bottom Shitterton Spunkie Tarty Tomtit’s Bottom Tongue Twatt Upton Snodsbury Ugley Westward Ho! Wetwang

British history didn’t start with the Celtic peoples (Stonehenge didn’t build itself, after all). But the Celtic tribes that arrived during the Iron Age, which started around 800BC, were the first to give a clear linguistic contribution that has lasted to modern times. They came in groups from the continent; those in the north spoke Goidelic (the source of Gaelic), while southerners spoke Brittonic.

Even today, many hills and rivers have kept their Celtic names – especially in the north and west. The Wrekin takes its name from Celtic. So do about two-thirds of England’s rivers: Avon, Derwent, Severn, Tees, Trent, Tyne – and Itchen, which later lent its name to the town Bishop’s Itchington. (Some of these names may even have come from the people who were here before the Celts). Often the names just meant ‘river’ or ‘water’, and sometimes no one knows what they originally meant; in the Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names, AD Mills calls Severn “an ancient pre-English river name of doubtful etymology”. The River Tame, comes from the Celtic for ‘dark one’ or ‘river’ – as does the more famous River Thames.

There is less Celtic influence in the south and east largely thanks to the Anglo-Saxons. When they invaded in the 6th Century AD, they pushed the Britons to the edges and into the hills. Those who stayed in England were gradually assimilated, rather like the name of the town we start our drive in, Much Wenlock. It gets its Much is from Anglo-Saxon mycel, meaning ‘great’ or ‘much’. Wenlock comes from Celtic wininicas, ‘white area’, and the Anglo-Saxon loca, ‘place’.

The Romans invaded Britain too, even before the Anglo-Saxons, first trying in 55 BC but at last succeeding in AD 43. But their linguistic influence, like their culture, left less of a mark: they built towns and garrison outposts, but they never truly made Britain their home. Roman contributions to British place names come mainly through their Latinisation of pre-Roman names. A Celtic name that had been rendered by earlier Greek visitors as Pretanniké became the Roman Britannia; an ancient name of obscure meaning became Londinium. The other major Roman contribution comes from the Latin castra (‘fort’). Taken into Anglo-Saxon, it became ceaster (‘town, city’, pronounced rather like ‘che-aster’) – which has mutated to chester (Chester, Manchester), caster (Lancaster, Doncaster) and cester (Leicester, Cirencester).

Unlike the Romans, however, the Anglo-Saxons did not come to establish an outpost or colony. They came to move in. The Anglo-Saxons did build forts – the word burh (‘fortified place’) gives Britain all of its –burghs and –burys – but what they really wanted to do was farm, build towns and conduct trade. If they encountered a forest (called a wald, wold, weald, holt or shaw) or a grove (graf, now –grove and –grave), they might clear it to make a leah (now –ly, –lay, –ley and –leigh). They would enclose land to make a worthig (–worth), ham (the source of 'home'), or tun (now –ton and the source of 'town'). Since ham was more common in the earlier years and tun later on, there are more –hams in the south, where the Anglo-Saxons first came, and more –tons in the north and west.

The Anglo-Saxons also liked to name things after themselves. The suffix –ingas (now shortened to –ing(s)) referred to the family and followers of some personage: for instance, Hæsta’s folk settled at Hastings. Many a ham and tun was also named for a person, such as Birmingham, the ham of Beorma’s people (Beormingas). They also named geographical features for themselves, like valleys (denu) such as Rottingdean (the valley of Rota’s clan). And, before converting to Christianity, they named some places after their gods – Wednesbury is named after Woden.

Then the Scandinavians arrived. They started in the 8th Century with raids: Danes from the east and Norsemen, coming around Scotland by sea, from the northwest. In the mid-9th Century, they staged a full-scale invasion and began to settle in the areas they controlled. At the height of Scandinavian power in Britain, they controlled an area known as the Danelaw that covered most of England north and east of a line from Liverpool to the Thames.

Ashby, like Appleby, bears the quintessential mark of a Danish place name: –by, meaning ‘farmhouse’ or ‘village’. Both, however, also bear the marks of the Anglo-Saxons who where there first: the apple and ash trees. Also from the Danes came both (now booth), meaning ‘cattle shelter’; thorp, meaning ‘satellite farm’, now mostly with an excrescent e as in Donisthorpe; toft, meaning ‘homestead’; and thwait, meaning ‘clearing, meadow, or paddock’ – now also with that unnecessary e.

In 1066, the Normans came: Frenchmen, many of whom were descended from assimilated Viking invaders of France. William took over the government and gave ownership of many places to knights who had supported him. Ashby was given to the de la Zuche family; Newton (‘new town or enclosed settlement’) was given to the Burgilons (now Newton Burgoland). The invasion also led to French versions of English originals, such as Rievaulx, translated from Ryedale. There are pure French names that later were shaped by English influence, such as Beamish from beau mes (‘beautiful mansion’), Bewdley from beau lieu (‘beautiful place’) and Ridgemont from rouge mont (‘red hill’). The Normans’ scribes, educated in Latin, also gave Latin additions such as Appleby Magna and Lyme Regis – and even the occasional full name, such as Pontefract (pons fractus, ‘broken bridge’).

But the Norman French did not settle in with the same comfort as the Anglo-Saxons and the Scandinavians, and certainly not in the same numbers. The commoners – made up of Anglo-Saxons, Scandinavians and remaining Celts – kept speaking English, which was still evolving and came to add many French words.

In time, English again became the language of rule. The court, which had increasingly intermarried with English speakers, resumed speaking English in the 14th Century; parliament returned to it in the 15th Century. Ultimately, the stubbornness of the Anglo-Saxon language conquered in the end. How else could a ‘south-town coalfield’ become Sutton Coldfield? Wet clearings (water leas) at the west clearing (west leah) become Westley Waterless? A muddy place (slohtre) turn to Slaughter (Upper and Lower)?

And so it is that you can, in 60 miles, go from the Celtic hills, through the Anglo-Saxon and old Celtic towns, across the pre-Celtic, Celtic, and Anglo-Saxon rivers, past faint traces of the Romans, cross into Danish territory, and find the French nobility. All in one language: English.

But wherever you go just remember to drive carefully because you just never know what is quaintly etymological or what is curiously literal....

[nowis-scales]

Pre-Verdant Wind Endgame Update

An Update on the ol’ Three Houses Verdant Wind playthrough, since I’ve been neglecting documenting my journey properly for a bit:

• My current placement is Ch.20, so I’m only a few chapters away from the last one. It’s kind of a weird thought because I feel like I just hit the timeskip, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this will feel well-paced out. In terms of writing, I’m known for being a bit of a stickler for good flow. It’s why all of my fanfics take so long to update! I have to make sure my flow is perfect.

• The fact that they have been giving background information on characters has been so amazing. Learning that Raphael’s sister’s name was Maya and getting to hear about her has made me irrationally happy.

• Also, just generally, holy shit people sleep on Raphael and Leonie. Raphael often gets shoved to the side, and Leonie is treated like her only trait is liking Jeralt, and for me it all just culminates in the question of “so did you like... not do their support conversations, or...?” Seriously. I think Leonie might be one of my favourites in the game so far, and I adore Raph. He’s so sweet!

• The Flame Emperor reveal for some reason gave me “and I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids” vibes. I liked the venom Cherami Leigh had there as Rhea, too. I think I read from someone that in Japanese, Rhea’s actually super calm in that scene. I don’t think I have a preference towards the anger or the calmness, honestly. I think I just liked how smoothly the emotion came across. Plus, I’m a little biased, I’m fond of Cherami as an actress. I haven’t found a performance from her I haven’t enjoyed yet.

• I was really confused as to why Seteth showed up in my house after Chapter 12ish I think? I wasn’t expecting him to just be there after the paralogue, but I definitely wasn’t unhappy. I do like him! I just never use him, because I recruited Bernadetta and Sylvain, so I kinda have a full roster going... 

• I was also confused in the Gronder Field fight because I couldn’t see what people meant about Bernie getting set on fire. Then I remembered Bernie wasn’t on the hill because she was with me. I recruited her. Whatever this proves about me, I don’t know.

• I did end up beating Marianne’s paralogue! It actually wasn’t as hard once I levelled her up a bit and classed her to a Holy Knight. The big thing with her in that paralogue seems to be that she needs a decent amount of power and movement to really get by, so that’s what I’d recommend for anyone else playing it. Using rescue will also probably help you out, but I tried to avoid using Flayn there because it’s kinda easy to kill her. 

• Admittedly, I’m not 100% sure how I feel about the support system. In some ways, I think it’s better that not everybody has that forced S-Support. Oftentimes we were either squeezing a love confession out of two characters who were unlikely to have one, or characters with decent potential might get snubbed because their connection was less apparent to the writers (and unfortunately that still does happen in the case of same sex S-supports in 3H). Having the conversations only go to a certain point is helpful, but at the same time, the inherent romantic undertones of several of the A-supports do make things feel strange. If it weren’t for the fact that I know characters can have only one partner as their paired ending, I would think lots of them were in a polycule. Nothing wrong with that as long as everyone’s comfortable, but because I know they can only have one person in their ending, I find it pretty jarring.

• I think it was interesting that they went to do the fights for breaking into Enbarr and then taking down Edelgard back-to-back. I’m glad they did, honestly, because while I don’t usually like to do two fights next to each other unless I’m grinding, it doesn’t mess with the suspension of disbelief. It would be stupid to break into Enbarr and then just run right back to the Monastery.

• I have still not completed the randomized quest from just after the timeskip. You know, the one I was yelling about with the weeds? Still haven’t gotten any weeds. I think I might just have to give up on it. It’s hilarious that my luck is so good that it’s actually bad.

• The fact that Byleth is praised for having more of a personality than Corrin is the biggest slice of bullshit I have heard from this fanbase in a long time. Byleth is literally designed to be a silent protagonist with nothing going on with them – they even came up with a story reason for why Byleth is such a blank sack of meat! In the kindest way possible, I don’t think most people realize that they are implementing whatever personality they want onto Byleth. Personally, I don’t find anything relatable about being stoic, calm, and not inclined to anyone (until plot happens, of course). I’ve always been the overly enthusiastic and caring type, with a tendency towards nervousness. Trying to relate to Byleth was like trying to relate to the experiences of a cactus. While I definitely don’t think Corrin is the strongest of the modern FE avatars – that award goes to Robin – they still had some things I could understand and relate to. If you’re not the type of person who loves the cool, “I fight for my friends” types like Ike, though, you’re likely to have a hard time relating to Byleth. If you can manage that type of character, then you’re more likely to have present them with a personality of their own.

• Actually, while we’re on the topic of Byleth getting praised for things Corrin got dragged for, the fact that Corrin is still cited as the character who receives the most “player pandering” is ridiculous too. Do a lot of characters like Corrin? Yeah! But most of them who do are deeply traumatized in a way that inclines them specifically towards Corrin. The Nohr siblings cling to each other due to their abusive childhood, the Hoshido siblings all in some capacity seem to suffer from abandonment issues (oldest) and/or attachment issues (youngest), and the official foursome of retainers have also had some sort of abandonment struggle in their past (forced separation from parents, murdered loved ones). While the cast of Three Houses needs therapy and is traumatized too, there is no reason why the inclination moves towards Byleth. Bernadetta feels safe around them just because. Edelgard is obsessed with them just because. Marianne learns to feel better about herself just because. Why are there so many exceptions for Byleth, and so many just without explanation? I don’t hate Byleth by any means, but these two things make my opinion of them lower than it would be otherwise. It kinda sucks that my image of Byleth is tainted by the fanbase’s hypocrisy, but I know I can’t have everything.

• The gameplay overall for 3H has been pretty fun! I love the addition of the Demonic Beasts, as annoying as they are to fight. There’s a charm to having some of your stronger units working to take on the soldiers blocking the path, meanwhile your army’s more intermediate strikeforce works to keep them safe by bringing down the beast. Once you get the hang of it, gameplay with the new additions is fun. The only thing I don’t use is Divine Pulse, but that’s because I’m on Casual and usually when I want to rewind, I want to just plain start over. So I use the old “turn off and start again” trick.

• Edelgard’s death scene was actually pretty good. I must confess that I went out of my way to avoid Edelgard in the academy phase, as I knew how hard the game was going to hit me with the “she’s obessed with you” thing and I wanted to see how wonky it would feel if I didn’t speak to her much. I was right that it’s incredibly awkward in terms of writing when you haven’t spent the time with her, but surprisingly, her death scene still holds up. Good voice acting, animation, and music. My only beef with it is something they have done in FE before, and it’s something I wish they’d stop. If a character is dying, you either let them have a few last breaths after their last lines or you kill them mid-sentence. It’s probably just a personal nitpick, but hearing them get their last word out without struggle and then immediately die just makes me aware of how badly the directors wanted the whole line to be in there. I can totally understand it but I find it so troublesome in the grand scheme of things that I just can’t.

• I also like that in the fight against Edelgard, they tried to make it ambiguous who had the key. Immediately as it told me that, I decided it was Petra and ended up being right. I was kind of sad to kill her though, to be honest. I don’t know her well, but she’s probably one of the Eagles I like more.

• The fight against the Death Knight at Fort Merceus ended up being surprisingly pretty easy. In fact, while I paved the way for most of my army, Nader ended up making it to the Death Knight just as Claude did. He did most of the damage – I’m not kidding, the Death Knight was down to 1 HP – and then Claude took care of the rest. It was a weird fight. They said impregnable a lot leading up to it.

• I understand why they kill Dimitri off-screen at the Gronder Field fight, but I was admittedly a bit disappointed. Again, Salli Saffoti does a good job doing Hilda’s voice for it, but I would have liked to see it animated. It was also nice to have that little rapport with Dedue! If only we could have allied with the Lions a bit more. Everyone always says Claude and Edelgard have similar goals; however, it’s their methods that differ. Claude seems to align himself a bit closer to Dimitri, so I’m usually a bit confused by the idea that Edelgard and Claude would work together. I was spoiled on enough to know her background and story, and even so, I think that her methodology is just a bit too violent for his tastes. But that’s just my two cents.

 Alright. I think that’s about all I can drain out of my brain from the top of my head. With that, I am off to kill the slithers! We’ll see how this goes. Wish me luck!

[roleplayfinder]

Seeking Literate Partners!

Disclaimer: Male authors, please stop contacting me. I've been burned too many times. If you persist, I'll ignore your message. Hello, you can call me Doe! I'm 25+ and a proud cat mom. I write multiple paragraphs/novella style (200-500+ words). I love to write detailed descriptions and delve into a character’s head/emotions as well as surroundings. I compare it to writing a novel together. I understand if the scene doesn’t have alot going on and therefore requires less like rapid fire. I adore having long, thoughtful replies where we truly immerse ourselves in the world. I'm hoping to find a partner whose as enthusiastic and passionate about the plot and writing as I am. When I get invested in a story, it’s 100% dedication. Getting a reply is the highlight of my day. I'm a big fan of romance and using face claims. I’m the type to make pinterest boards, spam you with gifs, headcanons, and send you songs that remind me of our characters and/or ship. I'll get excited if we come up with future plot ideas, or if our characters are being cute or angsty and I can yell about it in the chat. Last but not least I only do MxF (with myself in the female role) and don’t double, but I’m more than happy to write side characters of either gender to help move the story along. I'd highly prefer female authors writing male characters. Searching For - 21+ partners (Since people have asked, it's fine if you're 20) - For you to have an excellent grasp of grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization. Both in character and out of character. (Literate to advanced writers only, please. I'm not looking for newbies or those who have English as their second/third language). - Plot before smut. While mature themes will be in my plots, and are even encouraged, there needs to be chemistry between our characters. I like to have a good mix of plot and tastefully written smut, along with doses of angst and fluff. - For you to write as an older man (firmly 40s+/50s+). I'm a sucker for the gruff and tough men with dark pasts who secretly have a soft heart. I also love those grumpy, hypermasculine men being intimidated by soft yet commanding women. If you're uncomfortable writing large age gaps please don't bother contacting me. The youngest I'll go is early 20s for my girls. - Please be enthusiastic and invested when it comes to plotting/worldbuilding. There’s nothing worse than receiving one sentence in reply to two paragraphs of ideas, or having a doormat partner who says “sure” to whatever I ask. Tossing ideas back and forth, watching them snowball into amazing plot threads brings me joy. - Joining me in the wonderful world of ship/character development is kind of a must. It’s one of the things that makes writing with a partner so much fun. I also like to make friends with my partners! - While I'd prefer real life face claims, I'd also be open to using realistic art if you're uncomfortable with real life. I draw the line at anime/cartoon art. Faces I'd love to write as: gal gadot, rooney mara, ruth negga, saoirse ronan, sophie turner, jessica chastain, jennifer morrison, mia wasikowska, natalia dyer, brit marling, deborah ann woll, mackenzie davis, emmy rossum, adria adjora, chyler leigh, hayley bennet, tashi rodriguez, lily james, cara delevingne, maya hawke, katheryn winnick, elizabeth olsen, abigal cowen, sophia lillis lauren cohan, zoey deutsch, paulina singer, crystal reed, hayley lu richardson, ask about others Faces I'd love to write against: jeffery dean morgan, hugh jackman, robert taylor, jr bourne, jon bernthal, jason issacs, anthony varrecchiah, brett tucker, david harbour, frank grillo, iain glen, josh duhamel, patrick petitjean, ethan hawke, christian bale, rory mccann, younger sam elliot, titus welliver, viggo mortensen, joel miller (illustrated face), cillian murphy, ask about others If you've made it this far, thank you! You won't be disappointed in writing with me. I tend to be online daily and while I'd like it if you were too, I understand that real life things comes first. Let me know if you're going to

be inactive/can’t continue. If you suddenly stop replying ic and ooc, I'll drop the story after 2 attempts of gauging continued interest spaced a week apart. Below are genres and pairings I love. Feel free to combine as many as you'd like and I’m sure we can come up with something great! Current cravings are in bold. Two thing I don't do are slice of life and historical plots. Genres: - crimes in remote locations - spooky small towns - post apocalyptic/dystopia - supernatural/modern fantasy (A/B/O, werewolves, shapeshifters, werewolf x shifter, alpha x new werewolf, involuntary mate-bond, mating/claiming) - southern/mid western gothic - murder mystery (small town or big city) - modern/dark fairy tale retellings - sci-fi - cyberpunk/retro-futuristic - little coastal towns or little towns in the mountains - emotionally charged/dark and gritty - superpowers/gifted - unresolved sexual tension/slow burn - redemption - pacific northwest - suburban gothic - luring to the other side - reincarnation/multiple universes - western inspired + modern day (such as longmire) - christmas inspired - culture clash/two characters from different sides Pairings: - age gaps (older man x younger woman / 15 to 25+ year gap) - enemies to lovers/villain x heroine - cop x criminal - doctor x patient - friends turned lovers/pining - grumpy x sunshine - the broken man x the woman that becomes his light - fbi agents/cop partners - dark hearted man melting for the innocent woman - friend x best friend’s older sibling - boss x employee - neighbors - single father x friend - firefighter/cop x victim - mentor x mentee - hurt/comfort - height differences - pet names (sweetheart, baby girl, kid, kiddo) - lady and the tramp esque/class difference - creature x human/creature - ex-con x anyone - bodyguard x assignment - widow/er falling in love again - biker x civilian - rancher/mountain man x city girl - affair (with so's sibling, with so's friend, with neighbor) - hitman x target - serial killer x fbi agent - soul mates - experienced x inexperienced - local x vacationer - injured/scarred warrior washed out from their former glory x royal/heir-to-be (modern day / Sansa x Sandor inspired) - friend x best friend/boyfriend's father - daughter in law x father in law - park ranger x camper - bounty hunter x bounty - power imbalances Tropes/Themes: the papa wolf/hot dads, cultured badass, jerk with a heart of gold. ladykiller in love, mountain man, mysterious protector, southern gentleman, tall, dark, and handsome, knight in sour armor, red string of fate, villain takes an interest, porcelain to ivory to steel, when person a gets injured/kidnapped and person b goes absolutely feral to save them, cowboys tiny women and big men, the monster being treated gently for the first time in his life, two characters forced into positions where they have no choice but to reconcile their differences and grow together/trust each other, forbidden relationships, trying to escape childhood demons & reuniting in adulthood Fandoms: (I don't write canons or do canon x oc) Star Wars, X Files, Haven, Fringe, Stranger Things, Heroes, The Wolf Among Us, Mercy Thompson Series, True Blood, Marvel, The OA, Disney personified, Horizon Zero Dawn, The Last of Us, Cyberpunk 2077 Plot Ideas: I have too many to list here but take a look at my google doc and let me know if anything catches your attention. It's a mix of fandom inspired and original plots: Plot Ideas Last but not least, I have a list of kinks if anyone's interested. I use email and discord to write. I'd also be open to joining a jcink site! Contact me at Doe#3347 on discord or by email: doeeyes73@gmail.com Please be detailed when you message me, let me know why you chose to contact me. Seeing only "hey do you wanna rp?" is a guaranteed way to turn me off. Look forward to hearing from you!

[she-who-fights-and-writes]

She-who-fights-and-writes Coronacation Book Rec List

I know that a lot of people are stuck at home right now in dire need of entertainment, so I decided I’d put out a book recommendations list of all the books I’m currently reading and all of my must-reads!

(Just a note that a lot of these are Fantasy because I’m a fantasy nerd haha)

Books/Series I am currently reading

1. The Folk of the Air Trilogy by Holly Black (Currently on #2, The Wicked King)

Genre: High Fantasy

Setting: The land of Faerie which is kind of historical, but in the human world it is modern day

Main cast :

Jude Duarte (white, human, cutthroat, if I saw her in a Denny’s Parking Lot at 3am I would RUN)

Cardan Greenbriar (white, faerie, the true embodiment of Bastard)

Vivienne (Jude’s half-sister, lesbian with canon gf, half-human half-faerie, I would totally try to be her friend)

Taryn Duarte (Jude’s twin sister, queen doormat, still, I would take a bullet for her she’s jUST TRYING TO FIT IN)

Rating: 5/5 Stars

These books have been on my “To Read” list for so long now and for some reason I just never got around to reading them! Hands-down, these are some of the best high fantasy books that I’ve read in a long, long while.

I finished the first book, The Cruel Prince, in just two days and rated it 5/5 stars! Even though these books are high fantasy and focus on the traditions and ways of life of faeries, somehow all of the characters seem like I could meet them in real life!

The main character actually has genuine flaws and not just “””“flaws”””” and is a Bad Bitch down with murder, and the plot had me on the edge of my seat from page one!

The summary makes it sound like it’s going to be about their romance, but it’s really mostly about a power struggle and Jude being a badass.

Goodreads summary for The Cruel Prince:

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences. As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

2. The Raven Cycle Series by Maggie Stiefvater (Currently on #1, The Raven Boys)

Genre: Present-Day/Realistic Fantasy (?)

Setting: The fictional town of Henrietta, Virginia

I haven’t gotten around to much of the book, so there’s not much I can tell you about the characters and I can’t properly give it a rating yet.

These books were also on my “To Read” list for a while; I was a huge fan of her book The Scorpio Races and have also been looking for something to quench my thirst for “private school/ghosts/magic” that I’ve been dealing with ever since I read The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.

I’ve only JUST started The Raven Cycle yesterday, but so far I am hooked! I’m super worried because I’m TERRIBLE at juggling two series at a time but both of these are just so interesting! 

Goodreads Summary for The Raven Boys:

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.” It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive. Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little. For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

MY MUST-READ BOOK LIST

1. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Genre: Historical Fiction

Setting: 1700s Europe (England, Paris, Barcelona, Marseilles, Venice)

Main cast (I’ll try my best not to spoil anything because you find out a LOT of different stuff about these characters throughout the book):

Henry “Monty” Montague (white, bi/pansexual, attitude problem)

Percy Newton (mixed race, gay, very sweet boy, definitely got “most likely to bring home to mom” in the yearbook)

Felicity Montague (white, Monty’s little sister, headcanoned as asexual, I love her to death)

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Daring adventure, gay representation, historical setting, hilarious characters!

This book literally has it all! I would consider it one of my favorite books of all time, yet for some reason I’ve never gotten around to reading any of the sequel books! The ending is very satisfying and ties everything together, which I feel is part of the reason why I haven’t gotten around to them yet. 

Therefore, it can serve as a one-shot read or a full series if you want to dive into something good!

The humor made me laugh out loud at points and all of the characters are very real and very, very relatable, not to mention the vivid settings of 1700s Europe!

Goodreads summary:

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men. But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy. Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

2. The Ninth House By Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Horror, Fantasy 

Setting: Yale University and the town of New Haven, Present Day

Main cast:

Galaxy “Alex” Stern (Hispanic, sees dead people, very scary)

Daniel Arlington “Darlington” (white, rich, an angel who can sometimes be a dick)

Pamela Dawes (tbh I honestly don’t remember what she looks like, only that she’s a tired grad student with big nerd energy)

Detective Alan Turner (Black, takes shit from nobody, husband material)

Rating: 4/5 Stars

(NOTE: THIS IS VERY DARK ADULT FICTION AND CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT MAY BE TRIGGERING FOR SOME PEOPLE, WOULD NOT RECOMMEND FOR PEOPLE UNDER 16)

This book is a great read for someone who’s looking for a disturbing, gritty book with layers upon layers of secrets that you have to peel away as the mystery unfolds. I love the secret societies and the intricate magic systems that the book introduces, and it actually made me hungry for more books like it!

 Alex is a three-dimensional, very real character who also serves as an unreliable narrator who witholds or warps the information that she’s telling you, making the narrative all the more riveting.

The only issues that I have with it are the fact that Leigh Bardugo kind of just dumps you in the middle of it without explaining stuff first, to the point where it kind of feels like you’re reading the second installment of a series rather than the first one, so things can get a bit confusing at first.

The book also can drag and draw things out for a bit too long, but once the plot fully kicks into gear, you will not be able to put it down!

Goodreads summary:

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her? Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

3. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Setting: Earth, Space, The Moon

Main cast :

Linh Cinder (Chinese, based on Cinderella, cyborg, certified badass)

Scarlet Benoit (French, based on Little Red Riding Hood, farmer who is not afraid to shoot you)

Cress Darnel (White, based on Rapunzel, nerd, I will protect her with my life if I have to)

Kaito “Kai” (Chinese, based on Prince Charming, kind of has to run a whole country, a very kind soul, deserves a nap)

Carswell Thorne (White, based off of Rapunzel’s Prince, bastard)

Winter Hayle (Black, based off of Snow White, royalty, has super special powers)

Wolf (Race unspecified, based off of the Big Bad Wolf, charming killing machine, furry????) 

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Do you like fairy tales?

Have you ever wanted to know what fairy tales would be like if they took place in the FUTURE instead of the PAST? 

Do you like an amazing, hilarious cast paired with a super interesting plot? 

These are the books for you!

I haven’t read them in so long, but I remember how much joy I felt while devouring these pages. Definitely something you will not able to put down!

Goodreads Summary for Book #1: Cinder: 

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.

4. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Genre: Fantasy

Setting: Ancient Greece

Main cast:

Patroclus (Greek, Gay, quiet pining) 

Achilles (Greek, gay, very strong, student athlete energy)

Brisies (Anatolian, clever, literally the only one in this story who has a brain cell)

Rating: 100000/5 stars

This is basically the Iliad but if historians hadn’t completely erased Patroclus and Achilles’ relationship. “Haha yeah these guys were totally bros” they say, even though I have read the Iliad and their relationship isn’t even subtle.

This book made me cry at least ten times. It’s just so beautifully written and has such a distinct vibe to it that whenever I crack it open for another time, it takes me straight back to the vacation that I read it on. (Needless to say, sobbing your eyes out can be less than helpful when you’re on the beach)

If you can only read one book on this list, it should be this one. I could talk all day about it and write novels on just how much of an incredible writer Madeline Miller is, but I feel like you’d get my drift a bit better if you actually read the book.

Goodreads Summary:

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. By all rights their paths should never cross, but Achilles takes the shamed prince as his friend, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles' mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But then word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus journeys with Achilles to Troy, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear. Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.

Hope this list helps you through your coronacation, and please don’t be afraid to reblog or message me to tell me if you’ve read/will read any of these!